The Hobbit, BFG and King Kong film designer turns his hand to sculpting miniatures scenery

An experienced designer and sculptor of awe-inspiring worlds for cinematic blockbusters is bringing his talent to the tabletop.

Johnny Fraser-Allan has worked at New Zealand visual effects studio Weta Workshop for over a decade as a conceptual designer and sculptor – you might recognise his work in films including Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy and King Kong, as well as Steven Spielberg’s Tintin and The BFG.

A keen board gamer, too, Fraser-Allan was also responsible for sculpting the miniatures in the board game versions of cult movies Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, among others. In other words, he’s someone who knows how to bring fictional universes to life in pretty staggering detail.

Now, Fraser-Allan is bringing his own world to life in the form of Hagglethorn Hollow, a set of gaming terrain and scenery for miniatures set in the titular fantasy setting.

It might have a smaller scale, but the vision is just as impressive. The scenery uses a mix-and-match system that allows different parts to be combined in various ways, letting players build up unique buildings and environments on multiple levels using the same pieces.

Each of the 28mm-scale pieces, from wonky taverns and crumbling ruins to towering ramparts and thatched cottages, has a story behind its singular look, but is said by its creators to also be applicable to a range of genres and games, from RPGs such as D&D and Pathfinder to board game Zombicide and even the sci-fi miniatures game Star Wars: Legion.

Hagglethorn Hollow is currently up on Kickstarter, where those interested can pick and choose the pieces they want or back ready-made sets – they’ll set you back anywhere from £90 for the unpainted basics to nearly £700 for the full-painted whole collection, though.

The terrain is due out next September, with the campaign having already raised well over twice its £30,000 goal. The Kickstarter runs until October 26th.