Ringsnake's Game Boards and Terrain

[ringsnake]

I've never created game boards before, so I thought I'd give it a try. Thanks to access to an extensive woodshop at my local makerspace I've created three boards from plywood and 2x2" strips around the edges to create a lip to shield the terrain work I do on the boards themselves. The area inside that lip is slightly over three foot by three foot. 

So far so good.

Uh... Now what? I've glued some pink insulating foam inside one of the boards with the idea of creating an urban streetscape with channels going through it. Maybe make some bridges to go over them. Might be terrible for game play though; two 4" wide 'rivers' going down two sides of the board. Not really sure where to go next though. How to create cobblestone streets, sidewalks, where to get good buildings, or any of it.

Was thinking Victorian style graveyard for one of the other boards, and maybe an industrial/mining wasteland for the last, but I'm open to suggestions. 

If I want to create a board that's just dirt and weeds, what's the best way to make something that looks nice? Just putting down white glue, sand, and paint ends up looking like a textured wall painted brown or green, and my hope is to create something that's got a bit of wow factor to it.

[Sandmann]

Rivers could be problematic for gameplay - propably better to try out how it plays first (just use strips of paper as the river maybe)?

Cobblestones and the like you can do with just two pencils or some toothpicks. Just takes some time to do.
First, score the pattern of the stones with a hard pencil or the toothpick. Second, use a softer pencil and draw sort of a figure eight shape on the bricks over and over again to create texture.
You can use this technique for walls, wood etc. too.

As far as buildings go: Do you want to scratchbuild them or buy premade ones, perhaps even prepainted ones and just add some details? There's loads available nowadays.

What always creates some interest (visually and for gameplay) is different levels of height. It starts with sidewalks (maybe 0,5 cm high) and ends with canyons and the like.
For texture add different grits of sand or add pieces of cork or slate. And when painting, don't paint everything the same color. Add variations here and there to create interest.

Was any of that helpful? I hope so

[ringsnake]

Yes, it was helpful, thank you. I've seen a trick with sidewalks that should work, putting down a thin sheet of MDF, foam, or something else to cover an area bigger than the buildings you plan to use. That area becomes the sidewalk when the buildings are put down on top of it. I'll look into premade buildings, but I try to be frugal, and most pre made terrain breaks my budget. 

My idea with the canals was influenced by pictures like this:

[Legba]

14 minutes ago, ringsnake said:

Yes, it was helpful, thank you. I've seen a trick with sidewalks that should work, putting down a thin sheet of MDF, foam, or something else to cover an area bigger than the buildings you plan to use. That area becomes the sidewalk when the buildings are put down on top of it. I'll look into premade buildings, but I try to be frugal, and most pre made terrain breaks my budget. 

My idea with the canals was influenced by pictures like this:

I personally like river/ Canal boards, just make sure to have LOTS of bridges to cross and define exactly how they influence game play (ie shallow no effect, sewer you just smell bad, toxic / hazard 2 damage if in at end of turn)

Saw this store:

http://www.sarissa-precision.com/Gaslamp_Alley_VSF/cat1603369_2416966.aspx

on another post and I LOVE the paddle boat, but for your board maybe the launch?

I have done white glue (watered down a bit) and just dirt as a texture then paint it your colour of choice, by far the least expensive.  But woodland senices makes flock in all shades!

if you are not keen on painting buildings or scratch building 

These are not the Malifaux line but the church would look fantastic!

http://plastcraftgames.com/en/23-ewar-28mm-colored

 

Also these:

http://www.customeeple.com/product-category/malifaux/

 

Good luck and make something unique and dont be afraid to go for it!  if it is too much you can always change it and do it a bit different!  Have FUN that is most important!

[Sandmann]

Quote

I've seen a trick with sidewalks that should work, putting down a thin sheet of MDF, foam, or something else to cover an area bigger than the buildings you plan to use. That area becomes the sidewalk when the buildings are put down on top of it. I'll look into premade buildings, but I try to be frugal, and most pre made terrain breaks my budget. 

Yeah, that'll work . Maybe even attach the sidewalks to the buildings instead of the board - more flexible.

The canals look nice indeed, but playability has to come into it as well, and you really need a way to cross every few inch. Else a 4" river/canal eats a whole activation to cross.

