Malifaux City Build Diary Mk2

[KrazyIvan]

In June of 2015 I started a project to create a ruined city terrain layout (the detail of the project can be found here http://themostexcellentandawesomeforumever-wyrd.com/topic/109091-malifaux-city-board-build-diary/ ). That project took about a year, and I've been playing on the board for around 6 month now. Having logged some times on the boards I've come to realize several deficiencies:

1. These boards heavily favor crews with lots of SH and ranged CA actions. The layouts sight lines that traverse the entire board, in two directions, and create kill zones. Scatter terrain mitigates this somewhat, but the amount of vantage point terrain on my board renders most of the scatter irrelevant.

2. The size of the roads severely limits terrain placement along the board edge if a road tile in on that edge. You basically on have 4" of clearance.

3. Creating additional boards to vary the layout is huge time sink because the current boards can not be cast in resin. They have numerous undercuts due to how the flagstone and cobblestone was built and attempting to mold the boards would result in torn molds or, even worse, damage the masters.

I learned a lot in the build process, and have taken several classes about molding and casting since the boards were originally created. I've decided to re-build the boards, and eliminate the previously mentioned issues. The first thing I will be doing is reducing the individual board size from 12"x12" to 6"x6". That will allow more varied road layouts. Second I will be reducing the road width from 4" to 3". This, along with the reduced tile size, will limit areas of the board with large sight lines. Finally the boards will be be made from materials more tightly fitted to the MDF base, eliminating undercuts all together. By building the boards in this manner I will be able to cast the boards, and thus only need to create a few masters.

So let get so some pics. First up are the renders of the new masters, along with a mock up of a possible layout versus the default layout of the old set.

I've started working on a proof of concept sample. Instead of cardboard I will be using pink urethane foam to create individual flag stones. The foam will be cut in thin sheets using a foam cutting table with a rip guard. The strips will be cut to size and affixed to the MDF base. then They will then be textured by bashing them with a rock from my yard. The curb stones (which had the most undercuts on the old boards) will be cut to fit snugly in place. Finally everything will be sealed with watered down PVA (probably a 1:1 mix). The curb stones themselves will be very labor intensive but, as you will see, the effect will be worth it. Plus, I only need to create 5 masters, as opposed to 9 for the old set, then I can cast whatever else I need.

[Shadowopal]

Following to watch how this progresses. Vantage points are great. But definitely need to be addressed. Curious to see how you address that. 

[prof_bycid]

Really enjoyed following the last board you did.  The lessons learned information is great and much appreciated. Looking forward to this next project.

[SilentSeeker]

I like Your various projects and I am curious to see how this one turns out

[ChrisB76]

Any news on your project? I am really curios how this one develops

[KrazyIvan]

The local shop that I use had some issues with their laser cutter that were only recently addressed. I should have a base boards soon then the project will heat back up.

[ChrisB76]

Good news  And thank you so much for your Mk I post. So helpful for terrain building beginners like me. 

[KrazyIvan]

Alright, the laser is back in service and I have my foundation boards in had. I started work on the tiles today!

As mentioned previously I am making 5 6"x6" boards. They will be cast as many times as needed to provide whatever layouts I want. Since I'm only creating a few boards I'm taking extra time on quality of each board by hand carving every single flagstone, and hand rolling every single cobblestone. It will take some time but I believe that in the end it'll be worth it. Below is an example of the work to be done on a small corner piece, as was as all the foundation boards laid out.

[KrazyIvan]

Some updates:

Since the new boards will be cast in resin, I needed to get some practice in with the mold making and casting process. I decided to get that practice by casting cracked earth bases for my small collection of Guild miniatures.

The bases were made by using standard round lip plastic bases. I first used an xacto knife to score the recessed area, then a thick layer of crackle paste was applied. After being left to dry for 72 hours everything was sealed with a 1:1 mix of watered down PVA.

The bases were mounted to a piece of PVC board using super glue, then additional pieces of PVC were attached to the base board using hot glue. The mold box was then tested for leaks simply by adding water. Once the box was dry a batch of 2 part silicone rubber was mixed, Oomoo 30 in this case, and poured into the mold box. The mold box was left to sit for 6 hours.

 

After setting I de-molded the masters. To be blunt they were destroyed. Crackle paste leaves some voids underneath the surface, and the silicone found every single one. The lesson here is to ensure that your masters are compeltly sealed before making a mold!

