Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey, hope this is the right place to post this...

So how do you make roads for terrain ?
what do you make them out of is the main question.

You need to give a little more information than just modeling roads. What type of roads are we talking about? Dirt roads, cobble roads, asphalt roads. Are the roads distressed, or in good condition? Is this a large road for table top terrain or is this a piece of road for a base of a model?

I recently made cobblestone roads for my skaven army. I used a brick plasticard and cut out bricks were I wanted to show distress from my doomwheel rolling over it.

If you want asphalt roads you should get cork board (the kind you put thumb tacks into) and you can use that. It has the texture, is easy to cut and is really cheap.

For dirt roads or gravel roads use fire or coarse sands. Use white glue and water to hold it down and paint it the color you want.

Vinyl flooring.

Or vinyl floor tyles.

1m of flooring vinyl will yield around 6 linear metres of roadway.

Thanks for the quick replies, sorry i wasnt too specific, i am making a board that is to be a town / cityscape for 40k which the roads would be asphalt i would expect ? and wanted to know how to make roads without bendy cardboard, the corkboard will probably work, and the vinyl idea is good too.

 Warp Angels wrote:
Thanks for the quick replies, sorry i wasnt too specific, i am making a board that is to be a town / cityscape for 40k which the roads would be asphalt i would expect ? and wanted to know how to make roads without bendy cardboard, the corkboard will probably work, and the vinyl idea is good too.

This is the future, for all we know they could be made of marshmallows.

As for asphalt, the only thing I can think of would be textured paint to do that, but that's not particularl economical in the long run. Corkboard doesn't seem like it'll be accurate enough of bitumen either.

Foam maybe?

Styrofoam possibly?
I'm looking to do something similar myself too.

Do you want modular roads or a complete terrain mat with roads laid out around places where different buildings can be put?

Asfalt roads can easily be done with really, really fine sand sprinkled over PVA'd board, once dry you prime it, give it a few layers of drybrushing and apply your markings.

Asphalt roads : Black asphalt housing shingles work wonders!

Otherwise, I would suggest a light layer of sand glued down to your game board (or if you don't want the entire board permanently asphalt do it on sheets of 1/8" MDF of appropriate size), sealed, primed black and drybrushed lightly with a dark grey works well too.

In this case, do it over the entire surface of the board and just drop the buildings on top and you don't have to worry about where the roads will be placed (the building edges create the roads instead).

I have actually found MDF to be an excellent material for modern roads. You can get it pretty cheap and it is easy enough to work. The texture of the wood is an great stand in for concrete and asphalt.

Cut it to the size/shape you need and then use a bit of 120 grit sand paper to knock the smooth surface glazing off and open up the texture a bit. Seal and paint to match your desired paving type (whether it is asphalt or concrete).

You can scribe expansion joints and cracks on easily enough...even do things like patches and seals in the joints.

You can see an example of the results over here:

http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php?topic=26860.0

Use wet'n'dry paper - the grain size is perfect & so is the base colour.
Just brush on small amounts of weathering pigments to make it look more real.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
(when I say 'use wet'n;dry paper - what I mean is - buy some sheets, then stcik them done on to your board)

If you want sturdy light roads you can shove in a backpack, go to a stationery store and buy some cheap black plastic folders (the ones that hold plastic page pockets are perfect). and cut them into road sections (you should get 4 per folder of straight roads, or 2 if you cut them into intersections or curves).

The same folder covers also make great rivers and forest area terrain markers (from blue and green folders, of course).

These won't look as flash as some of the above suggestions, but they'll last a lot longer and are far more portable.

If you go to the hardware store, you should be able to find tiles in the flooring section. Most stores will have a few tiles that they sell individually. It should be fairly easy to find one with a gray or black finish that looks like concrete or asphalt. I've used tiles like that to get stone effects before, and I've seen ones I thought would make good roads, I've just never got around to doing it. Home Depot is my personal go to spot, but any large hardware store or home improvement store may have what you need.

^ thats kool, although im looking for modular roads, so i like the vinyl idea and with a little sand and paint i think it could work very well.

Thanks for all the other responses aswell, it helps alot

My pieces are made from vinyl tile.

The few roading ive done was on a base, and i just used cork plate and covered it in liquid greenstuff to not only strengthen it but plug some but not all of the gaps. Ended up looking pretty sweet (least for the base, not sure if it would work for larger terrain)