Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => Workbench => Tutorials => Topic started by: Hammers on September 18, 2008, 01:43:12 PM
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God willing and the creek don't rise I shall embark on a terrain building spree on said dates. I have been preparing for some time to make a modular NW Frontier table.
I am planning on making it out of 60 by 60cm squares of extruded styrofoam (the local brand is not as much Pink as Peach) with cardboard bottoms and fit them into two 120 by 120cm frames, making a grand total gaming table of 120 by 240 cm. I have five sheets of this precious material and plenty of scrap bits and even more of that horrid white crumbly stuff.
Since I am a disorganized guy: Is anyone aware of some cool CADish software with which you can plan a game board an match end-of-roads and river mouths between sections? ;)
The board should look like some arid hill landscape with shrubs, a few irrigated fields, a river, cliffs. It would be cool but perhaps not practical to make some terraced rice fields on a hill side. My goal is to find a balance between pretty and utilitarian.
(http://www.peterlanger.com/Countries/Pakistan/NWFP/images/PKNWDIR00042.jpg)
I have paste, glue (all sorts), sand and pebbles, bark rock, dry grass flock, tall grass, shrubbery, various conifers...you want it, I got it, all aplenty. It'd be nice to put a couple of tamarind trees around the fort.
For constructions I have already cut most of the pieces after tech drawings of this wonderful building...
(http://www.terrainthralls.com/articles/matheda/images/dry%20fit%20Small.jpg)
...found at Terrain Thralls (http://www.terrainthralls.com).
..which I hope to make appear as a mud brick fort. I also want to do a few mud brick houses and walls which can be placed on terraces below the fort.
(http://www.peterlanger.com/Countries/Pakistan/NWFP/images/PKNWTIB00003.jpg)
I also have a material for a Indiana Jonesish rope bridge which I want to me out of brass wire cord to make it more durable
(http://www.virginmedia.com/images/1indy-tod-bridge.jpg)
Well, maybe I will make it wider and shorter an with pillar supports...more like this...
(http://www.peterlanger.com/Countries/Pakistan/NWFP/images/PKNWBAL00058.jpg)
That one's actually from Pakistan. IJ Temple of Doom was filmed in Sri Lanka, wans't it?
I have already invited the LAC(Sweden) posse to take part in this but then, after doing some risk assessment, I said to myself "Hey, lets appear fucking GRAND here and invite everyone!". So if any LAFer is passing by Stockholm the days mentioned on your way up to the reindeer fall slaughther in Kiruna or whatever, drop me a line and swing by, why don't ya! Beer and pretzels are on me!
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One day I will visit the land of my ancestors (I'm a quarter Swede don't ya know) but alas, it shall not be during the dates you are working. :)
I can't wait to see the set-up. It's an ambitious plan so it should be cool to see the final.
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One day I will visit the land of my ancestors (I'm a quarter Swede don't ya know)
Capital! I shall ask Alex to add you to the LAC (Sweden) internal board! Welcome over whenever!
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Taking a page from the excellent tutorial at the occasional online gaming magazine Quindia Studios (http://www.quindia.com/studioart31.htm) I have now started to plan the gaming board. Unlike in the tutorial, which uses rectangular modules I will go with square ones. The first has the advantage of not having so many seams which gives a more homogeneous look. My optionn gives me more flexibility. I also saw the Perry brothers showcase their square module layout and the impression stuck.
This is a rough sketch of the basic eight 60 by 60cm modules fit together into a single configuration:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/1/134_19_09_08_10_35_26.jpg)
The modules are:
* three pathless scrubland
* two stream, one with a crossing
* one with a crossroad
* one with a three road junction
* one with a straight road
There are a couple of things which demands some thinking:
- First, in modular terrain you need to figure out a system so that end of roads, rivers and other such features matches up with the most flexibility across modules. I think I will handle this by using a few common principles.
- A road should always be 10 cm wide at a an edge of a module.
- An end-of-road must always have its be a 1/6th's width from a module corner. With modules 60 by 60cm this means 10 cm from the corner and 10 cm wide from there.
-There may be a maximum of two roads/paths ending at the same module edge. Both must be 10 cm from either corner.
(I could, in the future, expand this to allow for roads to end at the middle of a module, meaning 25cm from corner and only allow for one road at each such edge).
