Modular Malifaux Terrain Tiles

[dgraz]

:tj:

I love the idea and I'm visiting my parents for a week over Christmas. When I was young they build me a castle made a similar way and really enjoyed doing it. So we are going to make, making a board a Christmas Project. (Better than monging out in front of the TV)

Part of the source of Ratty's incredible skills revealed - its multi-generational.

[greenbull]

Damn. I curse you guys! There goes my week of lazy vacation... Instead I plan on making such an incredible looking (modular!) board myself.

Just have to make sure I have everything at hand by the end of next week.

[DangerousBeans]

Crivens! That looks utterly fan-%&*$ing-amazing! I thought it was nice before but, I mean, just..... wow! Next Tuesday, if the club's on, you're bringing this and we're playing Malifaux.

edit: Also, I cannot WAIT until I get my gaming room so I'll have enough space to attempt something like this!

[dahli.llama]

Wonderful stuff Sholto. You're a constant inspiration.

[greenbull]

One question: how did you incorporate the magnets into the pieces? I looked into your blog and here, but couldn't find an answer...

I would prefer to use magnets instead of the tabs that WWG have made.

Second question: how do you cut the foam so all the edges stay square??

Edited December 14, 2010 by greenbull

[Ratty]

He hollowed out a notch in the bottom of the foam card and slid in the magnet, I just asked.

My guess is a steel rule, sharp exacto knife and set square.

[Sholto]

Since a few people have asked about magnets, here are some pics to help explain:-

In each case I have put a red square around the magnets, and indicated which polarity they are. Using this scheme enables any piece to attach to any other. The steps are a special case, as they are much smaller than the normal 6" wall size, but the four magnets in the base of each step enables them to be attached to any 6" wall section in four different ways - you are bound to find one that suits your layout!

How the magnets are inserted:-

1. Turn terrain piece upside down!

2. Starting 5mm in from the corner you want your magnet at, make a cut with your craft knife in the foam right behind the outermost layer of card. The cut should be as long as the diameter of the magnets you are using (I use 6mm ones).

3. Make a parallel slice about 1mm in from the first one.

4. Using tweezers or needlenose pliers, pluck out the foam between the the two cuts.

5. Squeeze pva glue into the notch left behind.

6. Push in your magnet.

7. Check polarity, realise you've put it in the wrong way, pop it out and put it back in. I do this step far more often than I should!

It helps to have a completed 6" wall section to hand, with magnets in and the glue dried. This will enable you to check polarity easily in the piece you are working on at present.

As you can see, installing the magnets this way means that each magnet has two layers of card between it and the magnet in the terrain piece you are placing alongside. That is why the magnets need to be stronger than you might expect for lightweight foamcore structures such as these. I use 6mm x 1.5mm magnets (EDIT: I wrote 2mm earlier, but on checking I see they are 1.5mm thick)

Since I am here, might as well as some pics of the fountain and mausoleum I mentioned earlier:-

And because people have asked - the label paper I use - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320631350842 and the magnets I use - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/100-x-Disc-Rare-Earth-Neodymium-Magnets-N50-6mm-x-1-5mm-/290512421883?pt=UK_Toys_Wargames_RL&hash=item43a3e3c3fb

Second question: how do you cut the foam so all the edges stay square??

Carefully

This is a great guide for working with foamcore - http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?170858-Basic-Guide-for-Foamcore

There are a few tips:-

1. Foamcore dulls blade faster than you will believe. Use snap-off blade craft knives and keep your blade fresh. Dulled blades cause jagged cuts.

2. Don't cut all the way through in one go. 2 or 3 cuts per side, one to get through the card on top and the other(s) to finish the cut.

3. Use a straight edge (preferably a metal ruler with a cork backing - the cork backing stops you scratching your printed textures) and ensure the blade is held perpendicular to the surface you are cutting all the way through the cut. Getting an X-acto foamcore cutter is a good idea, although not essential by any means.

Edited December 15, 2010 by Sholto

[greenbull]

Thanks for the great info and pictures!!

Do you use 5mm foamcore for everything, or do you use 3mm also?

How are your basic ground-basetiles connected to each other?

[Sholto]

Thanks for the great info and pictures!!

Do you use 5mm foamcore for everything, or do you use 3mm also?

How are your basic ground-basetiles connected to each other?

You're welcome

All the foamcore is 5mm. The shop doesn't have any 3mm, but I doubt I would use it, since I am used to working with the 5mm, and accounting for its thickness when measuring.

The ground tiles are made of 3mm cork tiles, and they don't have anything fancy to hold them together like magnets or so on. Instead, I assemble the 3x3 grid and then put a tiny piece of blu-tac at each of the four corners. That has, to date, sufficed to hold all 9 tiles in place without any slippage. I don't see any point in devising clever solutions when simple ones work just as well

[Svenn]

I really love the vertical use of this board. It should make for some interesting games.

I'd actually love to play Mordheim on that, with a few more ruined buildings. Looks like it would be perfect!

[Sholto]

I really love the vertical use of this board. It should make for some interesting games.

I'd actually love to play Mordheim on that, with a few more ruined buildings. Looks like it would be perfect!

I am a big fan of gaming tables that allow for vertical movement as well. The one thing to be careful of, however, is that the overall playable surface doesn't become too big for the game.

Not having any ruined buildings was a deliberate decision for this project. It's not that I don't like ruins, it's just that I've done them before and had all I want of rubble and crumbling masonry - [ame]

[/ame]

I have never tried Mordheim, but I have been following The Way of Saimm Hann blog, and it sounds pretty good.

