The Mines of Moria was built by an army of volunteers, who got together to carve, sand and paint each night after work for a week. These were (front left to right) Jeremy Vetock, Joe Krone, (2nd row) John Conner, Drew Will, Rick Smith, (back), Ty Finocchiaro, Jason Buyaki & Dan Bartholomew.

Moria is the ancient kingdom of the Dwarves. In Middle-earth's distant past the Dwarves were a vast power and their many-pillared halls were filled with light and great works of wonder. But ages ago the Dwarves were driven from their ancestral home by a great evil. In The Fellowship of The Ring, dire needs drive the Fellowship to undertake the dangerous journey underground into and through Moria.

Our journey into the Mines of Moria here in the US offices really started just before Games Day last year, when we built several Moria scenes as tabletop terrain pieces (we're all The Lord of The Rings fans at heart), finishing with building the Bridge of Khazad-dûm - which we recently constructed as a scenery project for White Dwarf.

The bridge is the scene of the classic confrontation: the stand of Gandalf against the evil might of the Balrog - the final climactic battle within the mines itself!

BUILDING YOUR OWN MINES

Working Materials

Wood boards (1' x 4') & plywood Insulation foam board Expanding foam sealant in a can Textured plasticard Paint & textured paint ready mixed filler (gap filler) Sand & rocks (from garden) Hardboard

Tools

Screws & screwdriver Hot-wire cutter (foam cutter) Hobby knives, paint brushes & scissors Circular saw & jigsaw Hot glue gun & glue

Rather than simply show you a detailed step-by-step approach to building the Mines of Moria (which would be next to impossible), we've tried to incorporate all the techniques and ideas we've discovered while creating all of our Mines of Moria terrain.

We have to warn you though, once you start building you may have a hard time stopping! The Bridge of Khazad-dûm is where the ultimate fantasy duel takes place - but before that the beleaguered Fellowship journey down countless dark corridors, discover the remnants of an ancient Dwarf/Goblin subterranean war, battle numberless Moria Goblins, leap chasms, clash with an enormous Cave Troll, and finally face off against the underworld terror of the Balrog.

To any wargamer worth their salt, that leaves endless possibilities for recreating their own fantastic adventures.

LAST MINUTE PEP TALK

If you've never built any gaming terrain, it is all too easy to take a look at the finished product and suppose that it was constructed using bizarre specialist tools and expensive, hard-to-find materials. You couldn't be more wrong! At the heart of every great terrain project is hard work, the ability to experiment and try new ideas, and the firm belief that all mistakes can, for the most part anyway, be covered with ready mixed filler.

Now join us as we explore the Mines of Moria...

	The main section of our Mines of Moria terrain which was built for Games Day 2001. This impressive table features Balin's Tomb, the Great Hallway and one of the many stairways within the mine itself.

Next: Basic Mine Construction Techniques.