-To get a bit more flexibility out of my modules I will probably create some end-of roads on roadless modules, meaning at these edges there will be roads petering out into nothingness. Ruins, houses or fenced in fields or pastures can be placed there to make things look more natural
-Streams are always 20cm wide at the module edge.
-A stream (or lake outlet) must always start 10cm from a module corner.
I have not quite decided what to do about inclines. Should I build them into certain modules or should I make them as separate hills and cliff faces to place on the modules? I am bending towards building them into the terrain because I am sure I can make them look nicer that way.
Constructions like forts, houses bridges e.t.c. will obviously be loose objects.
Any comments on these ideas are more than welcome. I am sure there are many of you who are more experienced than thinking about these matters.
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Hammers, I would strongly suggest not to use cardboard under the styrofoam! It WILL warp. I'd use MDF instead. I'm planning to have my own set of modular terrain perhaps next year, and I will do it as rigid as possible: MDF plus a wooden frame at the sides and foam inside the frame.
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Yes, I've come to that conclusion to, but for other reasons. I will be using 5cm Peach Foam; I doubt card will warp that. I however will need to cut down to the base board for the river modules and therefore they need to be MDF.
I think I will, at least initially, be satisfied with stick-on veneer for the edges.
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Hang Teutonic efficiency! This is Nordic efficiency at its best. ;)
Can't wait to see it take shape. You're going to make my little NW Frontier set-up look very pedestrian (damn you! :D)
I went for more of less flat boards with hills and other features added on top. These make for optimum flexibility, and very easy flat-pack storage. But they are no substitute for 'deep' styrofoam boards in which gradients, roads, rivers and features can be much more realistically and artistically sculpted.
The down side of course, is that you are stuck with what you've got (although with cunning planning like yours, yes, you can build in quite a few options depending on which order you lay the boards out in). The other drawback is that all that depth of foam takes up a lot more storage space...
But I do wonder from time to time what I might be able to achieve were I to take the plunge into deep styrofoam... lol
Good luck with it!
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Hammers is the only Swede possessing Nordic Efficiency that I know of. I've begun to suspect there is no such thing as "Nordic Efficiency" and he is in fact a German spy. I've reported him to the Swedish "Säpo" (they're like the NSA on valium... :` ).
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The last two days I've done some applied basic research on which surface cover to use for my modular gaming table. As you can read in previous posts I aim to get the visual effect of arid mountainous terrain of scree, gravel, rocks and little vegetation.
To test the adhesiveness, fill, durability and look of various alternatives I took a 20*30cm piece of pink foam and covered it with the following materials:
Materials used:
(http://www.adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF/NWFBoard_grundforskning 001.jpg)
From left to right:
- 'Husfix', a houshold light concrete used for filling holes in wood and masonry but also as grout for floor tiles. I use it extensively in hobby projects. You mix it 4-1 with water.
- 'Celluclay', probably familiar to some of you, esp. in America. It is a shredded paper/wallpaper glue compound which you mix with water, ergo papier maché. It is very popular among diorama and model train enthusiasts and also sculpters aged 5-10 making a Christmas present t grandma.
(http://www.adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF/Celluclay.jpg)
Celluclay, why use mud when you can use paper?
- Yunik Light spackle, medium course, this is a local brand of wall spackle. I think the generic term sand spackle is sometimes used. I had some semi-dried up remains from a DIY project. It comes ready in a bucket. Convenient, that.
- Flexi Paste from Woodland Scenics. Also familiar, I suppose, to the model train nerds among you. It is sold in a pot.
- Casco trälim, the Swedish equivalent of the good ol' Elmers Glue, white glue, carpenter glue...
- Cascospac, a quick spackle used for, well spackling something quickly. Probably got a fair bit of acrylic in it. Sold in tubes.
Some of you may reflect on that I am not trying plaster-of-paris, hydrocal and the like. Well, I hate dealing with that stuff and won't use it, no sir! I also rejected acrylic textured artist paste, the kind with ground pummice, since it is rather expensive. Textured paint went the same way as it has no fill.
Again: the qualities I was primarily looking for are adhesiveness, filling properties, durability and sex appeal...well, maybe not, but it should at least look good.
