Oscilioth Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 So I've decided that I want to be able to play Malifaux at home because the nearest club is about forty-five minutes or an hour away from where I live (which is the most populated part of the country). It's a little bit of an ordeal to drive half way up the cost on a Wednesday night to play one game of Malifaux and then not get home until midnight. Welcome my friends to... Australia! Where instead of going out and being sociable in the middle of the night, we are gonna be build a board so we don't have to go anywhere! In all seriousness though I've always wanted to build my own gaming table so I can play at home, but not only that I enjoy the creative outlet and sometimes I don't have the time or resources to do a painting session, so terrain it's going to be! There were about fifty ideas floating around in my head before I finally settled on the one I wanted to do, and could get all the materials I needed for. M&SU Mining And Earthworks The idea is to dream up something that I can build out of basic and cheap materials, I don't particularly want to buy any pre-built structures or anything like that, half the fun will be crafting everything. With that in mind I also want to see if I can do it on the cheap, and so have set myself a budget of $50. I intended to build some bits and pieces of scatter terrain for the board a while ago, but talked myself out of it pretty quickly (anybody else immediately lose motivation when the planning phase ends?) and so instead decided I had better by a mat so I know what colour grass to I'll need to match on anything I build (you know, the important stuff). So I bought a mat. Also immediately blew my budget, the mat cost over $50, but I bought it anywhere. I also learnt that customs is pretty iffy about anything coming from Lithuania. It did however eventually arrive and here it is in all its glory. The brown sheets are spray painted bits of styrene, I want to have roughly three pieces of large terrain on the board so they were to gauge how much space I'd have left, turns out it's a lot. First up for a construction is a warehouse! I'll be building it out of popsicle stickls, which I painstakingly sawed into plank shapes. I then cheated and use timber stain to paint up the whole thing when the walls were done! Afterwards I got some old cheap craft kit paints, watered it down significantly and applied and reapplied to the floorboards and ground end of the walls to give the building a bit of a decrepit look. As we know all good things come pre-ruined by the Neverborn, so this mining site is going to overgrown and dilapidated! The paint doesn't show real well in the pictures, I'll try and take better ones when the building is all done. Then I built up a few little decorative bits to make it look nice, and painted those up. I've mostly left the middle of the room free so it's accessible by tape measure and can be functional in game. I want to add some extra little details too but I'll save that for later on. All that's left now is to do a little gardening around the outside and that will be the storage warehouse for my dilapidated mining camp done! Appreciate any comments or ideas for terrain to add in! Let me know what you think! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lusciousmccabe Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 Spare planks standing in the corner is a really nice touch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 Few things: First, the building is smoking-hot....the little details really make it special. Second, buildings with only one entry/exit often just turn into big pieces of impassable terrain because no one wants to get stuck in there. I usually like to have at least two doors (depending on size) and windows on any walls without a door (again, size dependent, more than one window per wall may be needed).....I usually try to make sure larger models can fit through doors and we rule that windows are 'Climbable' so smaller based models can go through windows. Third, on the issue of scatter terrain - I don't think there is any kind of terrain that is more important than scatter terrain. So don't lose motivation until you get those done. Single trees, a stack of crates or barrels....stuff like that, just 1"-4" across are essential in my opinion. Making a few that are 'Hazardous' is also a good idea. You're off to a great start, I look forward to seeing more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscilioth Posted May 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Appreciate the comments guys! Thanks a bunch! Dgraz I am right there with you and know exactly how useless a one entry piece of terrain can be, so without further ado... As advised it is a two entry building. I did however completely forget to add the windows in when I was cutting up the wood, so hopefully that doesn't cause too much trouble! Good advice for the next one though! I also think scatter terrain is probably the most important thing in Malifaux and so plan on building a lot of it! I wanted to make a bit of hazardous terrain also, but couldn't really come up with any ideas? Anyone know any good pieces of hazardous terrain I could add to a foresty type board? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDisaster Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Anyone know any good pieces of hazardous terrain I could add to a foresty type board? Perhaps a pile of rusty old barbed wire from the fences surrounding the site? Thorn bushes or nettle bushes perhaps? Broken glass bottles left by the workers? Really you can go any direction you want. It was once a working site with humans in it and has since been taken over by the land so you can probably get away with natural hazards or man made ones. This is looking like a really good start though, I can't wait to see more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lusciousmccabe Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 You could snap some of your lollipop sticks so they have jagged edges and glue them in a pile or sticking out of a small structure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscilioth Posted May 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Good ideas guys! I think I might be able to whip up some barbed wire later on, so that ideas a keeper! Thanks! I also considered making some piles of jagged wood like you suggest, not sure how well it'd turn out but I'll certainly give it ago. I'll also have you know that these are no lollipop sticks! Any more ideas are very welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paradoxstorm Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 