I thought it would be fun to
make some 3-D Dungeon Tiles and so I made some plans for a few different
options, cut up some bits of MDF and enlisted the kids to help make a few
prototypes to see which we like best…
The basic options were with
permanent walls attached or without permanent walls attached. The “With”
version has walls attached to the base – and has some aesthetic appeal to them,
but will take up far more storage space and be less versatile – also I wasn’t
sure whether to make ~2” (5cm) or ~1.5” (38mm) walls. The “Without” version is
basically 2-D floor plan tiles with the option of adding painted wood block
walls to make it more 3-D…
The Boy fancied he’d like the
3-D permanently attached walls, The Girl wished for the ones without – whether
it was because she saw the versatility in them or just wanted to be different
from her brother is hard to tell… either way, I figured we’d try making a few
rooms and hallways to see how they look and make some further decisions from
there.
This was partly spurred on
because I thought it might be fun to try out Song
of Gold And Darkness and ultimately play a Song
of Blades and Heroes campaign with Song
of Deeds and Glory…
(Remember: click on the pictures
for a bigger version)
My apprentice dungeon builders
and our cut up bits of MDF.
Painting the base coat of clack.
I was a bit quicker, so I
started experimenting with some ideas for painting the stone work.
Again with the experiments with
stonework.
In the end I stayed up way to
late – long after the kids went to bed – and finished up a corner bit for the
“With Walls” 3-D version.
It still needs a bit of touching
up, but overall I am happy with the results.
The corridor is 5cm wide. And everything
is based on a 5cm grid and basically tiles that will fill a 25cm x 25cm area. I'll try to remember to take a picture or scan the sketches of the plans for Part 2.
What’s up around that corner?
DANGER! That’s what!
Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:
Probably more Dungeon tiles… though I have been working on
some elves and some more of the A
Fistful of Kung Fu miniatures.
Stunning work on the stone wall, Tim. Your shading technique is very effective. Dean
ReplyDeleteThanks Dean!
DeleteI have to admit I stole the idea from Curt - I spent some time studying the bases of his Belgian Refugees from the previous Fortnightly Theme Bonus Round (Casualties).
Man, did it ever take a long time to paint this corridor... I'm not really looking forward to doing entire rooms!
Wow, heroic painting standards. Double painting each stone? I will alert arkham that they will soon gave a new resident!
ReplyDeleteI don't know why people keep saying OCD is a problem... I get shit DONE man!
DeleteRight on brother. I pity the fool who games without OCD ;-)
DeleteThese look amazing BTW. Great to see your kids involved so much too.
Awesome work on the stone walls/ floor.
ReplyDeleteThat looks great!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteVery nicely done, but I can see how setting so early such a high standard for yourself can be a problem! Fortunately the corridors even in 3D will sort of stack together in pairs so they won't be too bulky. As for the rooms, if you could develop a 'clip on' system you might be able not only to compromise on the 2D vs 3D question, but get the best of both (game durabilty and storage compactness).
ReplyDeleteI think one key to not going totally overboard and discouraged will be, at least at first, not to feel compelled to lay out the WHOLE DUNGEON on the table - just the room(s) the adventurers are currently in and some adjoining corridors - as they move on shift things and "recycle" stuff...
DeleteWe are trying a couple of different prototypes. This is the one my son favours (based on my drawings and descriptions). The other is to basically have all the walls and floors separate - they won't really be "clip on" per se... but the same idea. I think Matakishi had done something similar on his site a while back.
Yeah, here it is:
Deletehttp://www.matakishi.com/dungeon.htm
Fantastic work here Tim! Your stonework is very impressive!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rodger!
DeleteVery cool project! Like I said when I was out there, I am so impressed by your kids' enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteMy terrain kits for the Renaissance Venice setup finally arrived, so I think that'll be the next thing I work on...
Cheers,
Paul
Venice?! What will you be playing set in Venice?!
Deletehomebrew "Assassin's Creed" skirmish game
DeleteExcellent stone-masonry! It looks great - I don't know if I would have the patience to do many walls like that, but it sounds like you have a good plan, by starting with a small set of pieces. I did do some cobblestone road pieces a while back, with the cobbles outlined with a black pen.
ReplyDeleteVisually, the 3D version with walls tends to look better and helps with immersion, I think. But a flatter version, without standup walls has its pros, too. For example, if any miniatures have parts that stick out too much. In the end whichever works for you is a good choice.
Tim & family,
ReplyDeletegreat work indeed- amazing stonework.I am a tad like Fitzbadger and wonder if I possess the patience,let alone (in my case) artistic abilty for this one...
Very nice, great job!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I saw something similar on the Lead Adventure forum, but they weren't painted. Those do look pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteOne of hte prototypes we are working on has slightly smaller walls - but not so small as those- the ones I've cut are 38mm (~1.5") instead of the 50mm (~2") that we used for the one above...
Maybe I should try some even smaller and see how they look...
These look fabulous, and bully for you for doing something creative and fun with your kids.
ReplyDelete