The result (sorry for the over large image but there are a couple of details I want to point out) :
(http://www.adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF/NWFBoard_grundforskning 004.jpg)
The vertical bands are from left to right:
light wall spackle, rapid spackle, flexi paste, 'Husfix' light concrete, Celluclay and below a strip of white glue (I added the plain glue strip to the experiment as an afterthought). I smeared them on fairly thick, something like 3-5mm.
As you can see I tested adhesiveness not only for how the material stuck to the pink foam but also how well grit stuck to it without using glue. The pink foam was not prepped in any way.
The verdict
Medium Coarse Wall Spackle
When I stirred the contents of the buckets it was so dry I had to add some water. And of course I add to much and it turned into the consistency of semi-runny gruel. I nevertheless smeared a stripe of it onto the foam and it did not run all over the place. I was rather happy with the result. It dried hard but not brittle. It sticks well to the pink foam and the grit sunk in just as well into the spackle and stays there. Since it was wetter than it should be it developed a rather smooth surface. It didn't shrink noticeably even though I had added water. Encouraged as I am by the result I may try this again with a steaming fresh pot of course textured wall spackle. It is fairly cheap to, costing something like 15 Euros for the pot in the picture which I think should last for the two square meters I am about to use it for
Rapid spackle
This was rubbish. Boo! As you may be able to see it shrunk and cracked event though this particular stripe was not smeared on as thick as the others. As you can see the grit has brushed off all to easily. It also feels rather brittle when you poke at it. So this is a reject. All things have their uses, however. That cracking effect can be used to mimic dried mud plains or river beds if applied the right way. Not so sure about durability though.
Flex Paste
Rather nice. Stuck nicely to the foam and the grit sits there like nobody's business. It dries quick, without shrinkage and develops a rather smooth surface, which is so-so; I wouldn't mind a bit of texture. A rather nice feature, as indicated by its names, is that it has slightly flexible character, which probably means it wont tear and crack as easily. It certainly feels like it. Doing some product research right now I just confirmed a hunch: like many Woodland Scenic products it is expensive. Something like $20 for 16 ounce jar. That and the lack of texture pretty much rules this one out.
Husfix
I am rather partial to this material but I'll try to quench my enthusiasm here. It dried to a hard, rigid surface over night and stuck nicely to the foam. The grit was slightly pushed into the rather dense paste and stayed there acceptably well. I would probably depend on a layer of paint or watered down white glue to keep it in place completely. Husfix mixes nicely in a plastic bowl but I would recommend anyone to use a face mask while doing so. It is dusty and irritates when inhaled. I would not recommend it for recreational snorting. I very muck like its sandy texture especially in combination with grit. The had surface seems very durable but probably would crack if someone leaned a sharp elbow on it. This is definitely an option even though it is slightly more expensive (12 euros for the box in the picture, 22 Euro for a large box) than wall spackle and gives similar results.
Celluclay
Well, I botched this one a bit. 48 hrs later and it is still not dry. I may have used to much water. I mixed the stuff to the consistency of oatmeal as per some instructions; some sources say it should be mixed to the cosistency of clay (is the name Celluclay any guidance here?) As per recommendation from a guide by the veteran diorama maker Shepard Paine I added a large dollop of white glue to the mix as wetter Cellyclay shrinks and may curl up at the edges when it dries. To early to say. Anyway, the glue did its magic on the grit which sits firm embedded in the mush. The texture is lovely and looks much like packed dirt. I know from earlier experience that the surface generally dries tough and has a slight bounce to it. This fact and that it can be pigmented with dry artist pigments makes me hope that it would make for a very durable gaming surface ready for wear and tear. One drawback may be that it takes long to dry. I will experiment some more with the mix. I may also use the drying chamber in the laundry room to speed up the process. Another drawback is that Celluclay is not readily available in Sweden (I am still living of my stash from the US). It is however cheap and lasts long: a 5 lbs bale costs something like $20 so I might just order it from abroad.
Finally:
White Glue
I tested this because I've had less than good experience with using white glue when sticking bits of pink foam together. It seems like WG doesn't like non-breathing materials or environments.
In short: it sticks very well on top of pink foam, it fastens the grit with a superior, flexible bond, it has no texture nor fill, the grit won't 'sink in'. Enough said.
