3d dungeon W.i.P

[sundayhero]

Hi,

In this topic I'll present my last scenery project, work in progress.

I'm creating a 3d dungeon mostly for DéD Wrath of Ashardalon board game (reusing the same tile design), but wich will be probably compatible with any generic dungeon crawling rules.

In this project, I created everything, from the masters to the molds and castings.



First, I made a master in foam (foam between 2 coats of paper, name "carton plume" in france). I removed one side (made of paper). I use the classic 1" tile :




Then, with a xacto and a simple pen, I engraved some details on them  :




With my finger, I "push" the foam and give a nice used and old effect. It's something usefull for caverns, and very old buildings. If you're creating some marble floor, or rich castle floor, it would not be a great idea to do that.





Then, I cutted the tiles to make single masters. I polished each of them with sandpaper, xacto, etc...carefully to keep the exact size.




Then, I glued the tiles on a piece of acrylic glass. I thought it would be a good idea to make individual tiles, so I can place them like a puzzle and create every design I wanted to :




But finally, it was not a good idea. It was a way too long to cast the necessary pieces to make all the rooms of WOA gamebox. I just casted a few pieces and saw that it would take ages to make the complete tileset. So I just casted a few pieces, to re-use later for more convenient new molds. I also created a sample tile in acrylic resin, to see how it will look at the end :





The tools I use for molding :



Yes, I'll use the old school technic of latex molding. Essentially because it's cheap. It stinks, it takes ages to dry, but finally it works and the molds are pretty robust, and... it's really cheap. With a little imagination, you can even create complex (multipart) structures.

I use modelling plaster for the casting. Again, cheap, cheap, cheap. That's the key point.


So I decided to create new molds.  Using the sample pieces I casted, I just designed 4 squares, wich represent itself the theorical size of each tile of the game. Each game tile is designed from a simple 4x4 squares tiles. So it was a lot faster to simply cast complete tiles, and then cut off the excess squares :

First I assembled 4 tiles :




I filled the defects and gaps with plasticine :




And finally, I poured some latex on the masters. I do several coats (about 5-7) on them. First, a thin coat to take all the sculpting details :




After drying, I did several other coats, and then I applied some medical clothe on it, to make the molds more stronger :




Once it's dry, you can see the cloth :




I finally added a thick coat of latex :




A week later, the molds were ready :






It's a waaaay faster like this to cast the pieces !



And then I started to cut the pieces to shape the original D&D game tileset :




I finally glued the cast parts on cardboard :






As you can see, some parts of the tiles are blank. I'll make sort of lava lakes, stones, and caverns walls in them. I will use classic technic (modelling styrofoam, texturized paint, etc...) for that.


to be continued !  Next step is to "paint" the plaster parts with Future Floor to "seal" (a bit like plastic aspect) them and make them stronger.

[Cherno]

Well, what can I say? Great work! Nice to see your technique, looks really easy (if a bit messy  ) and fast, and if one needs other shapes it's just a matter of cutting it the right way or doing a few more molds.

Hirst Arts sell molds for the Descent boardgame, they have a tutorial on their site showing how to paint the dungeon tiles, maybe you can find some inspiration there if you didn't already know about it

Looking forward to seeing how your project develops.

[dijit]

Really good looking thanks for the tutorial too!
Duncan

[sundayhero]

Thanks for the comments.

Actually, it's not that fast. With plaster, I can cast 1 piece each half hour/45min. So it make 8 pieces by hours/1h30.

Making the mold take ages to dry too. The key point is the price. Silicone and resin are great products, but a way more expensive.

Hirst arts molds, as you say, are nice alternatives (great sculpt). But it's the same process I tried first, casting small pieces one by one (almost). I would not be patient enough for that.

Concerning paint, you can see the floor paint scheme somwhere in the topic, on a preview pic. The wall will be natural cavern walls.

[gamer Mac]

Did I read that right? You have to wait a week for the mould to dry?
Great work. Will follow with interest.

[sundayhero]

The mold creation is done in several stages and latex coats.

addendum : latex STINKS. It's full of amoniac. So don't use it in a closed room.

1) First coat, a thin coat of latex is carefully applied, to cover all the master details. Then, you can dry it with a hairdryer.

2) Once it's dry, you do another thin coat. You dry it (about 10min of hairdryer).

Repeat stage 2 about 3 times. Last time, don't dry the latex.

3) apply a coat of chirurgical cloth on the fresh latex. Then, apply some latex on the cloth. Dry it. It will make the mold very robust, and will minimize the shrinkage.

4) apply 1 or 2 coats of latex more. dry it.

5) apply 1 coat of thick latex (you can use special additionnal  to make it thicker) more.

