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Hey all.....

I am thinking of upgrading my type of base.....currently using cardboard but i tire of warping and want something a bit more durable.

I have heard of people using acrylic and / or PVC sheets.
Have any of you used these? if so what thickness is thick enough for larger pieces.

some may notice i have barraged Dakka with a lot of topics lately; Im looking to improve the quality of my pieces and reduce building costs XD

Thanks for reading ^^

MDF Boards! They're like a lovechild of wood and cork boards. They're fairly easy to cut, durable, doesn't warp and relatively lightweight.

600th POST!!

Plywood, works WONDERS for terrain bases but for gaming boards go with MDF.

With Warping you just have to be careful to much liquid can cause it to warp so go little by little, but if you don't want to risk warping at all go with MDF, medium density fiberboard does not warp with ease. MDF is not very cheap thou.

Problem with plywood is that it's hard to cut, and not everyone has access to power tools.

Styroboards can serve as bases, but the're more brittle. They'll never warp, though.

It doesnt seem like I have access to MDF here.....

nor do i have the suitable tools to work with wood :S

I do have a stable supply of PVC/ ABS and acrylic sheets in any thickness i need.......would that be useful at all?

I would like to avoid Styrofoam if i can....Its brittleness makes me worry about its durability XD

Cork flooring tiles don't really warp and can be cut with a stanley knife. You do need to be a little careful with the corners as little bits can crumble off if you're rough with the handling.

I tend to use hardboard, You can just about cut it with a stanley knife if your persistent.

Acrylic sheets should work if they are thick enough. Or maybe layer foam on top of a thin piece of acrylic?

hmmmm il have to look in to HDF.....so many great ideas....so few available in my area (maybe there would be more options open if i spoke the language fluently XD)

Assuming one did use acrylic....how thick is thick enough do you think? 2mm? 5mm?

I use very thin plywood which you can cut with a craft knife

Nightfall - how thin? and how much weight can it handle?

Isn't plasticard supposed to be the ultimate basing material? Even the PVC sheets you have access to, should be sufficient.

Just to be clear, are you looking for materials to add to an already existing base, or do you want to use the material as the base?

Cheers,


IK-Painter

IK - I am looking for a sturdy material to use as a base to start off of......
My larger terrain pieces can get a bit heavy...due to the fact i like to make the ground texture from a sand / pva mixture as it can re-create uneven non perfect ground pretty well....
It can get quite heavy...especially when there is a building on top of it.....I i just dont trust cardboard for baring that kind of load hehe

Ok - you should have said, that you need a base for terrain, rather than minis.

For your needs, the PVC sheets, or an MDF should do the trickm and as you can't get the MDF, use the PVC. Just take one sheet and put the desired material you want to use on top of it - if it warps, try one a bit thicker, if it stays level, you're golden.

Cheers,


IK-Painter

IK-Painter wrote:Isn't plasticard supposed to be the ultimate basing material? Even the PVC sheets you have access to, should be sufficient.

Just to be clear, are you looking for materials to add to an already existing base, or do you want to use the material as the base?

Cheers,


IK-Painter

I used plasticard for my buildings. I got 'For Sale' signs from the hardware store and cut them to fit with a box knife. Gluing the plastic building to the card was easy using super glue / zap-a-gap / plastic glue types... but getting the flock/sand/rubble/etc on the card was a different story. Plasticard is not porous or even semi-porous so PVC glue (most glues actually) will not work, I learned the hard way... all of the sand and junk will stay glued to each-other but not to the plasticard base. I ended up trying a LOT of glues, because I am that sort of nutjob, and discovered that DAP Contact Cement is the glue for the job... you get lots of it in one container, it has its own brush, and it works beautifully.

Corrugated card will take the weight, but it does like to bow and warp on big bases.

3mm acrylic might do the trick, would be really expensive here tho


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Gunzhard wrote:

IK-Painter wrote:Isn't plasticard supposed to be the ultimate basing material? Even the PVC sheets you have access to, should be sufficient.

Just to be clear, are you looking for materials to add to an already existing base, or do you want to use the material as the base?

Cheers,


IK-Painter

I used plasticard for my buildings. I got 'For Sale' signs from the hardware store and cut them to fit with a box knife. Gluing the plastic building to the card was easy using super glue / zap-a-gap / plastic glue types... but getting the flock/sand/rubble/etc on the card was a different story. Plasticard is not porous or even semi-porous so PVC glue (most glues actually) will not work, I learned the hard way... all of the sand and junk will stay glued to each-other but not to the plasticard base. I ended up trying a LOT of glues, because I am that sort of nutjob, and discovered that DAP Contact Cement is the glue for the job... you get lots of it in one container, it has its own brush, and it works beautifully.

Those signs are on corrugated plastic aren't they? Would be a good choice if you can get it