Layered (stepped) hill

So what makes a hill a good one?

• It is system independent and feels at home both in fantasy, horror and SF settings
• It does not strike you in the head with it’s scale and can be used both in heroic 28mm world and the mass tank combat world of 15mm
• It has several layers so that they both let you set miniatures spectacularly as if for a photo shoot and give the hill a more natural look — not like a cow-pie flat sheet that cries „I’m an ugly gaming token”
• It has some decorations, just like real mountains: nice, big rocks, streams, lichen &c.
• Despite the decorations it is flat enough for miniatures to stand safely and neatly in rows. In practice this means at least 40mm difference between layers as you will lose ca. 15mm for layer slope and its finish leaving you just 25mm (1”) for models
• To hide the artificial layers the hill is finished in different colors (like green grass, orange lichen and gray rocks) serving as a camouflage for its real shape

What are my hills made of?

• A plan! I started by drawing my hill and its layers on paper to make sure they keep the 40mm distance (see above) and look good overall
• Corrugated cardboard for its base
• 20mm width Styrofoam sheet (extruded or expanded polystyrene foam — I had some lying around left over from real world house insulation works); cut into rounded shapes of the layers with very steep but not quite perpendicular slopes
• Wall filler/spackling paste/texture paste — to cover and strengthen the ugly and brittle texture of cut Styrofoam
• Static grass, pebbles, white glue and paint for the finish

Enjoy!