For Your Dice Only - 7TV/KKBB

[gamer Mac]

Loving the shark 
Great touch

[Sheerluck Holmes]

I have the same shark sitting in a draw for the exact same purpose - a shark pool for a spy game.

 It has been sitting there for almost two years as I have no idea on how to make the pool and the water, so I will be very interested to see what you do with yours 

[rob_the_robgoblin]

Inspired stuff Paul. Can't wait to see that Pool!

Although...

[Thunderchicken]

Great stuff Paul! This project is starting to look big already

[Overlord]

I have been using foamcore for buildings, how does the foamed PVC compare for ease of cutting - I usually have lots of windows! Also what glue to do you on the PVC?

Foam PVC cuts fairly easily.  Use a sharp blade and make several passes to get the cut rather than try and force it in a single go.  Obviously the thinner sheets cut very easily.  5mm is a little harder but is fine with multiple passes.  It is much stronger than foamcore so you can use thinner foam PVC for the same result.  3mm is still stronger than 5mm foamcore.

For glue I use a thick superglue (Rocket Max).  Edges bond exceptionally well and minor sanding or keying helps on the flat faces.  Generally very strong, just dont make a mistake with it (as I have done on several occasions) as the bond () is very hard to break!

[Hammers]

Foam PVC cuts fairly easily.  Use a sharp blade and make several passes to get the cut rather than try and force it in a single go.  Obviously the thinner sheets cut very easily.  5mm is a little harder but is fine with multiple passes.  It is much stronger than foamcore so you can use thinner foam PVC for the same result.  3mm is still stronger than 5mm foamcore.

For glue I use a thick superglue (Rocket Max).  Edges bond exceptionally well and minor sanding or keying helps on the flat faces.  Generally very strong, just dont make a mistake with it (as I have done on several occasions) as the bond () is very hard to break!

Stonking architecture, as usual, Paul. I've always been drawn to KKBB but refrained because of the project load I already have. You are making it twice as hard.

This foam PVC has the marks of being the Next Great Material after cork board. Where does one find it? Atenociti?

[Overlord]

Because I could see a potential use for alot (For this and other projects) I bought 8'x4' sheets of 3mm and 5mm from Ebay.   
http://business.shop.ebay.co.uk/Printing-Graphic-Arts-/26238/i.html?_catref=1&_fln=1&_ssn=roberthornegroup&_trksid=p3911.c0.m282

1mm, 2mm and other thicknesses are available in smaller sheet sizes fron Antenociti.  It was Jeds mention of foam PVC on Frothers some time ago that put me onto it.  http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com/materials-tools/sheet-materials.html 

Jeds G.O.T. city was built using a lot of foam PVC.  Pictures 128-135 (VERY pic heavy!):
http://ilovewargameing.21.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=2756

[Bugsda]

This is so cool

[uti long smile]

Jeds G.O.T. city was built using a lot of foam PVC.  Pictures 128-135 (VERY pic heavy!):
http://ilovewargameing.21.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=2756

So this stuff?

http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com/3mm-white-foamed-pvc.html

[dbsubashi]

I used to work in a sign store, and we used the PVC board almost exclusively. While it is stronger and more warp resistant than foamboard or styrene sheet, it is more expensive, and harder to get a hold of. Its strength also makes is harder to cut. We used Stanley knives to cut it. I would not want to cut buildings with lots of windows out of it. You also have to watch the corners and edges, as you can chip them. We had to remake several signs for that reason. It would make an excellent base for making buildings that were going to have lots of detail added to them (Window frames glued to the PVC, using the PVC as the wall and window glass.)

[Overlord]

So this stuff?   http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com/3mm-white-foamed-pvc.html 

Yes, thats it.  I bought a few test pieces from Jed and then the 1mm and 2mm as I didnt need large quatities of them.  I've still got loads of 5mm and 3mm, but the 8'x4' sheets are comparatively cheaper than buying smaller sheets.

As dbsubashi said cutting windows into 5mm would be a bit labourious.  3mm wouldnt be so bad and is proably all you would need for most buildings.  My external walls are 5mm (a touch of over-engineering on my part) but with few holes needing to be cut in it.

The small factory from my Geezers game is made from 3mm.  All the doors and brickwork are scribed into the foam PVC which is a big advantage of the material (if you are so inclined...)

[Overlord]

Stairs:

The floating staircase is prevalent in villainous lairs so was an obvious, iconic thing to include.    Rather than being truly to scale I wanted a set of steps that could have miniatures placed on them.  Foam PVC (sorry to keep banging on about it!) was an easy solution to the relative weakness of the design, being just a central riser with multiple steps.  I used 5mm for the riser and 3mm for the steps.

I decided on a 5mm gap between each step.  First marking out the riser with the step positions 8mm apart (vertical).  The depth varied with each set of steps, depending on how steep I required them.  For this set it was 10mm (horizontal).  Each step was 40mm wide and 20mm deep.  The 5mm gap gives ample room to fit a figure base but means I could use 5mm foamcore spacers. Foamcore was used as if I did mange to superglue it to the staircase it would be easier to remove than foam PVC spacers.


I used a piece of MDF to keep the alignment of the steps true as I superglued each one in place.  Once I had figured out the construction it proved straightforward to adapt the design to fit specific sizes for different parts of the table.


Once built they are just about stable enough to stand freely, although mine will be secured to other parts of the scenery.  The top step on this one is slightly different to fit the intended location.  As you can see a miniature base fits easily into the gaps.



Take a giant step for mankind...

[uti long smile]

Lovely stuff

[AKULA]

top job

 

[Overlord]

Walkways:

You have to have walkways.  How else is the average goon expected to fall from a great height into the chemical tank/machinery/shark pool/etc?

Pretty straight-forward to build, using MDF, embossed plastic card and wire mesh.  The only difficulty is getting the mesh to bend evenly, which I did with a steel ruler and my desktop.  I could have used seperate railings for each side and drilled a series of holes in the MDF to fit them, but keeping the mesh as one pice was less time-consuming and a bit stronger.


I also needed a tower to support the middle of two walkways.  I used 2 Blastwall pieces and mounted them back to back on a piece of MDF then added a floorpiece on top.


I added embossed plastic card to the sides and a hex-platformer ladder to one side and built an access door for the other.


This was enough to raise the Old Crow tower I already had to the required height.  Tower & walkways.


Looks like he came to a dead end.....