[greenbull]

Just finished constructing 2 canal-tiles and one street-ramp. I went for the recessed waterlevel, although it's only 5 mm's ( the thickness of thich foamcore ) in hight difference.

I have been experimenting a bit with magnets also.

One more question: my ramp is now 1 cm wider than a normal street, due to the foamcore thickness of the walls. Did you do it this way too? Or did you reduce the width of the ramp-surface by 10 mm's?

[Sholto]

Just finished constructing 2 canal-tiles and one street-ramp. I went for the recessed waterlevel, although it's only 5 mm's ( the thickness of thich foamcore ) in hight difference.

I have been experimenting a bit with magnets also.

One more question: my ramp is now 1 cm wider than a normal street, due to the foamcore thickness of the walls. Did you do it this way too? Or did you reduce the width of the ramp-surface by 10 mm's?

Fast worker! (Faster than me ) Let me see some pics if you can - I would love to see what other people do with the same basic materials.

I reduce all internal sizes to accommodate the thickness of the foamcore. Your ramp is still fine for normal use, and you would only have a problem in very cramped layouts.

[Melnibonean]

Hot Dang... You've made some impressive terrian and thrown some great ideas into the mix too. Great stuff. :1:

[nerdelemental]

Sholto - others: did you guys all see that Worldworks is running different sales last week, this week, and next?

Some good stuff over there for 50% off. I'm thinking of the canals right now to add on to the terraclips (coming soon!). It think that kit would add right onto both the Sewer set and the city set pretty seamlessly.

[greenbull]

Yup, I know about the action. That's why I bought the Canal Set the day before yesterday.

About the photo's: I'll definately post some in the near future.

Does anybody know if a gloss spray applied to the printed paper-surface will work to give my printed water a shiny gloss? I tried satin spray, but that is hardly noticable...

Another option would be to print on gloss paper.

[Sholto]

@NerdElemental - I bought my Canal set just before the sale went up! Some you win...

The Canal set brings something neither the Streets nor Sewers sets bring - green and blue colours. It makes a big difference to the overall look of the table having those colours splashed around. I am making two harbour tiles to represent the loading docks on the river, just so I can get some more green and blue in there.

@greenbull - I tried that with acrylic spray gloss varnish, and it did not work. Even after three coats it did not work, and the surface had a mottled look to it. Not recommended. Printing on gloss paper should make it shiny, though. Not quite as much as adding a layer of acrylic water will, but probably enough to look good.

One thing to watch out for if you do splash on the varnish and acrylic water, is that most types of acrylic water shrink as they dry, so don't put too much on or you'll end up with warping. I had to re-do a piece because of this. I will try Envirotex Lite if I can get my hands on some - it is a 2-part resin and does not shrink.

[greenbull]

Just finished my last tile. I have 7 canal-tiles now. I applied Vallejo Still water to one, and it gives a nice gloss. I have to put heavy objects on the tile to prevent warping; I get some bubbles in the paper where there's no ink ( the white spots )...

I ran into another problem: I wanted to make a vertical wall with the 3 spouting heads. I can't find a way to upscale the pdf (since I don't use the tlx system). I want to get to 6 inch. In the Adobe reader, I cannot make the change. In the printer screen, I can't either.... Heeeeelp !!!

[nerdelemental]

If you have photoshop or Gimp (a free program you can get online) you can import any one "page" from their file-sets and manipulate one image at a time - like: select a wall, cut it, paste it into a "new" doc, then manipulate the scale. Save it as a jpeg and print it like a picture.

[greenbull]

I thank you very, very much sir for such a speedy and helpfull answer !:clap:

[Sholto]

Just finished my last tile. I have 7 canal-tiles now. I applied Vallejo Still water to one, and it gives a nice gloss. I have to put heavy objects on the tile to prevent warping; I get some bubbles in the paper where there's no ink ( the white spots )...

I think this is where applying the varnish first helps seal the paper. I painted two coats on before applying the Still Water, and didn't get any bubbles like you mention.

I am only on my second canal piece (damn, you're fast!), and I have to go back and redo a bit as one of the canal walls does not line up exactly with the original canal piece. I suspect that is only really an issue when you are making 2" deep canals, but I thought I would mention it. I am using the built-in bridge tile in this one, and it's looking pretty good.

[greenbull]

Just to give you an idea of my method:

only 2 tiles completed with watereffects; 1 has 1 layer ( of 2)

[Sholto]

Excellent - they look great like that! You can really see the benefit of the water effects on those two pieces.

You could do roads in the same way. If you then print and build your base tiles so they don't have any roads on them, you would have the freedom to lay out your roads and canal pieces any way you liked. You would just need a bridge with ramps for where the road crosses the canal.

[greenbull]

I had been thinking about making the roads recessed as well. But I think it's too late for that now, since the pavement alongside the canals then should have a relative hight difference of 2 units ( 2 times 5 mm foamboard ): watersurface= lowest, streets 5mm higher, pavements another 5mm higher.

Another option would be to lower the street's to waterlevel, but I think this will look strange... (water and streets lowest level, pavements 5 mm higher )

Wait a minute! I think I have the sollution: for the plain street tiles I could use the 5 mm foamboard as street level, and add the pavements on 3 mm foamboard. So streets are 2 mm higher than canals, and 3 mm lower then pavement.

Edited December 17, 2010 by greenbull

[Sholto]

Wait a minute! I think I have the sollution: for the plain street tiles I could use the 5 mm foamboard as street level, and add the pavements on 3 mm foamboard. So streets are 2 mm higher than canals, and 3 mm lower then pavement.

That should work!

I think I will make some roads like this