Conclusion
Well, it seems like I am going forward with wall spackle or Celluclay. If i can find a source and if further experiments turn out well I am inclined to think it will be the latter.
That's it for now. I would appreciate your comments.
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I've reported him to the Swedish "Säpo" (they're like the NSA on valium... :` ).
I've read Guillou, too lol
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I's nice to see someone using products that you can actually find for once! lol
Marko
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Funny, Cascospack is the spackle I normally use and I've never seen it crack like that. I use the stuff that comes in a green tube ("Cascospack LF" as opposed to the "Cascospack S" you're using), so maybe that explains it.
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Since i'm going to shamelessly steal* Hammershields ideas for my own afghani hillfort threads like this are very welcome, it will save me lots of time and testing ;)
*I live in the city of thieves after all
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Funny, Cascospack is the spackle I normally use and I've never seen it crack like that. I use the stuff that comes in a green tube ("Cascospack LF" as opposed to the "Cascospack S" you're using), so maybe that explains it.
I bet it explains it. I think Cascospack S is meant to be applied in thin layers almost like a primer.
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Funny, Cascospack is the spackle I normally use and I've never seen it crack like that. I use the stuff that comes in a green tube ("Cascospack LF" as opposed to the "Cascospack S" you're using), so maybe that explains it.
I bet it explains it. I think Cascospack S is meant to be applied in thin layers almost like a primer.
But the cracking-up effect you get would be very nice for walls... like the clay used for the SCW village elsewhere...
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- 'Celluclay', probably familiar to some of you, esp. in America. It is a shredded paper/wallpaper glue compound which you mix with water, ergo papier maché. It is very popular among diorama and model train enthusiasts and also sculpters aged 5-10 making a Christmas present t grandma.
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Well, we actually have Celluclay available here in the UK :o
It seems quite pricey - 12 lb bag [ approx 5.5 kg?] is £35.74, 5lb for £19.75.
Can anyone give me an indication as to how much terrain eg 1 lb/ 0.5 kg dry product will make?
I could never get decent results from home-made papier-mache, but I like the concept and I'm always looking for easy-to-use materials that give a reasonably strong, lightweight end-product.
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- 'Celluclay', probably familiar to some of you, esp. in America. It is a shredded paper/wallpaper glue compound which you mix with water, ergo papier maché. It is very popular among diorama and model train enthusiasts and also sculpters aged 5-10 making a Christmas present t grandma.
Well, we actually have Celluclay available here in the UK :o
Where? As I need to replenish, I've been searching for a source which is not across the the Atlantic.
Can anyone give me an indication as to how much terrain eg 1 lb/ 0.5 kg dry product will make?
It is very light weight so one pound makes for a fair bit of volume. I wouldn't buy more if I had not used it before anyway. You need to see that you like it first.
I could never get decent results from home-made papier-mache, but I like the concept and I'm always looking for easy-to-use materials that give a reasonably strong, lightweight end-product.
There are all sorts of Martha Steward tips on the Web on how to make your own paper mache. Non of them is really feasible to me since I already ruined the food processor once grinding walnuts. You also a have to consider that when you make your own you don't generally get a storable, 'just add water' product. Having to make your own mess means at least doubling the time needed to achieve what you want to do.
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Where? As I need to replenish, I've been searching for a source which is not across the the Atlantic.
Here:
http://www.homecrafts.co.uk/html/product.asp?cat1=1&cat2=634&cat3=3024
I've been banned from using any kitchen utensils for modelling purposes, due to a few "mishaps" :(
The minimal mess and time-saving factors are important, plus with a pack of this stuff, I could probably calculate amounts needed quite accurately, thus saving on wastage. As long as it goes a long way, I don't mind a big initial spending outlay. It should prove good value in the long term.
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I'm ordering a 12lbs bale which you could buy into.
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The Celluclay has now finally set and it sticks beautifully to the pink foam. The surface is tough with a slight give to it which I think is a very good thing. Next thing is to see if there is a Swedish source, otherwise I'll order from the UK.
I did a little math and came to the conclusion that if about 25 grams cover a strip 8 by 20 cm= 160cm2 I am going to need 4,5 kg to cover 2,4 m2. That's about 8,8 lbs, meaning I am buying a 12lbs bale of shredded USA Today. And they say that globalization is a bad thing!
