I caught myself doing something we’ve all done.

Sitting on the couch, mindlessly scrolling through YouTube, telling myself I was “looking for inspiration” when really I was just avoiding starting anything.

So I closed YouTube, grabbed the Legends of the Old West rulebook, and started flipping through it.

I’ve always loved rulebooks. I own hundreds of them for games I’ve never played, probably never will play, and in some cases have no intention of playing. But they’re packed with artwork, sketches, photographs and little ideas that spark the imagination.

In fact, I’d love to put together my own inspiration book one day. A proper printed volume full of reference images gathered from all over the place. I know Pinterest exists, but I’d much rather have a physical book I can flick through while sitting at the hobby desk.

Eventually, buried near the back of the rulebook, I found exactly what I was looking for.

Not a building.

Not a wagon.

Just a simple entrance gate.

Small Pieces Make Better Worlds

The project couldn’t have been much simpler: two upright posts, a crossbeam, and eventually a hanging sign.

The beauty of a piece like this is that you never need just one.

A gateway can mark the entrance to a ranch, a mine, a trading post, the Wells and Fargo storage yard, or the outskirts of a town. It’s one of those terrain pieces that quietly adds character to a table without demanding attention.

The only problem was deciding what to build it from.

Most of the examples in the rulebook used rough tree trunks and natural logs, but all I had on hand was a mixture of balsa strip and a few different sizes of dowel. After digging through the workshop, I realised I’d even kept some thicker dowel left over from converting the old Knights of Dice van into a camper.

It was far too large for this project.

So I settled on what I had.

Sometimes it’s better to build now than wait until you’ve bought the “perfect” materials.

Wood Really Wants to Be Wood

One thing I’ve been enjoying with these Wild West projects is working almost entirely in timber.

After years of MDF terrain, there’s something satisfying about using real wood.

It textures naturally.

It cuts easily.

Best of all, it practically paints itself.

Instead of laboriously layering acrylics, I’ve been using water-based decking stains from the hardware store. Brush them on, let the wood soak them up, blend a couple of colours together and the grain does most of the work for you.

It’s quick, forgiving, and perfect for rough frontier buildings.

Adding the Little Details

Once the basic frame was together, it felt like it needed a bit more character.

Looking back through my reference photos, I noticed many old entrance gates had simple metal bands wrapped around the posts to reinforce the timber.

Rather than overcomplicate things, I cut thin strips from a cereal box and glued them around the beams to represent the metal straps.

Tiny detail.

Big difference.

For the hanging sign, I reused some fine wire left over from the old Knights of Dice days. We originally bought enormous spools of it to make barbed wire for our plank bridge kits, but it works perfectly for twisting into small hooks.

Now I can make interchangeable signs whenever I need them.

“Wells and Fargo.”

“The Complaint Mine.”

“The Broken Spur Ranch.”

Whatever the next game calls for.

Rediscovering the Joy of Simple Crafting

Somewhere during this build I realised just how much I’d missed this.

Not making a huge display board.

Not spending months on a massive project.

Just sitting down and making something.

A little gate.

A couple of posts.

A simple evening at the workbench.

I know I’ve mentioned this in a few videos now, but I honestly forgot how relaxing it is to spend an hour making something with your hands.

There’s something incredibly satisfying about finishing a project in a single session.

One More Piece for Complaint

A quick coat of stain, a little metallic paint on the bands, and the gateway was finished.

It’s a tiny addition to the growing collection, but every finished piece brings the world of Complaint one step closer to feeling like a real place.

That’s the exciting part.

Not building one spectacular terrain piece.

Building dozens of small ones that, together, tell the story of a frontier town.

This little gate will be on the table for our next game, probably welcoming travellers into the Wells and Fargo yard.

And judging by how much fun this one was, I think I’m going to need to build a few more.