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I'd just started my modular buildings project and i think i'll share it all here!

The first step was planning. so here's a drawing of what my first floor module will look like.



here's the detailed floor plan. I'll upload images of cutting out the flabs from foam board tonight/tomorrow.

I'm interested to see what this will look like. I always enjoy watching people make things themselves because its always hard to tell exactly what it'll look like. I just like watching creativity do its thing.

This will be very interesting to watch develop i have just one question what material are you using to build it styrene or foam board?

Here's a bit of an update.



This is the slabs plotted out on the foam board piece. its a bit hard to see.



Here's all the pieces cut out. They turned out kind of rough. I was using an Xacto knife to cut them out. I think that if I had a better cutting tool it would have turned out better.



One of the interior doors all set up. The green part is masking tape. I put it on the doorjambs aand the edges of the doors to make them fit together a bit easier. I trimmed the doors a bit before I put the tape on them to compensate for the tape.



This is how I made the hinges. They're just strips of cloth hot glued to the door jamb and door.



It works!



The two walls I finished. I put tape around the windows too. I think i'm going to put tape on all the edges that will end up exposed. It will all be covered with paint soon anyways.

To answer the question, I used foam board for this. I havn't been able to find styrene anywhere.

When working with foamcore or, in fact, any type of foam, you have to constantly change your x-acto blades. The moment you feel resistance as you're cutting, time to change it. If you see the foam inside the foamcore pulling away into little balls and such, too late. Your blade is FAR too dull. Also, if you have to press down any mor ethan lightly to get a cut, your blade is too dull.



Ghidorah

It eats up blades that fast? this it gonna be expensive...

Instead of an X-acto, buy a real scalpel (type 3 or 5, Swann Morton is the brand I use) and a -bunch- of #11 or #10 blades. Cheaper than X-acto blades and doesn't dull as fast. Although, when cutting foamcore or anything paper, stuff dulls -really fast-.

I went through a pack of 100 #11-blades this semster in school, all by just cutting foamcore boards and prints… >_<

Well, it does eat up blades REALLY fast, but with a caveat. It eats up blades for further use on foamcore. They still work well enough for things like cutting plasticard, cardstock, etc. You can still use them for cleaning plastic models and what-not, too. I used to save my blades that dulled from foamcore work to use in other areas of the hobby, but they pile up pretty quickly, so now I just toss 'em.

A typical Imperial Building of mine is on a 12" x 12" base, made of 3/16" foamcore. All of it. Most extraneous facade work and roofing is done with 1/16" cardstock. I make all of my buildings sit in at least 1" (or very close to it) from the edges. I make ALL of my floors/levels 3" from floor to ceiling. On some occasions I will make a floor taller than the requisite 3", but I will do so in a multiple of 3".

Assuming I am making a 10" x 10" intact building (not ruins) with 4 floors and a roof. I will likely change my blade three times throughout the project.
It's really all about getting a feel for how your chosen medium reacts to your tools. In this case, foamcore. It's just like learning how much pressure to apply with your paintbrush for various degrees of painting.

If I use a 1/2" foamcore sheet (extremely rare, but I have) then an x-acto knife is useless to me. I use a drywall knife. The 1/2" dulls blades like nobody's business. The standard 3/16" foamcore isn't as bad as other types, though. If you ever see the solid black 3/16" foamcore, WOW! I just LOVE working with that stuff. It cuts sooooo much more responsively, it doesn't have that one glossy side. It's fantastic stuff to work with. The down side, and the reason I never use it, is that it is more expensive and it REALLY (really) kills blades.




Ghidorah

wow! thanks for the tips. I'll definitely put them to use. just out of curiosity, where can i get scalpels and scalpel blades usually? i'm not in a big city; the biggest dtore we have is a (relatively) small wal-mart). I still have a bunch of blades i got with my GW hobby knife so i guess they'll last be a little while. I've been making my floors 3" high from floor to the next floor, so my walls are 2 13/16" high. I thought that was the standard. If that's not the case then I'll be sure to do that next time. Also, what's this cardstock you've mentioned? is it like bristol board?

