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Post by Parduz on Feb 6, 2011 9:19:09 GMT -9
I'll share my tiny, cheap project. There's a whole lot of better, beautiful, cool terrains in the web. Mine is a bit different... maybe someone will find it useful. Goals (sorted): 1) Having a terrain to play with minis 2) Needs to be cheap. 3) I want it modular. 4) Needs to be cheap 3) I want it easy to assemble and very transportable 5) I want it cheap  So, i've found 3 meters of green moquette in a store. I then drawn with a white pencil the cutting lines, and i have got green "tiles" which are 25x50cm.    Then i bought some "green tiles": they are a grid of plastic "grass" and plants. I removed each "clump", cut each "peg", poked a hole thru the moquette and plugged the clumps back to the peg.  The original tile and the pegs cut out The clumps as trees or bushes Backside: the pegs, thru the moquette Kids at work  Current status:    I think it's no bad: i can throw it in a box without worries about breaking anything, it weight very little, and it is modular and cheap. Future plans are 1) roads and rivers (by cutting the moquette "fur" and laying a bed of PVA glue: if it works i'd also have free flock for some foam hills . 2) Use some paint to make variation in the grass and, maybe, delimiting some "zone" as "Wood", "Swamp" and other terrains that affect line of sight and movement. |
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Post by Parduz on Feb 6, 2011 9:49:32 GMT -9
Forgot to say that this will be the "test bed" of Sammo's "Into the Fray"  |
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Post by okumarts on Feb 6, 2011 9:56:53 GMT -9
Oh, I really like your solution. Very nice work!
I agree, some variety with painting the terrain would be nice.
Plants from aquarium stores would work really well with this.
I can't wait to see the hills and cliffs.
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Post by Parduz on Feb 6, 2011 10:10:14 GMT -9
I tried with aquarium plants....
I learnt that things does not have the same cost in different place... seems that here, if you have an aquarium, you should be very rich, and so that platic plants costs a true lot.
Years ago i was trying to copy some stuff seens at the Heroscapers site: a lot of ppl took wedding-cake columns to build ruins, for a few dollars.... here i can only grab a box of 20 columns.... for 120€!!!
About Hills and cliffs, i still have to decide if i want foam hills over the grass, or if i want to build elevators UNDER the grass....
Thanks for your compliments.
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Post by josedominguez on Feb 6, 2011 12:00:41 GMT -9
how about different coloured moquette for the woods? Cut out and overlayed?
Could the hills be a simple card setup like Worldworks Hinterlands (stepped hills) topped with the moquette?
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Post by Parduz on Feb 6, 2011 12:15:23 GMT -9
how about different coloured moquette for the woods? Cut out and overlayed? Could the hills be a simple card setup like Worldworks Hinterlands (stepped hills) topped with the moquette? Good ideas but both are hard to do 'cause the moquette thickness. It have a height of about 1 cm. Making a patch for the woods will result in added elevation, and i doubt that the paper can "handle" the moquette weight. |
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Post by cowboyleland on Feb 6, 2011 17:54:56 GMT -9
Looks great! I have a love of cheap too. My kids and I use green felt for the ground in "Song of Fur and Buttons" (along with Sir Robs figs and your condition markers). Strips of blue felt makes rivers and brown and grey for logs and stones. The stickyness of the felts holds everything in place. I may even try putting felts on the figure bases. Added bonus: the felt is made from recycled plastic so it is eco friendly too!
BTW "cutted" is not a word. Just say "cut" past or present. Please don't be alarmed. Your English is getting better by the week, and it was quite good to start with.
Cheers
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Post by MemeLordJerry on Feb 6, 2011 18:05:00 GMT -9
Very nice Parduz!!
What type of shop has your "green tiles"?
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Post by kane on Feb 6, 2011 18:15:24 GMT -9
Parduz, those prices are insane! If you ever want some cheap cake decorations or aquarium pieces from the USA, let me know. After shipping, they would still be very cheap. I would guess that the standards in Italy are higher as for plastic safety.
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Post by Tommygun on Feb 6, 2011 20:05:33 GMT -9
I think that came out really well Parduz .
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Post by Parduz on Feb 6, 2011 22:34:25 GMT -9
BTW "cutted" is not a word. Thanks I may end using blue tissue for the rivers if my experiment with the PVA does not go as i plan. The "advantage" of moquette is that i can create the illusion of depht just trimming the "fur", so things like tissue or foam rocks does not "float" over the "grass" but seems to have weight. What type of shop has your "green tiles"? It's called "Leroy Merlin". It is a sort of "do-it-yourself paradise" where you can find anything from a knob to a robotic lawnmower. It has a "deco" section with fake grass, plastic ivy, PVC tiles, plastic "wrought iron" pieces and a lot of other things which i can't imagine for what they are for Parduz, those prices are insane! If you ever want some cheap cake decorations or aquarium pieces from the USA, let me know. After shipping, they would still be very cheap. I would guess that the standards in Italy are higher as for plastic safety. Thanks. I solved the problem using corks (here a lot of elders are still bottling the wine in his basement, so corks are supercheap ) I think it is not a problem of "plastic safety" but of "caste": whoever produce that columns (and other cake decos) is "the only one"; confectioners may still find cheaper (or easier) to buy at that price than to import a bunch of them from other countries. And the final cost is paid by the married, which are already paying a lot for everything else. |
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Post by Floyd on Feb 7, 2011 5:38:01 GMT -9
:Thumbs way up:
That works a treat doesn't it!
Great solution!
Extra points for putting the kids to work on it!