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I have been looking into this Celluclay option a bit more and while it is available in the UK £40 seems a lot to pay for what is basically just shredded newspaper and starch.
There are many, many receipts on how to make paper mache (papier maché or papiermache). The most basic formula seems to be torn paper strips and some sort of starch glue, like corn starch or wall paper glue. There are a few other ingredients which all add various properties to the mache:
-linseed oil makes it smoother and easier to work
-white glue makes it adhere better to whatever you are applying the stuff to, it also makes it tougher
-flour makes it tougher and more durable
-a little salt prevents mould from developing
-boiling the mash loosens the paper fibres and enhanced the glue properties of the flour or starch
-a couple of drops of dishwasher detergents makes the paper absorb the water better
-you can add dry of fluid pigments
-add cinnamon to remove any odour. ::)
I am not sure you should add all ingredients in a vain hope you'll get all desirable properties; you may end up with something more like a pie crust if you do.
My main concern is the paper. Celluclay comes with the paper ground to a very fine lint and ready mixed with the binding medium. Tearing up 10 lbs of newspaper may sound fun to some but to me it seems like a bit of work. Turning it into lint is not easy for a person only ranking as a amateur papiermachiéer. I might have a go at the office shredder...
Finally, Celluclay also have predictable results, ones own concoction might be closer to what was served as pastry in the cafés of Austro-Hungary during the last years of the Great War.
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Use egg-boxes for the mash (if your eggs do not come in plastic boxes) - they can be ground (grinded?) on a kitchen grinding iron before being mixed with starch glue and other desired ingredients. They are made of a paper pulp to begin with, so you do not have the fibre structure from the newspaper to cope with.
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Just found this under more generic nomenclature: powdered paper mache
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TAXIDERMY-AVES-POWDERED-PAPER-MACHE-Size-5lb_W0QQitemZ310031732924QQihZ021QQcategoryZ67212QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TAXIDERMY-AVES-POWDERED-PAPER-MACHE-Size-5lb_W0QQitemZ310031732924QQihZ021QQcategoryZ67212QQcmdZViewItem)
@ 13 quid/5lbs I say it's a winner.
I also got won an auction for 5lbs of Celluclay for £10 which is not too shabby.
You tip is good to, Argonor. I was actually considering trotting over to the Swedish equivalent of Oxfam store to see if I could find an old food processor...
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Just found this under more generic nomenclature: powdered paper mache
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TAXIDERMY-AVES-POWDERED-PAPER-MACHE-Size-5lb_W0QQitemZ310031732924QQihZ021QQcategoryZ67212QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TAXIDERMY-AVES-POWDERED-PAPER-MACHE-Size-5lb_W0QQitemZ310031732924QQihZ021QQcategoryZ67212QQcmdZViewItem)
@ 13 quid/5lbs I say it's a winner.
I also got won an auction for 5lbs of Celluclay for £10 which is not too shabby.
You tip is good to, Argonor. I was actually considering trotting over to the Swedish equivalent of Oxfam store to see if I could find an old food processor...
Now that's more like it!
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You tip is good to, Argonor.
I once worked in a Kindergarten - one picks up all kinds of weird knowledge in such a place lol - I also know how to make felt, and what kind of facepaints are the best, etc... ;)
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Out of curiosity, how do you make felt?
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Out of curiosity, how do you make felt?
Originally out of piss and wool, I believe, but this is hardly the thread for that, is it? :)
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Out of curiosity, how do you make felt?
Originally out of piss and wool, I believe, but this is hardly the thread for that, is it? :)
Just substitute luke soap water for the piss, and you'll be fine ;) (Sorry, HAD to reply lol )
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Right...
In my last bout of investigative terrain board making I decided to check out what options I had for tinting the putty used for sculpting the surface of the modular boards. As I've mentioned before I am honing in on a papier maché product. One feature with this material is that it is quite absorbent when set. It generally takes a few layers of paint to get a good surface. The problem with that is waterbased paints may soften the material. The solution may be to tint the paper mache which may mean that you don't have to apply so many paint layers.