[Legba]

 

Hopefully that is the link to my board, which I still use with the river 

we just have LOTS of crossings, and most of the time we call it shallow and it just cost 1" more to move in it, IE 2" cost 4" etc

 

[ringsnake]

So here's the plan so far, taking into account what people said about playability, not something I normally bother with other than to make sure LOS can never be traced through multiple windows or small holes of buildings or large ruins, because it always feels like cheating when models get sniped through a series of five tiny holes in walls.

My intent is also to make the canal more like a shallow open sewer or drainage ditch, so models could climb up and down the walls, and move across at half speed.

The idea for the bridges is that they be flat culvert style bridges. I'm going to try cutting PVC pipe lengthway to create a half circle and then build the bridges over them.

Something approximately like what I'm going to do with the bridges:

[ringsnake]

Further thought, I'm going to create a children's playground as one of the tiles to go over the main city block. If I had my way, any model that wasn't a child would have to treat it as hazardous terrain!

If you do an image search on 'Victorian Playground' you see stuff that is both immensely amazing and cool to any child, and horrifying to modern adult sensibilities about child safety.

[Sandmann]

Looking forward to the playground, I don't think I have ever seen somebody do something like that on a board!

Maybe you could build a few additional, loose wooden walkways to add as movable(between games) additonal bridges?

[ringsnake]

Yeah, I'm pretty good at coming up with weird ideas. Not so hot on the follow through though. Not quite sure how I came up with that one, but I figure I can pack a handful of scary looking things into a small space crafted from plastruct rods. Totally want that swinging platform thing, and monkey bars, one of those spinning metal disks, scary metal slide with no safeties, and chain rides. 

I did a mockup in Sketchup just for fun, becuase I'm a nerd and I enjoy learning new software. Totally different from doing it on paper or in Paint in 2d. I've since amended how I'm going to lay out the board, and it should be a lot better from both a visual and game play perspective.

[Omenbringer]

If you haven't started your cobbles yet I have two suggestions that will make it a bit easier.

The first, is to get a couple lengths of brass tube from a model railroad or RC hobby store. I would recommend a few different widths. Cut these lengths into pieces about 5" long, this should allow double what you purchased. Grab all the cut lengths and hold them together. Then wrap the bunch with tape or rubber bands. Throw some taoe on one end as well for padding. Now you will have a neat little "punch" for making your cobbles.

The second method is one that I use as it is so easy and time saving. Go to the grocery store and by a few bags of lintel beans. Buy a big jug of wood glue. Paint the wood glue on the surface you want cobbled and then pour the lintels on top. Once it dries go back and apply another layer of wood glue, though this time water it down a bit. Quick and easy, plus it looks great. I can link you to some photos of the end result. The biggest problem with using this method is it can curl your base material if it isn't strong enough but you shouldn't have to worry about that at all.

[ringsnake]

16 hours ago, Omenbringer said:

If you haven't started your cobbles yet I have two suggestions that will make it a bit easier.

The first, is to get a couple lengths of brass tube from a model railroad or RC hobby store. I would recommend a few different widths. Cut these lengths into pieces about 5" long, this should allow double what you purchased. Grab all the cut lengths and hold them together. Then wrap the bunch with tape or rubber bands. Throw some taoe on one end as well for padding. Now you will have a neat little "punch" for making your cobbles.

The second method is one that I use as it is so easy and time saving. Go to the grocery store and by a few bags of lintel beans. Buy a big jug of wood glue. Paint the wood glue on the surface you want cobbled and then pour the lintels on top. Once it dries go back and apply another layer of wood glue, though this time water it down a bit. Quick and easy, plus it looks great. I can link you to some photos of the end result. The biggest problem with using this method is it can curl your base material if it isn't strong enough but you shouldn't have to worry about that at all.

That. Is. AWESOME!

[ringsnake]

I've finally started work on this. I've strayed a bit from my drawings as I was working; finding that my idea covered far too much of one side of the board with difficult ground. I've been doing google image searches for 'canal erosion' and finding that most canals like I have in mind are very shallow. I'll be putting lots of little islands and bridges over the area of wrecked canal, and some eroded patches and an improvised walkway or two across so there won't be an unpleasant play experience for anyone no matter what side the board they end up on.

