Operation Battleboard - Phase Four

Tools/Materials

• Exacto knife
• Pink foam - 3/4"
  
• Paint - Green, Black, Dk Brown, and lt gray
• Flock
• Turf
• Glue - White, non-mixed and mixed 50/50 with water.
  

I planned on creating a river with some small islands intermixed in it.

I cut up the pink foam in small island shapes. The first couple weren't very detailed as they were originally planned for small hills.
The next couple I spent carving in some rocks. This wasn't too much of a chore and didn't need too much artistic ability. Well maybe a bit.

Once the piece were cut to my liking, I paint all of them with a black base. The next step was to paint the parts I wanted to flock with green paint.

I dry brushed the black with the lt. gray paint to give the rock some highlights. The dk. brown I used on some of the place were I wasn't going to flock, but wasn't stone/rock either.



After completing the painting, I used a brush to paint the glue mixture on. I tried not to let the glue spill too much, only were I wanted flock. I sprinkled some flock on the glue completing that task. For added effect I glue some coarse turf in a complete of places and viola!

Now place them on the board to fill in the river.

Operation Battleboard - Phase Three

Tools/Materials:

• 18Gauge wire
• Wire Cutters
  
• Needle Nose Pliers
  
• Primer
• Paint & brush(brown paint)
  
• Lichen - various colors

Trees

One accessory for any battle board is ground cover. This includes trees, hills, buildings, rock formation etc. Prior to making this battle board I would just dump a lump of lichen on the game board and say "those are light/heavy woods". However it was very visually appealing.

My next attempt was to take some plaster and jam twigs into it. Then I'd glue so turf to the ends and had trees. This was a good start but I couldn't find good twigs to make the trees look nice.

Next I read about some people using wire to create trees. I tried it. I love it, especially how they look.

Step 1 - Cut Wire and Twist

Buy some 18 gauge wire and cut it up into 4"-5" length. Take 4-5 of these sections and twist them together, leaving about ~1" on either end untwisted. Using needle nosed pliers helps with this.


2 - Basing with Plaster

For my first attempt I decided to make some plaster bases. I bent the wires in a fanning position so they would stay flat with the base. I then poured plaster into a cardboard mold I made. Some paint, flock, and lichen later I had a nice look template of trees.


My second thought I had, now that I was making a battle board, was to make a spike at one of the wire. This would allow me to just stick them into the foam anywhere I want. I liked the idea and went about making it happen.

3 - Painting

I sprayed primer on the trees, so the paint would last longer. I then used a brown paint to cover the trees with one coat.

4- Basing it without Plaster

Next I took a glob of brown paint and slopped it to the base of the tree. This gives it a more realistic look imho when in the foam.

5 - Add the Lichen

The last step was to add the lichen to the top of the tree. I used the ends of the wire to spear the lichen on. Then I bent the wire to form a hook so the lichen would stay on and also to mold the tree top to look more realistic if needed.




Finally, I had a forest. This took me about 3-4 hours of work to create 64 trees. It took about 30 yards of wire as well. Factoring in the paint and the lichen, made this a very cheap way of having trees for my battle board.

Operation Battleboard - Phase Two

So the 2" foam has been created to be on one board. Since I didn't have flock at the time, it will be unfinished till my btech buddy and I finish a battle. But before we start our battle, him and I needed to finish the other board. The idea is to have a river running down the middle of the board. Using the remaining 1" foam sheets, we went about creating the other side of the river.

I wish I had the pre-made photos, but a malfunction happen and user error lead to pics being delete.

1 - Create the other side of the board

I first layout some piece to get a general idea of what I want to do. I first looked at incorporating the pink foam to make a hillside to the 2" inch white foam.


I then start to play around with the 2" scraps I had that couldn't be made into a good board.


I however decide to use the 1" white foam and the pink foam I had to make the other side.

I followed the same procedure as with the other side except I needed to create the bank off of the boards. This was down with the saw and filing down the hill to a nice angle. I also used an exacto knife to cut some rocks into the side of the hills.




2 - Creating the boards

Again, I did the same thing as before for creating boards (saw, jig, filing, painting).
So I finally decided on a layout for the other side using the thinner foam.


3 - Plastering the Sides

I read about one technique for creating battleboards. It was to plaster the sides of the boards to make them more durable. I went about trying this. It was a mess to say the least. The side came out OK, but they lost the tight fit.

