Using artists canvas as a base for terrain tiles?

[white knight]

I was in a craft shop the other day and looking at square artist's canvas and wondering if it would be usable as tiles for a modular gaming board?

Advantages are:
- They are lightweight
- Shouldn't warp as they are meant to take paint

Possible disadvantages are:
- I don't know how they hold up under weight of units of metal figures and resin terrain? Might flex and make the texture crack loose?
- Corners and edges are rounded, so will not line up perfectly. I think a thin frame around them might resolve that, possibly available from the same shop.

Has anyone tried this and have any experience/warnings to communicate?

[Silent Invader]

I contemplated it but didn't try it. I feared sagging so went for 30mm squares of 6mm MDF. I should add that a fair number of my tiles hold reasonably sized terrain pieces but for just soil and grass I'd think the canvas would probably be fine. I suppose a slab of polystyrene in the void would remove the sagging conundrum.

[white knight]

I suppose a slab of polystyrene in the void would remove the sagging conundrum.

That's one problem solved then.

[SotF]

That's one problem solved then.

Might work better to put the canvas frames face down, and fill they with expanding foam, then slice off the excess...

However, one other option would be something I plan on doing. There are several places with laser cut wood options that can be customized. Getting 1' squares cut for you is relatively simple and cheap. They'd work quite well for it. And there shouldn't be any issues with it if you take care with them...

[nic-e]

If you want the canvas as a material to paint onto but are worried about sagging, Look for canvas boards. The store bought ones are rubbish for painting but they should be great for nice flat tiles.

[white knight]

To be clear, I meant this type:

[white knight]

Might work better to put the canvas frames face down, and fill they with expanding foam, then slice off the excess...

Interesting, but sounds like a potential for creating a big mess.

However, one other option would be something I plan on doing. There are several places with laser cut wood options that can be customized. Getting 1' squares cut for you is relatively simple and cheap. They'd work quite well for it. And there shouldn't be any issues with it if you take care with them...

I'm afraid of warping though.

[Silent Invader]

Thinking further. To avoid mess you could perhaps use 'poundshop' camping or yoga foam mats (the firm EVA type) for the tiles that needed a supportive insert.

If warping is a big concern for you then the 6mm thick MDF squares that I use probably wouldn't suit you, as the terrain effects can warp them to varying degrees.

[robh]

If you go this route make sure you only use the expensive (very expensive?) frames as the cheap ones are "nominal" not exact sizes and are not all square let alone all matching.

[white knight]

That's a good point.

[Jagannath]

When I was thinking of doing this type of thing a while ago I came to the conclusion that these were probably the best bet:



https://ttcombat.com/collections/other/products/gaming-board-double-section

[Hupp n at em]

When I was thinking of doing this type of thing a while ago I came to the conclusion that these were probably the best bet:



https://ttcombat.com/collections/other/products/gaming-board-double-section

Oooh, those are rather cool. 

[jthomlin]

When I was thinking of doing this type of thing a while ago I came to the conclusion that these were probably the best bet:



https://ttcombat.com/collections/other/products/gaming-board-double-section

We use a similar laser cut MDF system made here in OZ, it uses magnets rather than clips to hold the tiles together.

http://www.back2base-ix.com/battle-frame-5000.html

The terrain itself is fairly plain because we use it for large battles rather than skirmish but this pic should give you an idea how it looks:



More pics here:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=90830.msg1121797#msg1121797

Cheers!
Joe Thomlinson

[FramFramson]

I used a large canvas to make a roll-up mat rather than a board (I did the terrain and then removed the canvas afterwards).

[FifteensAway]

I, too, used a large artist's canvas for a terrain base - actually three of them, each starting at 6' wide by 24' long.  And, believe me, such large pieces will shrink since they are too big to build a frame for.  So, if you go that route, allow for the shrinkage.  My shrank a few inches in width but as much as two feet in length.  They were two sea mats and one land mat for a gigantic pirate game.

I did give some thought to using framed artist's canvas as terrain bases but decided on the above instead.  The supply of framed canvas will be used to paint some backdrops for games - and photographing of miniatures.