So, one way of doing this is to add dry pigment to the mix. I've done this before and it worked very well. As I was browsing the shelved at the DIY found several nice natural shades and opted for raw umbra. On the shelf new to the pigments they had various selections of wood stains, an in a flash of inspiration I realized that this could be a very good option.
(http://www.adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF/NWFBoard_grundforskning_steg2 003.jpg)
There are several kinds but this one comes in a small bag which you mix with boiling water. As anyone knows who've dealt with it knows it stains like a mthrfckr. A little on you shirt and it is ruined; get it on your hands and you'll have to scrub till you bleed. But this can be used to our advantage. Since papier mache is paper is pulp is wood, it outta work quite well for paier mache, right? Especially since the powdered papier mache should be mixed with water.
(The stain, dark walnut in colour, took a minimum of prep. 25 cl of boiling water, pour the contents of the bag in it and shake. Serve with a olive and a lemon twist).
OK, my first attempt was to mix a fist of celluclay (brand name paper mache) with about 2 tablespoons of walnut wood stain...
(http://www.adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF/NWFBoard_grundforskning_steg2 004.jpg)
No, I did not shit in a bowl. This is what the paper clay looks like after kneading it, dark brown. It will get lighter as it dries. After this I added a good dollop of white glue and smeared it on a piece of pink foam. I made the mix quite a bit drier this time hoping that will make it set faster than during my last experiment.
Onwards to the dry pigment. Raw umbra is quite a bit lighter than walnut stain. It is also dry so it should be added to the paper mache powder before the water. Looks like this in this stage:
(http://www.adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF/NWFBoard_grundforskning_steg2 006.jpg)
A little klear clean water was added with a few drops of flow release and the mache was kneaded till the mix was evenly coloured.
(http://www.adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF/NWFBoard_grundforskning_steg2 009.jpg)
No, I am not holding faecal matter in my hand. Besides, I wear a glove. The mache is evenly coloured, glue was added and the whole thing was smeared onto the pink foam.
(http://www.adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF/NWFBoard_grundforskning_steg2 010.jpg)
My, my... Pink and brown still don't go well together, do they. Quite unappetizing. The umbra stuff looks like something out of a cow. Which is probably what the dirt should look like around a rural village.
I've put the board in the drying chamber hoping it will dry a bit faster.
Stay tuned...
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Thought I'd add a few thoughts on budget:
A bag of walnut wood stain pigment costs about 2,5 Euro will, when mixed with water, result in a 25cl tincture. I used about 30 ml with 30 grams of papiermaché. I already know I need 4kg of celluclay for a 120 by 240 cm game board. A little rough calculation based on the fact that the mache turned out too dark and I could easily have dilluted the stain much more makes me think I could do with say 5 to 8 bags meaning 12 to 20 Euros.
The dry pigment, which gave a very nice hue, is rather more expensive. There was something like 120 grams in a 6 Euro pot and I used 20 grams of raw umbra pigment with 30 grams of Celluclay. Well, it doesn't take a math genius to figure out which pigment's the cheapest.
I will use the wood stain, dilluted it some more but probably get a lighter colour, like oak.
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Out of curiosity, how do you make felt?
Originally out of piss and wool, I believe, but this is hardly the thread for that, is it? :)
Just substitute luke soap water for the piss, and you'll be fine ;) (Sorry, HAD to reply lol )
Which is in greater supply in a kindergarten class?
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I'm fearing for the bunch of wonderfully painted four-legged friends next to the mud work. That cries for some unhappy accidents... :o
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Worry not. They trotted off safely.
Update:
The dry pigment Celluclay came off better looking when dry than the wood stain variant. I was a better nuance and slight variations in colour made it look more natural looking. I will use woodstain anyway for economical reasons.
I have to say, again, that the Celluclay/white glue combo makes for a very, very durable surface. Will probably be able to pass this gameboard on on to fiver, son of hammershield.
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Hammer, what DIY has the burnt umbra pigments?
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Fredells in Sickla. I am sure you'll find it in good art stores and ironmongeries like Wirströms to.
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Today I trimmed the extruded styrofoam and glued them to 60 by 60cm MDF boards, ten the amount of them. Well, two of them are without MDF backing cause you only get eight out of a full board.
