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Something looks broke to me too. It is like Dakka broke my first posts. You can look at http://coolminiornot.com/article/aid/825 for an alternate location for the tutorial.

By request here is a picture of the wrack I have for my boards...pardon the mess
My flat boards are not there as they are currently residing at my LGS. Also in that picture you can see one of my river board set.
It is built out normal 2x4s and I am quite happy with it out off all the solutions I have tried over the years.

I am going to be making something like this with my friend, however it will be ice/snow/wintery themed instead of lava. This tutorial is very helpful for something like that. Thanks!

Is there any reason not to just mix the sand directly with the paint instead of "flocking" it like you have? Seems like it'd stick better and apply easier....

What happens when you do that is you will get clumping and a more uneven board surface. It would look cooler but it would be quite a bit rougher, mini's would not stand up as well and you would have breakage issues when transporting the boards (if you made them modular like I did). Also you would waste any left over sand and paint mixture that you did not use. It is a good idea though and was the first thing I tried when I started making terrain.

Man, thats amazing.

Awesome lava field at the beginning, I must say

Here's the fruits of your labors! Well, my labors, your instructions. Terrain is still drying so I'll have to post that later.

Overall I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I assure you any screw-ups were my own (or my toddler's). Considering this is the first piece of terrrain I've EVER put together, I'm practically ecstatic.

Things I've Learned:

I cut the main pieces of the field using a razor saw and then smoothed them using a dremel. This worked out really well (MESSY!), and the dremel does a nice job shaving the foam into realistic rock shapes.

After cutting the pieces, I realized I had an old solder gun I could use as a hot wire. That's what I used to cut the cracks. For some reason, I had it in my mind that you made much bigger crevices than what you did, so I was pretty aggressive with it. While I'm not dissappointed in how it looks (yours is better, mine is acceptable though), I wouldn't do it this way again. Those tiny cracks are a PAIN to paint. I didn't even bother trying to get lava in them.

When you say 1-2 bottles, you mean 2, and 3 if you suck at conserving material.

The hardest part was the caulk. That stuff does NOT want to cooperate. Part of it was I was using far too small of a brush. In the future, I would use a 1/2" to 1" stiff bristled brush to spread this stuff out, cause basically I ended up using the stick portion of my brush to push things around. This gave me a really, really rough surface. It works, but again, probably not as nice as the original. I'd put off drybrushing the land until you have the caulk laid down, because if you're like me you're going to do a lot of touch-up.

The sand trick works really well for texturing the board. Makes it similar to sandpaper though, so will be interesting to see if there's wear and tear on minis (I doubt it unless you're clumsy).

This sucker isn't free. The materials list the OP listed is pretty accurate cost-wise. I think I have about $60-$70 wrapped up in my board all told, but I was also using scrap foam I had from another project. Now I DO have some extra material left over (Lots of sand and hardboard), but when I want to do another board I'll have to shell out another $40-$50 probably. All that glue, caulk, and paint add up - not to mention plywood seems to have gone up in price again.

Anyhoo, thought I'd post my results from using this tutorial. Overall I give a hearty thumbs up!

Now two things:

One - WHERE are your scorched trees? I've been waiting for weeks and weeks for pics!

Two - Do you recommend a coating/varnish of any sort to protect the board or is it fine with just the paint? It seems pretty durable, but I'd like it to last.

VERY NICE! It is nice to see that this tutorial is relatively easy to follow and also to get comments on it from someone that has put it into practice!

I agree that the cracks are a PAIN to paint, especially the little ones that ended up with.

I would suggest with the Caulk for the lava to use a wet brush to smooth it out. As long as you get acrylic caulking you can do that.
You don't need to seal it, though if you transport it you may need to touch up the corners every so often as they get bumped. But there is nothing sealer would help with that. You do end up with a sandpaper like surface that is rough on metal mini's if you drop them on it, but that is what also gives it its' durability.

I do have pictures of the trees and I will work on them right now! I have been lazy with the holidays and with getting them up and written out.

And that is an amazing board for your first piece of terrain ever.



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Here is the section on making trees. I also have included it in the OP. Enjoy!

Step 1:



This part of the tutorial that will cover how I created the burnt out trees.

What you will need:
1. Plaster Cloth
2. Bases to mount the trees on (I used the flat 60mm GW bases)
3. Armature wire (Or some other easily bendable thicker wire)
4. Wood Glue
5. Sand for the bases
6. Red, Orange, Black and Gray Paint (Or white to mix with black)
7. Knife to cut the Plaster cloth
8. Bowl to fill with water
9. Wire cutters/pliers
10. Paint burshes



Step 1:



Cut 8x 8” sections of wire for each tree you want to make.
Each 2 wires will make one branch, so if you want more or less branches add or subtract 2 wires.

Bunch up your set of wires for a tree and grip them with the pliers twisting the wire to create the trunk. After you have a long enough trunk, go ahead and twist out the branches. After you have twisted them out, bend them around enough to look like a gnarled tree. Trim the “roots” so that they fit on the base you are using.











Repeat this as many times as you would like trees.



Step 2:

Warning: This will make a huge mess. Either, do it when you parents/spouse are not home, or give them fair warning that you are going to clean it up.

