HELP REQUEST: Desert Wargame Board.

[wargamer1972]

Ok, I want a permanent desert wargames board. My first desert board was a temporary and simple 2'x2' hardboard with a mix of flocking which you would add terrain features as you choose.  While I like that I have always admired the look of boards with permanent features affixed to the board. I set about to create such but am not happy with the look thus far.  Here is what I have done.

I bought a foam project board with a cardstock surface on top and bottom from Hobby Lobby.




I then cut out a crescent shaped oasis and marked off a road. In retrospect I made the road way too big for my 1/600 forces that will use the board.




I then started adding flock, which was a mix of construction sand, hobby craft colored sand and home-crafted colored sawdust.




After drying overnight I discover the board has warped. However I pressed on and started painting the road and oasis while adding some permanent features like the scrubs and cardboard rock outcrops.




The warp can be seen in this picture.




Now I have stopped working on it and am tempted to throw it out and start over. So I was hoping some of you might share what you've done for your own desert style boards. My current thoughts are to acquire a new board. Paint it vice using glue and then sprinkle some areas with a mix of flock but not covering the entire surface, thoughts?  If I use paint to cover the surface vice flock will the board still warp?

[Eric the Shed]

Three things I would do...

1. Mount it all on a wooden base board at least 6mm thick
2. Paint both underside and topside of base board
3. Glue your foam base board to this

Hardboard always warps on big pieces - you can mitigate against this by painting both sides

Good luck

[pacarat]

I used hardboard under 1" blue foam. I stacked heavy books on all four corners while drying. Kept the warping down to a minimum.

Another option is to sandwich foam on either side is hardboard, and make reversible boards.

[Andym]

As Giles says, a layer of wood (I use 6mm mdf) glued with pva to the underside and put heavy books on top and leave it to dry for a day or two should see you sorted. Depending on where you live, most diy shops even do a cutting service for free.

[Hu Rhu]

My desert terrain boards are a little chunkier using 9mm MDF with a 25mm blue foam top.  I am sure you could get away with using a thinner MDF or hardboard base.

If you want to see a wip take a look at page 4 of my colonial thread: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=72065.45

[Dewbakuk]

For future reference, at that scale I'd use kiln dried sand, construction sand is a bit coarse and lumpy for small scale work. Mix in some limestone chippings or similar for texture. My boards are either backed in wood or on thick (min 25mm) foam to prevent warping.

If you want to recover the board you are working on, pva some newspaper to the underside. As the glue dries it will shrink and the paper should pull the board flat again. Won't work on really big things but foam core like yours should be absolutely fine.

[Sinewgrab]

I prefer to use 2" thick insulation foam - it is lightweight, does not warp when painted, and allows you to put all kinds of features into it.  Any of the paper clad foams will warp when painted, as the foam is relatively lightweight, and not dense enough to prevent the paper pulling it up as it dries.  I have also found that the 'fake stone' spray makes a durable texture - just remember to paint the foam first or it will disintegrate.