Custom Terrain Board Part 1

Before I say anything, credit where it is due. Almost everything I do in these posts I got from the following tutorial: http://thetyranidhive.proboards.com/thread/44284/realm-battle

My goal with this project was not to make an entire battle board to play on, but rather one two foot by two foot terrain board to act as a display for my Inner Circle modeling entry. I blocked out the basic shape I'd need by using an existing battle board piece, laying out all my models, and using some placeholders for models that weren't done. The large dude in the back right corner with all the green was there to represent a hill I wanted where a major character (Belisarius most likely) could overlook the battlefield. I wanted a smaller hill on the other side for a smaller character (originally Greyfax, but I ended up putting the Emperor's Champion there because his model was a little larger). Here is the blockout.

I started off at Home Depot where I bought a eight foot by four foot piece of MDF board, and had them cut it into eight two by two sections. I then took one of the sections and built some hills and rocks with terrain styrofoam that I got at a train store.

Unfortunately I couldn't find the thick pink stuff that people use a lot for hills and terrain. This stuff is more like packing foam, and so it flaked and made a mess. Make sure and deal with this stuff outside.

Finally I laid out the rough shape of a crater with some chunks of cork I picked up at Michael's.

The next step was to plaster over the board. This is to protect the foam to prevent it from falling apart. I covered everything, including the sides. I later discovered that I probably would have been better off leaving the sides as straight MDF board.

The plaster dries quickly. I'd say in about twenty minutes it becomes difficult to work with. After thirty it is unusable. I had to create two batches, and used about half a bag and wasted a lot of it. If I did it again I'd mix smaller batches and plan to mix multiple to get the whole job done. I think half a bag could actually cover an entire four by six foot board if done more efficiently.

From the next two pics you can see that the plaster goes on with a lot of texture, which isn't a bad thing, although most of it will get covered and sanded down. The toughest parts are the hills, which can end up looking goopy, a look I didn't desire.

You'll also notice the crater got kind of buried. I would probably leave the center as straight MDF if I could do it over. Next I sanded the board after giving it a day to dry, just to be sure.

The sanding took about a half hour and was pretty easy. I've never really sanded anything before. If you look at the sides you can see where the plaster chipped. This will be a continual issue through the whole project.

Next time I fill out the base terrain with details and start adding texture!