Modular Terrain (WIP) **MAY BE PIC HEAVY**

Finally showing signs of progress on this somewhat long-term project. With some inspiration from various places like Dalanshin's Boganhafen board, and Captain Bernhardt's modular pieces I've decided to start my modular terrain pieces using sandwiched 2" foam insulation, mdf board basing, a jigsaw, dremel, router, and various other shenanigans to get this thing done.

I have a few 18" squares cut and lined up ready to be routed, but am concentrating on completing my first piece. I will say that this is a pretty involved project to attempt and I wasn't sure what I was getting into, but I am determined to do at least 1 table's worth of modular pieces!! (9 total). Lining up all of the pieces can sure be a problem

I am going to be doing various road pieces cut into the foam squares that can be placed in a modular fashion (a la Carcassone tiles), and any piece with road will most likely have sewer underneath.

The top non-road sections will be cobblestone. I attempted to make a stamp like Svenn's using super sculpey, but it is pretty hard to make a good indentation in the foam. Instead I am using the stamp, and then drawing over the indentations with a ball point pen, filling in any gaps freehand. Yes, it is tedious and time consuming, but I usually have good company and good music!

I will be adding at least two arches and maybe some columns in the sewage channel to hold up the road that will cover the sewer. I'm also considering a couple of accessways built into the walls (like generic sewage drain pipes that dump into the sewer), and then making some sewer entry points on small bases that can be positioned anywhere above ground.

My first piece is a straightaway (or slightly curved straight road section). I'll post more pics as I make more progress, and I'll try to make sure my next pic has a mini on it for scale. This is what I have so far:

EXCELLENT START! I REALLY like the idea of the accessible sewers...nothing like a nice warm sewer. Keep up the GOOD WORK!

This piece looks great! It sure is an ambitious project and I keep my fingers crossed that you pull though and finish it. Because I want to see more!

First impression looks nice, can wait to see more

I finally got some more work done recently, including finishing my first piece! The idea is to have 16"x16" modular road pieces able to fit on a standard table in a 3 x 3 modular format. The roads will be removeable to access the sewers beneath them. I also want to be able to just throw a couple of pieces onto a table and play with them if I want to, so I scored the sides to look like wall sections.

The first piece is a standard straightaway road section with sewer underneath! Here it is with removeable road section attached:





I'm looking at putting more embellishments on pieces to follow, but I am pretty happy with how the first one turned out. I have the next two pieces shaped, and ready to sand and etch for cobblestone/bricks (not really looking forward to that part of it).

This one shows a top down view. It seems pretty hard to see the Woodland Scenics Realistic Water stuff I put in the sewage channel when I use a flash on the photo. This one was taking with no flash and is blurry, but you can see the water better I think:





I am still experimenting with Woodland Scenics Water Effects. Not exactly sure how to make it look right, but I'm okay with how this turned out for now. I might go back and play with it a little more some time later.





Another top down view:





I don't much like how the seem between the sandwiched foam board is apparent here, but it is not noticeable when looking from your normal gamer's angle while playing, so I guess that's good enough. View through the opening:





It might not be apparent in the photos, but the sewer part of the piece is painted darker green/blue/gray and is noticeably darker.

That's it for now. I'm working on an L section and a T section next. More later!

I like your idea. I have been planning to build a board with canals, but want to be able to use it in fantasy, and without the canals sometimes. I think your board strikes a good compromise. Will you remove the road during play or will it be either in or out the entire game?

I am also interested in tips for the woodland scenics water effects. It is a bit tricky. It is so transparent it looks like you have lost some of the illusion of depth. That may just be the lighting as well.

Great work!

I'm about to do something similar with Woodland Scenics Realistic Water for my canals. My pressing question is this: how did you keep it from spilling over the ends of your canals?

VERY NICE WORK! The water effect rushing around the pillar & under the make-shift walkway is TERRIFIC! The removable street section makes for a versatile terrain board...VERY CREATIVE/IMAGINATIVE!

indeed great stuff. I'm thinking about changing the way I make my sewers to look more like your's. I honestly like your approach much more than mine, it looks more natural than mine

Thanks all,

Real Life has affected my projects drastically along with many others here, but I am slowly plunking away as I am able to get to it. Also, using a hand-held wood router on a block of foam is scary and messy.

DRD1812: I used blue painters tape to hold the ends (Scotch #2090) while the water dried, and peeled it off afterwards. I had to do about 4 layers of realistic water to fill it properly. Because I use my friend's garage as a workspace, and I didn't want any free-floating dust interfering (or cold temperatures) I put it inside the house to dry. Because of this, I made sure I had tin foil under the ends to catch any possible drip in case the tape failed. I am happy to say the tape held just fine, but I would still recommend something to catch the stuff if you care about the surface it's sitting on at all (just in case!).

It probably helps that the outside stonework was an afterthought, which means I didn't need to worry about tape mucking it up while layering the water.

Ah great! A table with built in canalisation.

This is still a dream of mine,

maybe somedays i start a project on my own.

SerialMoM

Thanks for the advice, Sartori! Sounds like a much better method than the sticky tack I was planning on.

Wow great terrain piece, very inspiring. Thumbs up