(http://www.adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF/NWFBoard_grundforskning_steg3 001.jpg)
As you can see the only styrene I could get hold on was this ridged stuff. I seriously encourage my Swedish fellows to renew their efforts to find plain stuff without ridges. Trimming the ridges and glueing the trimmed bit back on the opposing side really feels like tedious and unnecessary work when you have limited time at your hands.
(http://www.adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF/NWFBoard_grundforskning_steg3 002.jpg)
I had planned to use the Swedish equivalent to Liquid Nails, Casco SuperSet, becaus of its superior bond and quicker setting time (white glue dries slowly trapped between non-breathing materials). Twas a bad idea. It has no flow, is hard work to apply and needs a good deal of pressure or it will cause a gap between the foam and the board. So i resorted to good ol' white glue and I'm hoping for the best.
(http://www.adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF/NWFBoard_grundforskning_steg3 003.jpg)
In the above image you can see where I need to glue the trimmed off bit from the other side. Annoying, that.
I cut out a river gorge in two of the boards (as per plans in previous post). Six were left plain and two are saved for later projects. The are now all ready to be sculpted, sprinkled and painted.
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(http://www.adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF/NWFBoard_grundforskning_steg3 003.jpg)
lol lol I can see the packet of headache tablets in the bottom left of the picture!
This terrain building lark certainly exacts a toll!
Seriously though, it's a great project.
The pink / blue high density polystyrene (un-ridged) is fairly readily available on eBay here in the UK...
I'm sure sellers would ship to Sweden, and the shipping can't be that much, since the stuff weighs virtually nothing!
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lol lol I can see the packet of headache tablets in the bottom left of the picture!
This terrain building lark certainly exacts a toll!
It's not headache tablets, it's 'Ryssfemmor'. It's a... well, never mind. Let's just say they make me able to complete the project quicker.
I just remember that I forgot to mention something, I somewhat regret that I listened to the advice to use MDF. I bought 6mm sheet which is rigid and sturdy, alright, but much too heavy. I should have gone for the much cheaper and lighter masonite instead. Since 50 mill extruded styrofoam doesn't flex, when sandwiched to the foam the masonite wont flex either. When you cut down to the masonite you get just as smooth a surface as with MDF to use for rivers etc.
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Here's a bit of detail for my NWF modular board: a rope bridge.
I soldered the piece together from sheet brass and wall hanging brass wire and a length of 8mm dowel.
(http://adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF_rope_bridge 002.jpg)
I've got plenty of coffee stirrers for the planking and will do some more detailing with ordinary shrunk cotton string.
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Here's a bit of detail for my NWF modular board: a rope bridge.
I soldered the piece together from sheet brass and wall hanging brass wire and a length of 8mm dowel.
(http://adventuregaming.tsome.com/NWF_rope_bridge 002.jpg)
I've got plenty of coffee stirrers for the planking and will do some more detailing with ordinary shrunk cotton string.
Isambard Kingdom Hammershield. lol
I've been over real world bridges that were a lot less substantial than yours. :o
Looks great, can't wait to see the finished item. 8)
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Well, I am sure it should be longer and ricketier but you have to make compromises to game board conditions. :)
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That's brilliant Hammers. 8)
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Thats one great looking bridge you've got there
:-*
dodge
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Ooooh, my weekend of bliss went right down the toilet... Mrs h. took ill and did not go on her modern woman business trip with fiver, son og hemmarshield, which, in turn, meant that Arcticman and I could not pursue our (my?) higher goal and do the the NWF terrain as I planned.
BUT, the wife and the imp wnet away today on short notice, so I took the day doing my , well you know, stuff.
First, I took on advise (of my dear friend Arcticman and the warnings of my likewise dear freind Rhoderic) and went to a nearby pets hop and got 4 litres of sand. The reason is the I realize the I jus di not want spend x hrs washing a shovelful of free playground gravel from likewise free cat shit.
It was sort of a new experience, getting that sand. Huge place, that shop, and despite my hesitation against cage animals, lovely to see them. Also lovely to see the amount of terrain possibilities available, and they are not even aware of the market! I got 4 out of at least 10 different kind of granularities of washed talus from him @ 6 euro.
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Hi Hammer,
I know this project (and topic...) is nearly two years old but how is it going?
Since I'm building a new gaming board myself I would appriciate some newer pictures a lot.
Cheers
Monty