6) let everything dry on a dry and hot place somewhere during a couple of days (summer) a few days (spring), or a complete week.

7) remove the molds from the masters carefully. Apply some talc (casting powder) inside and outside the mold. Let is dry a few hours more, and replace it on the master to dry a day more (to avoid shrinkage. Personnaly I don't care, so I let the mold drying alone).

you can use, re-use, and use again your mold, for plaster, resin, acrylic resin, etc... It's pretty solid and odour free.


So, as you can see...Cheap, but not fast. You cannot have everyting   

[sundayhero]

Hi,

Here's the result, finally  

I first remove the cardboard borders, since I will finally use the tiles for Warrior Heroes: Legends, so no need for compatibility with WOTC boardgames.

Then I spraypainted the tiles with grey primer (no pics, I changed of camera in the mean time). Once it was dry, I applied a black black wash, and then, a brown acrylic stain. The acrylic stain give a nice effect, and also "plastify" the plaster tiles to make them quite sturdy. That huge set was painted and varnished in a couple of hours max (not counting the drying time).

Not the best of the best result, but really fast and convenient. I also choosed this technic to be able to add any new element or scenery in the future, since the method is almost "factory made".

No problem of finding a typical color, remember the drybrush coating, etc... :

Just a car paint grey primer spraycan, a black wash (acrylic black painted diluted), a coat of acrylic stain (same result as "dipping stuff", but dry faster and smells a LOT less), and a mate varnish finish.








Once dried, I applied a coat of mate varnish on them, and glued them on adhesive black felt. This way, the tiles will be more durable, and more convenient to manipulate. (by the way, this photo is the most accurate concerning real colors and rendering of the tiles...The other pics has been taken in hurry).







Here's the current final result :



This set is pretty big. Around 1/2 square meter. Since you never stick the tiles togeter, I can easily cover a 1meter square (around 3'x3') table.




Now, the next stage is to build compatible walls (probably plaster as usual), doors, and most dungeon accessories (acrylic resin). For complex items or folks, I'll order them.


to be continued...

[zorg]

Great stuff! I'm planning something similiar myself, so your walkthrough is very much appreciated. Have you tried making a mold without the added cloth? After all, the Hirst molds are pretty sturdy (and I'm lazy), so I'm wondering whether that step is strictly necessary...

[sundayhero]

thanks !


Latex is not as sturdy as silicon (like silicon hirst arts molds, known being really sturdy). It also shrinks a bit (my squares were 1" or 2.5cm, the final casted square are around 2.3cm). So cloth helps to keep the mold sturdy and less shrinkable. Cloth stage in the molding process is really simple, and cheap (just buy medical cloth in super market for a few euros).

BUT for my next stages (walls and accessories) I'll use another poorman ( ) molding method. I'll use a mix of bathroom silicon and corn starch. I found a tutorial on youtube :




It's what I used for my special ice hexes (see my heroscape topic in workbench forum). It works pretty well, does not shrink, and seems very sturdy.

It's dirt cheap (1.50euros for 1 silicon cartridge, less than 2euros for 1 kilogram of starch), even if it's really not as good as real RTV silicon (you cannot pour it so you loose details, and it seems to peel a bit after a few casts...at least, with my cristal resin. But I added a lot of starch in my mix, maybe too much).

It's also faster to make, since your starch-silicon mix dry in about 4-5hours, and is useable in 1day. It stinks a bit once it's dry (vinegar smell), and stinks A LOT when you're mixing it (have to be carefull), but comparing to latex...It's seems an improvement to my own eyes.

[zorg]

Yes, I've been eyeing silicone too. I may give that a try. Thanks for the explanation.

[Doomhippie]

Great tutorial. And really a great idea of creating dungeon tiles. I can think of so many uses. Man, why the hell am I so lazy....?

[sundayhero]

I'm lazy too...Watch the dates of duration of this work in progress 


The thing is not the amount of work to do...It's just not fun. Casting, pouring, painting, like a robot. Not really creative and fun, but as long as you keep in mind the great games you will play on it, it worths it. 


Same thing for my heroscape topic. Long and boring job to pimp all the mastersets. But the result is here, IMHO. Painted figures, painted scenery, a cold beer and you're there. No videogame can do better than that 

[dijit]

I've heard you can add Acetone to the silcone/starch mix to get a more fluid mix which can the poured. The acetone exporates off, leavig the silcone/starch behind. It takes longer to set mind and stinks, but if you've got time and space it might be worth giving a shot.

[sundayhero]

I didn't knew that tip ! I'll try it.

[zorg]

The thing is not the amount of work to do...It's just not fun. Casting, pouring, painting, like a robot.

Heh, I find this quite relaxing, actually. I put on an audiobook, pour some whiskey, and start the production line...