One lesson I learned was the plaster starts to harden fast. This made the whole event a rush to get this done and the quality wasn't there in my opinion. It does make the board durable, but it requires patience and a steady hand. Which I didn't have the first time I tried it.


4 - Flocking

Next step was to flock. I just got my shipment from Woodland Scenic and started working on finishing off the board.

For this, I used a spray glue. My friend works at an embroidery shop and they have this stuff in the can that works well. Any spray glue will do. Also Scenic Cement is another favorite. But I use what I have on hand. Therefore...


The first thing is to have a box or some type of container to hold the flock. I use a plastic storage container that you can pick up at any department store.


I spray the board with a coat of the glue. I make it a bit thick as the stuff I use doesn't drip. You would just want to make sure the whole area is covered with glue before putting flock on it.

After gluing, I then place the board in the container and start to sprinkle the flock by hand onto the board.
Since the board is bigger than the container, I do one side at a time. Tap the board from the back to shake loose the extra flock that isn't sticking.
I then apply another coat of glue and re-flock. This helps a bit to make the piece last longer.
Again, I tap the back of the board to shake off any excess.

The last thing I do is spray some varnish on the flocked piece. It helps make the flock more durable to scraps and bangs.


5 - Finished Second half

This finished the second half with some more battleboards. I have some plans to make that side of the board less bare. Which I will show in the next post. You can see a hint of it in the background of this picture...

Operation Battleboard - Phase One

Step One - Create the foam boards

Tools & material:

• Reciprocating saw or any other tool to cut foam
• Wood file or anything else to smooth edges of the foam.
• A makeshift jig
  
• Carpenter Square
  
• 2" thick foam sheets
  
• Sharpie
• Hunter green acrylic paint 10oz bottle
  
• paint brush
  
• water

1 - Measuring

The first thing to do was to measure out the boards. My game table is two 6'6"x 4' boards. Nice, but was only able to fully cover one board with the 2" foam I had. I didn't have enough of the 1" foam to cover a board entirely. You'll see what I did with that later.

I went about cutting up the boards into six 18"x24" and two 24"x24". This cover one board.

Measured and marked the piece of foam to cut. I used the square to make straight line 90 degree angles with a Sharpie.


2 - Cutting

After all the foam was marked up it was time to cut. I use the reciprocating saw for a quick cut. I had a foam-cutter, but it broken after many uses making hills. Never replaced it. I try to use tools I have on hand. No sense it spending money I don't have.

I created a jig out of some hardwood samples I had lying around. I used bolts and wing nuts to have the ability to tight a top board down onto the foam, making a wood sandwich with a foam filling. This kept the foam stable as I used the saw to cut it.

The jig I have has a guide-board so the blade won't cut into the jig and made the cut straight.


3- Filing

The edges of the foam were a bit shaggy. To make them smooth, I used a wood file. I filed slowly at first, to make sure I didn't break the foam with a violent stroke. I keep the foam in the jig, again to give it stability. The edge came out great, nice and smooth. Any big hunks that were left by the saw, I would take special care not to break the foam by accident.




4 - Layout

I laid the boards out so I could bask in the glory. There wasn't too many of a gaps between each board. The only issue was the table has some bends it it, but nothing too major.




5 - Painting

I used hunter green acrylic paint mix with water(1 part water to 3 parts paint).

It took about 1/2 of a 10oz bottle of paint to do all the boards.

There was some white showing through the paint. I figure once these pieces are flocked it will cover this.



This finished my first step in making the battle board. I will eventually flock it when I get some to cover the whole thing ;)

Operation Battleboard - The prelude

It has been quite a few years since playing Battletech. I have been playing off and on through this time. I have recently gotten back into. One thing that I enjoy now a days is terrain maps. I have vowed never to return to the paper maps since learning how to play the game with terrain. It brings more enjoyment to the game to see your battles in 3D.

Now that I have free time in my life (working and getting a degree eliminated most of that in the previous years). I have decide to create a battleboard(s) to enhance my game play.

I have accumulated a lot of foam over the years with the intent of doing something with. That time has come.

The foam I had lying around was the white foam(man I hate this stuff) and pink foam( i.e. home insulation.). The white foam I have came in broken sheets with thickness of 3/4", 2", and the whooping 6" thickness. All this white foam was gained from my wife when she worked at a flooing distributor. Instead of throwing it away, I was able to get it and put in my massive garage. There it sat till now...