Anyone know any good pieces of hazardous terrain I could add to a foresty type board? Really like the building work. For hazardous terrain I am going to a local gem & mineral (rock) shop to buy a couple of polished slabs in interesting colors---depending on the exact color(s) I could call it a sulfur pool or poison lake or, maybe, toxic waste spill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin guy Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 I really like the shelves you made. What kind of stain/paint did you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscilioth Posted May 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 That sounds like an interesting way to make up some hazardous terrain! I don't know of any rock shows around here so it'd be interesting to see how that goes for you! Okay so I made the shelves out of some large popsicle sticks and balsa wood. I then just used some cheap craft paint, you know the kind that comes in hobby kits with several little paint pots all stuck together in a line? Either way it was a cheaper dark brown paint that I watered down A LOT, like 100 parts water to one part paint. Just because I kind of wanted to darken it a little bit first and I'd hope that the way the water dried would give it a natural look. Unfortunately I forgot that popsicle sticks are just made out of cheap wood, and it does not take a lot of water to give them a bow or a twist. So I had pre-glued the shelves before I painted them and then they all bent and twisted apart and I had to redo it again later. To get the streaks of darker mouldy bits of wood I just used a less watered down mix and then blotted, or lightly stroked the boards. Hope that helps! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Next update on my house! I have added in the outside! I didn't go to a lot of detail on the outer walls of the building because well I couldn't really think of anything much exciting to add. So I just flocked it up. Then that was a little too dull. So I made it a little bushy and added in some yellows to break up the green grass! Now it is nearly all done! I'm going to add some extra accents to the inside, just some bits and pieces on the shelves and some wall posters, but after that I don't really have much in the way of ideas. So unless anyone has a great idea they'd like to tell me, we are just about done here! What do you think?! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antebellum Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 That's a great looking building. Simple, yet very effective and nice looking. Are you going to put a roof on it? I hope you didn't throw that warped shelving out. You could use it as a wrecked and broken piece somewhere, maybe as scatter terrain. Also, I think a couple crates or barrels might look good on the outside or spare boards like you have on the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscilioth Posted May 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Thanks Antebellum! No I'm going to leave all my buildings roofless to save on the hassle that it'll cause while playing. I actually just let the warped shelving dry up and it came back pretty close to flat, so the shelving you see in the picture is actually the same one. Next up to build is some fences! I'll probably build a fair few over the course of the project, so for now I am just building six lengths of fence, all in a wooden kind of farmland or animal pen style. As I was doing a mock up on these I realised that I'd better get them to be about the right scale to the building. Then immediately after that I realised I hadn't checked the scale against any of my models! So I put a few humans in the warehouse and have found that it is incredibly large in comparison, the shelving units are about three times the height of a Desperate Mercenary. I guess that means they just got reclassified as industrial shelving! Hopefully I can fix the scale issue with the fences. It's not super noticeable in the warehouse, because well it could really be any size, but fence size creates a fairly concrete mental image in comparison to the human body. I'm thinking of trying to make them about waist or mid torso height. Does that sound about right? Has anyone else had scale problems? Is it really that noticeable when you're playing? In the meanwhile here are the bases for my first six fences! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lusciousmccabe Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Those bases for your fences look great. It's nice to have the extra detailing rather than just a bare fence and rules-wise having a defined base is good too. I think you're right that scaling will be more noticeable for the fences than the building. You're probably looking down on any model in the building so the perspective makes judging heights harder, and therefoe more forgiving. Besides, there's no reason the home-made shelving in a barn or warehouse couldn't be so high that you need a ladder to get at the top shelves. For the fences shoulder height is probably more realistic as a waist high fence won't keep a lot of animals in. Exactly what constitutes shoulder height for a Malifaux model is a much trickier question though with the different scalings and crazy poses. For game play around 1" high is probably handiest as you can easily define it as Ht1 terrain which is functionally waist high, but it'll look a bit higher on a ~30mm model. I suppose the obvious suggestion would be to keep a model handy when you're working on it this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavicusPrime Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 For this game, an inch tall is a good average for the scale. You can go up or down a quarter inch and still he fine. Best bet is to always have some models on hand as you design/build so you can eyeball things. 1" walls and fences seem to fit for gut high animal pens. 2" would be more along the lines of a property line or restricted area. -DavicusPrime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscilioth Posted May 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 I have taken all the good advice and kept a model on hand for scaling! I also followed the 1" rule and made my fences, they vary a little in height but it's no big deal and they are in a much more natural scale than before. I cut up a bunch of popsicle sticks into much thinner widths, which I thought would be incredibly hard, but turned out to be pretty easy! Cutting the rounded ends off with a saw was a pain in the neck, but cutting along the grain took me only a fraction of the time. I just used the chisel shaped head on a hobby knife instead of the basic one and it cut right through. So now I have some nice to scale sized bits of wood. I have six fences altogether. Here's a few scale shots with an old metal Ronin in case anybody was wondering just how big the building is. Any comments welcome! Do we think the scale is looking okay? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lusciousmccabe Posted May 17, 2015 Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 Might be a bit late but I find cutting the round ends off lollipop sticks is pretty easy using a sprue cutter. If you dent either side with it you can then either snap it off and trim the end or squeeze until it pops off to God knows where. Either way I'd say it's a bit handier than using a saw. Coffee stirrers I've discovered are a lot easier to work with, you can cut them with a scissors very easily and don't have to split them down the middle because they're narrower. The downside is that they're much thinner and you don't get that nice irregular split, but they definitely have their uses. I think the scaling is spot on. The fences are realistic and the house is roomy enough to make it useful for gameplay without looking like it was built by giants. Good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavicusPrime Posted May 20, 2015 Report Share Posted May 20, 2015 I'm glad you put the mini in the warehouse for scale... In my mind's eye I thought it was a heck of a lot smaller, with the shelves being more in scale with a book shelf. Wow, was i off. The fences do indeed look very good for the scale. I have been using these long and skinny type of craft sticks that don't require much trimming to fit unless you want them to look more irregular. For my terrain pieces I want the wood to look pretty rough so I just score them with a hobby knife and break them. But then most of my terrain is meant to have been slapped together by Gremlins in a swamp. It actually takes more time roughing up the wood than any other part of the job. -DavicusPrime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paradoxstorm Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 I cut up a bunch of popsicle sticks into much thinner widths, which I thought would be incredibly hard, but turned out to be pretty easy! Cutting the rounded ends off with a saw was a pain in the neck, but cutting along the grain took me only a fraction of the time. I just used the chisel shaped head on a hobby knife instead of the basic one and it cut right through. So now I have some nice to scale sized bits of wood. I have six fences altogether. If you are going to do a lot of building a lot of hobby/craft/hardware stores have cutters designed for folks who make wood models out of balsa. A bit spendy, but I tried mine out on some popsicle sticks yesterday and it seemed to work pretty well. Some have an adjustable fence so you can make cuts at specific angles. A bit cheaper, but leaving the ends in need of light sanding, is a side cutter--the big brother to the sprue cutter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscilioth Posted May 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 I think most of the sticks I am using actually are coffee stirrers, although I put them in a big pack and they just called them craft sticks, but they look about the right size. I actually tried my sprue cutter, but it didn't work very well. I think it might be a little small for the job! It is also a little difficult to get specialised tools here in Australia, not a lot of support for hobbyists, especially outside of the big cities! Davicus I also thought the shelves were a lot smaller, I completely forgot to check for scale! Even once I'd realised they were probably a bit big I didn't expect them to be so ginormous! Luckily at least that shelves could be that big, so it's not too jarring. Here's an updated shot of how much coverage I've got so far with the terrain. It's actually taking up a lot more than I expected! So I might be able to get this done a lot quicker than I thought I would! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin guy Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I have a small saw I use for cutting wood, and for the really small pieces I just use a sprue cutter. I love the color you get on wood. Keep up the great work and keep posting your updates. (It motivates me to work on mine) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscilioth Posted May 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 Thanks Gremlin Guy, I appreciate the motivation! Here's a little update on the next piece, and one of the last larger pieces I will make. It's another building, and probably the last one I'll build. It's quite a bit smaller than the other, and a lot more to scale! The unfortunate of that however is that with all the walls up it is too small to comfortably fit your hand inside, so I decided to knock down half the walls and make it open for ease of play. Now I actually built all four walls before realising this, so the two that are up look relatively intact and I'm not sure I'll be chop them up much now that they are glued and stained. So I need some other options for making it look a little damaged. I'm going to throw around a bit of snapped wood to give the impression the other walls have rotted or been knocked down. I'm thinking I'll put up some thicker mould or rot stains on the standing wall too give it an illusion of being more destroyed than it is. Any other ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lusciousmccabe Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 If you added in a scorched looking corner post and blackended the floorboards around the missing ares you might be able to make it look like there was small fire that collapsed the other two walls? Nice work, by the way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscilioth Posted May 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 That is actually a really good idea, consider it taken! Thank you very much! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin guy Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 I would also reccomend the scorched look. Here is an example.(apologies for the different game system.) http://plarzoid.com/2014/11/httterrain-khadoran-trenchworks/ Also, I need to speed up. I've been working on the same building for almost a month! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antebellum Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 The fire is a great idea. You could also build part of a roof on the corner that is still intact. That might hide the straight edges a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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