I grok in fullness.
At last, this huge three part modular terrain tutorial series comes to a close. But finishing is just the beginning!
The EOG is back! After a short break, during which I filmed a bunch of exciting new battle reports which are currently being edited, I’ve returned with the last part of this three part video tutorial series on making your own modular terrain. It’s probably been the most difficult and time-consuming gming project I’ve ever tackled, and I can assure you my partner is heartily sick of hearing about it. In fact we went for a walk over a rocky hillside yesterday and she said “I feel like I’ve been shrunk and I’m trapped in your terrain”, which gives you some idea of how much the project has dominated our house for the last month or so!
Already I’ve played some great games on this terrain and you’ll see it featured in many battle reports to come. Not only that, but I’ll be modifying, expanding and adding to it as I come up with more ideas (and find the time).
I’m very interested to hear about your experiences if you decide to tackle this kind of project yourself. Comment below, or even better, start a thread in the forums and let’s discuss your ideas!
A very good result for your time and effort.
Also thanks for the vanishing and storage tips.
Your HellDorado figures look fantastic on it too.
Thanks for taking the time to video the whole process.
Cheers razide. Though I wish I could come up with some vanishing tips, it would save space (as long as I could rematerialise them back again). 🙂
Very nice! you’ve inspired me to make my own for WoK (and who knows what else) in the future.
Forgot to ask: would you spray paint the base black rather than paint it manually?
Be sure to share your experiences. But don’t use spray paints, they’ll melt your foam.
Ah, yes. I only realised that once I watched the END of your video.
One thing I forgot to mention, I think I would have used slightly thicker MDF board if I could do it again. A couple of the tiles have just the slightest bit of wobble instead of lying completely flat. While hardly noticeable and probably a result of me laying on too much wet glue or not letting things dry thoroughly enough between steps, perhaps 9mm rather than 5mm board would be enough to give it that little bit of extra strength. Not sure if it’s worth the extra weight or not.
The number of dry-brushing coats is incredible, but the result is undeniably brilliant, the 3D effect at such a small scale is amazing.
Well, well. What do you know… at last, a Kickstarter for those of those too lazy (or lack the time or skills) to do what UH did:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/georgepanopoulos/pedion-modular-prepainted-terrain-system-for-rpgs
Call me a cynic, but I’m seeing a lot of homemade terrain tiles there and a disturbing lack of actual product…
In the words of the Immortal Bard: “Hope oft springs eternal in the human breast.”
Me… there’s still time to pull my pledge, especially after The8thPagan checks out his booth. Please ask HOW he intends to manufacture said tiles. A cottage industry?
Pedion are going to be at UK Games Expo this weekend and I intend to track them down. I will hopefully do so and pass comment on them in the near future.
Yes, please. Let us know what the quality is like.
Had a look at Pedion while at UK Games Expo. Seemed ok with regard to sturdiness, but obviously not as sturdy as Esoteric home made which is much thicker.
Magnets along the edges so they don’t slip apart mid battle if table nudged and magnets on forest tiles for attaching trees, so no toppling.
Water tiles impressive. Layers of varnish by look of it to give it that watery appearance.
Its now funded on kickstarter, so stretch goals will be interesting to see.
For a 4×4 battlefield you’re looking at about £130, so not cheap.
I will watch the kickstarter with interest.
Thanks for the update. There’s also a review on the KS page by one of the backers who saw it in person, so… the positive is: it looks good and it works.
Negative (sort of) : how does he plan on making them?
Price: Oh, well… sure it’s not cheap… but looking at other alternatives for a 4 x 4 table has the price even higher, plus they’re not all ready to play out of the box like this one is.
I’m still torn between making my own or taking the lazy (but pricey) way out and back this one.
I believe they are hand made locally in Greece. Not sure how big the team is doing the making. Water tiles take longest with the layers of varnish.
I’m about to start attempting my own terrain features with lino tiles, foam board and miscellaneous materials. They are intended to scatter over a 4×4 board, not used as entire battlefield.