First, the walls: I do 3". I also allow for the thickness of the floor when measuring out the walls. So, from the first floor's floor to the ceiling measures 3". Then, I measure each floor after that at 3-3/16". Not trying to confuse you or anything, but I'll try to explain a little:

1) Measure inside of wall from bottom up 3" on either end.
2) Connect the two measurements with a straight line. This is where I glue the bottom of the next floor.
3) From that line, measure 3/16" on either end.
4) Connect with a straight line. This is where I measure my next 3" section from.
5) Repeat ad infinitum.

If this is too goofy or confusing, I will quickly draw it when I get home (in another 7 hours...) so you can visualize what I'm trying to say... lol



As for cardstock, that's just thick paper. Thicker and stiffer than cardboard (like you see on the back of a notebook) and made out of a finer grade of paper pulp. Cardstock is also referred to as matte board. It's the same card that you see framing many wall art pieces and some photos.

If you go to a framing shop, they should have plenty of 1/8" cardstock on hand. If you have the hobby chain store, "Hobby Lobby" in Canadia, that's where I get all my cardstock.

I use cardstock for almost all of my building facades, steps, rooftops, eaves, signs, details like eagles, etc.



Ghidorah

For scalpels, usually a hobby / arts & crafts store. Then again if the only thing you will be cutting is straight lines I'd go for one of those snap-off-blade cutters. They're usually way cheaper. Just take care not to excert too much force laterally on them, they can snap and mess things up

Ghidorah wrote:First, the walls: I do 3". I also allow for the thickness of the floor when measuring out the walls. So, from the first floor's floor to the ceiling measures 3". Then, I measure each floor after that at 3-3/16". Not trying to confuse you or anything, but I'll try to explain a little:

1) Measure inside of wall from bottom up 3" on either end.
2) Connect the two measurements with a straight line. This is where I glue the bottom of the next floor.
3) From that line, measure 3/16" on either end.
4) Connect with a straight line. This is where I measure my next 3" section from.
5) Repeat ad infinitum.

If this is too goofy or confusing, I will quickly draw it when I get home (in another 7 hours...) so you can visualize what I'm trying to say... lol



As for cardstock, that's just thick paper. Thicker and stiffer than cardboard (like you see on the back of a notebook) and made out of a finer grade of paper pulp. Cardstock is also referred to as matte board. It's the same card that you see framing many wall art pieces and some photos.

If you go to a framing shop, they should have plenty of 1/8" cardstock on hand. If you have the hobby chain store, "Hobby Lobby" in Canadia, that's where I get all my cardstock.

I use cardstock for almost all of my building facades, steps, rooftops, eaves, signs, details like eagles, etc.



Ghidorah

Yeah thats exactly what i'm doing now i think. I'll try to find some cardstock. it might make my walls look less... raggedy.

Hopefully i'll make some progress tomorrow. only 3 more walls to tape up! Then i'll glue it all together and start on the foundation module and the roof module. what kinda roof should i do? a flat one would be nice for my tau (JSJ and all that).

Depends on the playability you that desire for the building. Is the roof detachable? If models can't get inside it, then I would certainly make the roof flat. This way, the terrain piece has more use than just an LOS blocker.

Personally, I make 90% of my buildings with flat roofs. I use peaked roofs, etc. to break up the monotony or to accent the design. Plus, I normally leave non-flat roofs to my larger buildings. Larger, primarily, in height, but also in footprint.



Ghidorah

Ghidorah wrote:Depends on the playability you that desire for the building. Is the roof detachable? If models can't get inside it, then I would certainly make the roof flat. This way, the terrain piece has more use than just an LOS blocker.

Personally, I make 90% of my buildings with flat roofs. I use peaked roofs, etc. to break up the monotony or to accent the design. Plus, I normally leave non-flat roofs to my larger buildings. Larger, primarily, in height, but also in footprint.



Ghidorah

The building is modular in that the roof, floors and foundation are all separate pieces so yes, the roof is removable. In alot of games i've played we've suffered from a lack of 'real' terrain so we use battleforce boxes. so i tend to jump my suits onto roofs to avoid them being assaulted.

Yep. For me, flat is the rule, with anything other than as the exception. For any buildings that get regular play time (used in everyday games as opposed to the once-a-month Apoc games), flat roofs are the best bet, if for no other reason than playability.

Besides, if all that flat roofing is looking bland or repetitious, it's easy to break the flatness up with aerials, skylights, generators, pipes, smokestacks, etc. That way it keeps its practicality and it doesn't look like every other roof.




Ghidorah

Aaaah good point! thanks!