Cut an 1” to 1.5” strip off the Plaster Cloth



Fill a bowl with water and get one of your trees. Submerge the plaster cloth for a second then remove it. Do not squeeze it out. I would recommend doing this somewhere where it will not matter if you drip plaster all over the place. I used the kitchen sink (don’t tell my wife!). Start wrapping it around your armature until you have covered it all. You may need to cut multiple strips to cover the whole tree. You can also press it down and smooth it out in areas as needed. Do not move to slowly either as the plaster strip can harden on you while you are working with it. Repeat this until all the trees are wrapped








Once they are all wrapped up set them aside to dry for a few hours.



Step 3:

Once your trees are dry it is time to mount them. I drilled a few holes in the base so that it would be easier for the glue to adhere to them.



Next, spread some wood glue on the bottom of the tree and plop it down on the base over the holes





This will take a while to dry, but will be very strong once it is dry. After it is dry spread glue on the rest of the base and dip it in sand to texture it. Do this to all the trees and set them aside to dry.



Step 4:

Once this is all dry, get out your paints. First off I painted them red then let it dry, then painted parts of them orange. This is to achieve a glowing charcoal log look once you are done.



Once all this is dry, dry brush them black and also paint the bases.



Once this is all dry, dry brush them varying shades of gray to give them the cooling ash look. When finished should have a tree that looks like it has been set on fire and all that is left is a burn out husk that is glowing from within.



I then coated them with 2-3 layers of clear coat as paint will chip off plaster fairly easily when they rub together in a storage box.

Enjoy!

Here's pics with some of the terrain I whipped up. Again, I'm a terrain novice, but I think they turned out well. I took your advice and tried to make things that were playable and weren't nightmares to balance minis on. The popsicle stick bridge isn't even close to finished, but we needed an extra bridge so I tossed it on there - I actually like the look of it and can see where it'll turn into a nice piece with a little piece. I doubt Chaos (or Orks!) would defer to OSHA regarding wooden bridges spanning rivers of molten lava anyway. Definitely going to throw a few more together.

The cinder cones and whatnot are taking forever to dry. I'm going to have to move them to a warmer room in the house I think.

Also played the first game on this board today. It was a blast! We counted lava as impassible and rocks and whatnot as difficult (also had some random barbed wire scattered about to muck things up more). Had a lot of terrain and cover to hide behind, but moving to engage took some planning. Never wished for jump packs troops more.

This is cool!!1!

Very very, VERY cool!

@Menelker:You my friend, are a friggin' genuis!

Hey guy's im just going to the hardware store to get my materials and wondered when you said you get the foam from consruction sites can I just get it from my local Bunnings (B&Q) or watever you guys call it. Also I had an idea to mix the lava paint with water effects and 'ard coat and I tested it on a piece of cardboard and its looking good. Oh and 1-UP nice job on the board its REALLY awesome. Well.. thats all wish me luck with my frankenstein of a game board.

Great job on the board! Need my shipping address so that you can get it to me? : )

Im back from the shop (and a little detour) and i've foudn they do not have any of the insulation foam in blue or pink, infact they dont even have any of the foam I've looked in all 3 of my local hardware stores (Bunnings,Stratco,Mitre10) and they had nothing. Could anoyone give me advice to the whereabouts of its location [In South Australia] thanks guys (and gals) if you could help me on this one.

Seriously. A+ on this tutorial. Very nice.

Awesome guide very professional work you got there. Also I would like to know where to get the foam because as Nom Nom Nom said they don't sell it at my local hardware stores and building stores. Please reply.

Umm just saying but has anyone noticed this?
Look at the top of the page where to url is.



i just saw it o_o fluff fluff fluff take that kittens?


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Hmm it just changed again o_O I HAVE PROOF!

Lol @ the kittens. The tag line changes every time you reload to a page.

Here is a shop online that you can get some at http://www.frpshop.com/styrofoam-c-39_40.html. I don't know what they would charge to ship to you Aussies though. You may be able to do a little searching around online and see if you can find some. Or maybe have one of your local building supply stores special order it for you.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the reply but it just happnes that I have just found a place where I can get it. Very much thanks for the reply though

-=Scar=- wrote:Thanks for the reply but it just happnes that I have just found a place where I can get it. Very much thanks for the reply though

Cool deal! Make sure to post how it turns out!

Great board man. nice job!

I gotta board a bit like that but mine has a marsy type surface with the lava rivers. Not as good as yours though :-(

1-UP wrote:

-=Scar=- wrote:Thanks for the reply but it just happnes that I have just found a place where I can get it. Very much thanks for the reply though

Cool deal! Make sure to post how it turns out!

Yes I have Nearly done and i have put wiring in a board (I thinks its a worlds first) for the lava and it really gives a good effect for the lava it looks like its glowing O_o
I shall get some pics up in a few days or so ^^.


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OOh i didnt say there LED'sto the wire xD

Amazing, I'm making one next week!!

This is very cool, but alas, I have a city board and I have no intention of making another board. This is a GREAT tutorial, though.

That's like having one army but not wanting to have a second (or third... or fourth...).

^Yes, I know, but I like the board that I have right now, (it's not even 100% finished), and at the moment I don't want to make another at the moment. But it is cool!

I really should get around to taking some pics and doing a simple step by step for some basic transportable boards.