Anyone have any tips or hard earned lessons to share about water effects? I was planning to do Woodland Scenics, but OMFG that stuff is expensive! Guess ya gotta pay to get good results. Time to eBay off all that Warmachine Cryx stuff I'm not using...

[Butch]

Now as I see it on the board I have a (very late I agree) suggestion: if you're building dioramas you avoid right angels between the diorama and the frame. So your board might look a lot more interesting (than it does already), if you rotate the inside of your board just a little bit.

But I like it already anyway.

[Omenbringer]

4 hours ago, ringsnake said:

Anyone have any tips or hard earned lessons to share about water effects? I was planning to do Woodland Scenics, but OMFG that stuff is expensive! Guess ya gotta pay to get good results. Time to eBay off all that Warmachine Cryx stuff I'm not using...

 

Keep in mind the Woodland Scenics Water Effect is not a "whole surface" product. It is intended to produce mainly "rough" or "falling" water effects. In short it accents other products.

The other two woodland scenics products are better for covering large expanses of water. The Realistic Water is a "wet" product that is pretty good over a painted subsurface that creates the illusion of depth, though not good for projects where you want actual depth. E-Z Water is a "hot" product and while it dries very quickly it can peel paint from the edges as it cools. It is better for creating "deep" water pieces, particularly swamp effects as it does have a slight yellow tint to it. Be sure to get a dedicated pan to melt it in cause it is exceedingly difficult to remove without damaging.

Probably the best product for creating somewhat deep water effects is Envirotex Lite. It is a two part mixture that creates a durable surface and water with some depth. You do need to be careful with the measurements as too much of one will causes issues drying. It does also take a while to dry, and unfortunately it is also a bit of an expensive product. If you want depth though there isn't much that really beats it (you can pour several layers to really provide depth if you want).

The cheapest option that also produces decent results (if you are just looking to make the water areas look wet, i.e. no actual depth) is to use Liquitex Gloss Medium (or equivalent) over a painted subsurface (gradated from light at the edges to darker in the middle). It will also dry a lot faster than the other stuff, except for Woodland Scenics E-Z Water.

[ringsnake]

5 hours ago, Butch said:

Now as I see it on the board I have a (very late I agree) suggestion: if you're building dioramas you avoid right angels between the diorama and the frame. So your board might look a lot more interesting (than it does already), if you rotate the inside of your board just a little bit.

But I like it already anyway.

I knew about that rule RE: dioramas, and somehow brain farted on how it would also apply to game boards. I may tear it all out and redo it at an angle tonight.

[ringsnake]

Starting with a simple board. Using Shep Paines advice of using hydrocal mixed with glue and affixing stones and dirt to it. Makes the surface a little uneven, so it doesn't look like a textured wall with rocks and sticks glued to it.

[ringsnake]

 

Finished the first of three of these. I'm going to take pics from "old west mines" image search and use that for scenery to put on this one.

 

[Velvetelvis]

you are doing it right. keep the pics coming! looks great!

[Sandmann]

Looking good!

What are the red-pinkish lines?

[ringsnake]

2 hours ago, Sandmann said:

Looking good!

What are the red-pinkish lines?

Mostly just me farting around with an airbrush, but I thought it might be neat to have it as a Soulstone mine, and I thought they glowed purple? 

[Bengt]

11 hours ago, ringsnake said:

Mostly just me farting around with an airbrush, but I thought it might be neat to have it as a Soulstone mine, and I thought they glowed purple? 

They seems to glow whatever colour takes the writer's fancy, so go wild.  

[ringsnake]

Just a quick update for anyone tempted to try using Hydrocal to add a bit of texture to their terrain. If you add too much water to it, it takes several days to cure. The result is great, and I'll be using it again, but I need to get a food processor and mix it up with less water as Shep Paine recommends in his book instead of just trying to mix it by hand.

Also, I used old coffee grounds mixed with sand and some cheap bottles of pepper and other spices for the dirt. Visually, the result is pretty good, but it smells a little funny.

[ringsnake]

Work continues on terrain, and I'm now starting on individual terrain elements including a mini-bladehenge inspired by the game Brutal Legend

 

[Sandmann]

The board looks really good, except the soulstone veins. Maybe it's because the color is like that of the foam, but it looks... unfinished to me. Like you tried cutting into the board to make a rivulet. But that's just, like, my opinion man . Otherwise, looking good!