~Floyd
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Post by Mike H "Chugosh" on Feb 7, 2011 21:19:54 GMT -9
I like the idea very much indeed!
Some of my giant base minis would have trouble with it, but the rest would be fine.
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Post by Parduz on Feb 7, 2011 22:22:43 GMT -9
Some of my giant base minis would have trouble with it, but the rest would be fine. Well, this was the plan ;D I mean: the three rightmost tiles pretends to have on it 2 "forests" and a sort of swamp/cursed terrain (when i will paint the area under the trees with a different shade it will be more clear) where human-sized creatures will have reduced movement and range attacks penalties... large creatures have to have real problems entering in that areas. Extra points for putting the kids to work on it! Eheh... they are also the miniature painters (and they have much more talent than me ) |
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Post by hackbarth on Feb 11, 2011 4:28:51 GMT -9
We have Leroy Merlin here, but I didn't see this "moquete" product. Some time ago I was buying paint and some planks there, on a whim, i bought 2m² of green carpet to make a battlemat.
My wife still rants at me about the roll of carpet taking too much space in the library, but I may use your project as a excuse to go back to mine. :-) I'll certainly look for the plastic plants next time I go shopping for DIY stuff.
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Post by Parduz on Feb 11, 2011 4:40:28 GMT -9
We have Leroy Merlin here, but I didn't see this "moquete" product. Is'nt "green carpet" the same as my moquette? ( www.wordreference.com/enit/carpet )  I think i miss what you mean, sorry. Anyway, i'm glad you got a way to pull your roll out ;D |
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Post by hackbarth on Feb 11, 2011 9:20:38 GMT -9
Mine is more like a heavy duty felt. Does not resemble grass when up close. But is good enough for a battlemat.
I didn't knew that "moquete" is a other word for carpet, I thought it was some kind of hobbyist material for grass. Somewhere between Italiano -> English -> Português we confused each other. :-)
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Post by Parduz on Feb 11, 2011 10:13:30 GMT -9
Ah, i understand now.
No, Moquette is a way to cover your house floor, instead of tiles or "parquet" (a wooden floor). It was very common here 20 years ago, then they realized that it was'nt the most hygienic way to build a floor.
But it is still a common thing.
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Post by hackbarth on Oct 5, 2011 5:25:44 GMT -9
Parduz, Thanks for this idea:  I did find the same tile of fake grass that you did, and for about 1€! The hedges are kitchen sponges. You know the kind of sponges that have a yellow soft side and a green hard side? I found some sponges that are all green side, and almost the same green that my carpet. Some 2€ for all the sponge on this terrain, I may buy some more! This weekend I'll make a tactical combat game with Gurps rules with this and take more pictures! |
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Post by Parduz on Oct 5, 2011 8:43:56 GMT -9
Beautiful!!!! The sponges are a nice idea.... i'll take my eyes open on the megastore, next time Right now i'm trying to build some nice pine tree from broken christmas deco. I failed miserably at building a river on my moquette. I "carved" the river bed by cutting the "fur" to the base weave (and so obtaining a lot of free floc  ) and then i "filled" it with diluted PVA..... which flooded thru the weave making a big mess  I still think is a good idea..... i just need to find somewhat cheap to "seal" the weaves, then i can do roads or rivers which are lower than the surrounding "grass", instead of being "on" it.... |
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Post by slayerdragonwing on Oct 5, 2011 9:04:32 GMT -9
That's a really clever and cheap idea, good work!
To Hackbarth: do you have the files for that skyranger up anywhere? I'm a huge X-Com fan and would love to get my hands on it.
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Post by Vermin King on Oct 5, 2011 9:14:45 GMT -9
Beautiful!!!! The sponges are a nice idea.... i'll take my eyes open on the megastore, next time Right now i'm trying to build some nice pine tree from broken christmas deco. I failed miserably at building a river on my moquette. I "carved" the river bed by cutting the "fur" to the base weave (and so obtaining a lot of free floc ) and then i "filled" it with diluted PVA..... which flooded thru the weave making a big mess I still think is a good idea..... i just need to find somewhat cheap to "seal" the weaves, then i can do roads or rivers which are lower than the surrounding "grass", instead of being "on" it.... You might try sealing the edges of the river with CA (superglue) and then using your diluted PVA. Not sure if it will work, but I suspect it will. |
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Post by hackbarth on Oct 5, 2011 9:52:46 GMT -9
That's a really clever and cheap idea, good work! To Hackbarth: do you have the files for that skyranger up anywhere? I'm a huge X-Com fan and would love to get my hands on it. It is Available on Ghostofman's site www.ghostofman.com/My version was altered to more interesting textures, more modern X-COM logo and re-dimensioned to fit in five A4 sheets: dl.dropbox.com/u/16519210/Skyranger.zip |
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Post by Parduz on Oct 5, 2011 12:01:27 GMT -9
You might try sealing the edges of the river with CA (superglue) and then using your diluted PVA. Not sure if it will work, but I suspect it will. Sorry for not have been clear, but that's not the problem... the PVA did'nt goes out of the sides, but thru the "floor" of my "green carpet", flooding then from the bottom. I may have tried without diluted PVA, but (as you can read on the first post) this terrain needs to be super-cheap, and 10kg of PVA glue for a river is not cheap enough |
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Post by cowboyleland on Oct 5, 2011 16:19:54 GMT -9
How about plastic sandwitch wrap for the river bottom/sides? Or blue construction paper?
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Post by slayerdragonwing on Oct 5, 2011 17:35:37 GMT -9
Thanks a lot, it's a really cool model. |
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) and then i "filled" it with diluted PVA..... which flooded thru the weave making a big mess 
