Excelsior Entertainment Forums

Chronopia => Painting & Terrain => Topic started by: joshuaslater on September 22, 2005, 06:30:05 AM

Title: Cheap Terrain Ideas
Post by: joshuaslater on September 22, 2005, 06:30:05 AM
A  most excellent mat has made itself available off the back of a truck for my gaming group.  It's a greyish/bluish sheet of some kind of flooring material that we are using for city and underground encounters.  A 40$ game mat is great, but when you can find a remnant of free flooring that does the same thing it's that much better.  Too bad we can't roll it up!
Title: Re: Cheap Terrain Ideas
Post by: T Prime on September 22, 2005, 08:37:13 AM
Have a picture?
Title: Re: Cheap Terrain Ideas
Post by: joshuaslater on September 22, 2005, 09:18:33 AM
I'll shoot some after the con.  All effort is being made to finish paintin'!
Title: Re: Cheap Terrain Ideas
Post by: Gubs on November 02, 2005, 10:08:10 AM
I've never had the time to do it, but the idea of making 2'x1' or even 2'x2' terrain sections using industrial tiles has always been something I've wanted to do.   The terrain would be modular, allowing for variety and it would be easily transportable.
Title: Re: Cheap Terrain Ideas
Post by: joshuaslater on November 02, 2005, 11:17:34 AM
Well hell, Matt, I was just happy to have a piece of drywall or a roll up grass mat.  Your idea sounds pretty cool.  You could change the battlefield just by rearranging some squares.  I haven't seen anything else like that out there.   Sounds like an idea you should cash in on.  Ka-ching!
Title: Re: Cheap Terrain Ideas
Post by: Veez on November 02, 2005, 01:26:46 PM
For my first ever terrain board I made a huge river/chasm piece (had pics on the old site).  The intent was to eventually fill the chasm with water effects but have been unable to date.  The good news was it was a great 4x4 board.  The bad news was that since I only had one bridge, the games frequently looked about the same.  The 2x2 pieces are a much better option having learned the hard way.  The other option was to take a 4x4 piece of wood and texture it then paint it a uniform color (like grey for example).  I did this for a second board and use it as a base for either a grey wasteland or an urban ruin.  I used a common paint for the bases of my buildings and the hills I built for the board so it all blends even thought the buildings have their own uniques colors (okay, unique colors of grey).   My point?  Other than the now-defunct GW battlemat I used for grass, it was relatively cheap; the wood I bought at a major department store for about $10 bucks and the foam was another $10.  I used Americana Paint (the cheapest of the cheap stuff you get at Michaels [an American craft chain of stores] so that paint was probably another $5.  The sand I got from a nearby parking lot. 

Of course it is still trumped by "free".

Throw some pics up when you get a chance!
Title: Re: Cheap Terrain Ideas
Post by: Topkick on November 02, 2005, 05:39:50 PM
Stalker has modular terrain boards that work pretty well. We used them this last summer to run the Salvage scenario at Origins.