TM Terrain is a one-man band model-making maestro from Loughborough, Leicestershire named David Marshall. David is a lovely fella who has been making terrain boards, buildings and dioramas for individuals and companies within the hobby for over 25 years. He recently contacted me to say he was thinking of putting together a book showing the projects he’s worked on over the years, and how I could help him by digging out TM Terrain featured articles from our archive. Luckily it is quite easy to find stuff in our archive thanks to the (WiPrime Member accessible) Vault (product placement over). So, I searched there for ‘TM Terrain’ and uncovered a wealth of material, including three tables manufactured for Wargames Illustrated. Taking a fresh look at the work we had commissioned from TM Terrain made me readdress the question - is having a wargames table made for oneself a peccadillo? Every time I have one commissioned I have felt a twinge of guilt. A twinge swiftly counted by the fact that if I didn’t commission David to make the tables for us, they simply wouldn’t happen, plus, I also like to tell myself that by commissioning work from TM Terrain, I am supporting another arm of our many-faceted hobby - the more ways folks can earn a living from the hobby the longer it will endure. The fact that there are people out there who can earn a living from slapping filler onto MDF, glueing seafoam onto twisted metal or colouring-in models with paint, the better for all of us in the long run, I tell myself. So, there you have it - 300 words of self-justification for not bothering to make my own battlefields, triggered by a request from TM Terrain! I’ll round it off by showing you some photos of TM Terrain’s cracking work which has appeared in Wargames Illustrated magazine over the years. In 2013 TM Terrain made this marvellous Little Round Top/Devils Den table for us. It won the ‘Best Sponsored Trader Game’ at Salute that year. I’m not sure if they have had that award before or since – it’s nice to think we’re unique! This Alamo model was created for Gringo 40s and appeared in Wi313. This Agincourt table was commissioned by The Royal Armouries in Leeds, and can still be seen there on display. Proving that Wi isn’t TM Terrain’s only distinguished client. At 4’ x 4’ our Druid participation game table is the smallest we have commissioned from David, but it’s still very heavy on quality and detail.