Once cleaned up and trimmed I cast a few bases from the mold using Smooth-Cast 300.

 

My little experiment in casting done, I proceeded to work on the first of the new boards. The first one is a 4-way crossroad, with a manhole cover in the middle...very similar to how I started the first set. As mentioned previously each of the flagstones was carved from extruded insulation board. They were glued down to the MDF using straight PVA. One the corners were done they were attached to 6"x6" board using E6000 commercial adhesive. Please note that the fumes from E6000 are extremely toxic. Only use it in a well ventilated area with plenty of airflow. I use it because it creates an extremely strong bond, without sinking into the MDF - which means no warping.

Next I hit it with a rock. Seriously, there is no better method of giving foam a rock-like surface texture that grabbing a rough stone from your yard and work some stress out on your terrain.

Once dry voids in-between the stone work were filled with a little PVA and sprinkle of kitty litter. Once that dried a 2:1 water to PVA mix was lightly brushed over everything to seal it. After that dried there were still too many void-looking areas for my liking, so I used a brush to apply straight PVA to certain areas.

Cobble stones were next. Just like the last set of boards I am hand rolling every single stone. I could use some kind of roller, or lentils, or some other shortcut but the effects of those methods just are not as nice in my opinion. Hand rolling assures that every stone is unique, and that provides some extra visual character to the board.

Unlike last time I left a significant amount of space between each cobblestone. One of the problems with the last set of boards was that there were tiny gaps between some of the stones. Since the stones are round these gaps have little undercuts that could cause mechanical lock is molded. To get around this I started grouting in the stones. This is another way to create visual interest as well. I used Liquitex Resin Sand for the job. It's basically a sticky acrylic medium mixed with grit. The resin sand was applied using a brush and pushed into any gaps to seal them off. I also applied some of the resin sand to the gaps in the flag stones.

[Eastern Effigy]

Thanks for sharing.  This is very interesting.  I had been debating on building something like this myself.

[KrazyIvan]

The build for the first board is complete. Tomorrow I'll prime and varnish it, then build a mold box and pour it's mold. If I've done an adequate job of sealing all nooks and crannies then all should go well...otherwise the master might be damaged. On to the pics:

Here we have the cobblestones all laid out:

 

A close up of the man hole cover that I scratch built (no button this time):

 

And finally a few of the completed piece. I went ahead and primed one corner so that you can better see the texture of cobblestone and grout. The resin sand was applied pretty thick, but it shrinks quite a bit as it dries. The advantageous for this application because as it shrinks it helps fill in the gaps and undercuts.

[KrazyIvan]

First, a video...

CBMK-WIP22.mp4

That out of the way, pouring the mold didn't exactly go to plan. I actually had to do it twice as it turned out that I didn't have enough Oomoo 30 silicone on hand so I was only able to make a partial mold. Silicone will stick to silicone so I had the option of pouring the remainder of the mold after visiting my local Smooth-On distributor. I had a gut feeling that all wasn't well however, and my hunch was right. I de-molded the partial pour only to find bid voids up against the tile. Had I poured the remainder I still would have ended up with a bad mold.

On the plus side the master came through fine, and that partial mold had sharp detail. I tossed the partial in the trash, hit the Smooth-On store, and poured a new mold. No problems this time around. After de-molding the master I was able to get a clean cast of the board in Smoothcast 300 resin. I should be able to pull somewhere between 30-60 casts from this mold. Here are the pics:

Next step is to get the remaining boards built. Once that it done I will pour their molds all at once. Then it'll be boards for days (and just maybe sets of boards for other folks who want some of their very own).

[Shadowopal]

17 minutes ago, KrazyIvan said:

xt step is to get the remaining boards built. Once that it done I will pour their molds all at once. Then it'll be boards for days (and just maybe sets of boards for other folks who want some of their very own).

Looks great. I would definitely be interested in a set if you get enough casts made. Let me know the pricing when you are ready. 

[Stonewall78]

For big flat molds like that you can brush one the first layer to avoid air bubbles. Then pour into one point and let it flow over the rest. Sure looks cool. Matches the cobblestone of all my bases.

[ChrisB76]

Wow! That looks very promising. I think shipping to Europe would kill my wallet

[-Loki-]

I too would be quite interested in a set or two if you sold them.