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Hey folks. My resolution for next year is to get a decent set up for infinity. As much as I'd like to just drop a wedge on all the MDF out there, I figure it would be a few hundred quid to get a densely populated table. I'll have a 28mm 6'x4' Games and Gears board arriving after their kickstarter, and having been inspired by the poor man's infinity thread, I figured I'd buy a crapton of hardboard and cork, and knock up my own city.

I'll be taking inspiration from both the poor man's thread, and some of the MDF stuff out there, but if I'm going to the effort of building a city, I figure I want to put my own stamp on it too. That said, I'd like there to be distinct areas within the city, and just wondered if anyone had any bright ideas I could accommodate. I figure eventually I can add more tiles, so I can switch up the layout any time. So far, I'm thinking:

Slum district - lots of Habs, stacked up to three stories in places, lots of graffiti, a burnt out vehicle or two...

Parkland - lots of ground level soft cover, the occasional vendor's cart etc.

Commercial district - shops, lots of street furniture, vehicles, maybe a church/temple of some description, an open air market type thing with stalls. Again, some of the buildings would be up to 3 storeys.

Industrial area - lots of tanks and pipework, catwalks, towers etc. Lots of hiding areas, as well as lots of vantage points and open ground.

Really just looking for some inspiration from folks - I won't get my board until at least the middle of 2014, so I have plenty of time between now and then to knock up some stuff. I'd like to have at least 8 themes for tiles, and switch em up to suit.

I've got a table that's a small part "urban" city with 2/3 slum shanties (walled off from the rest of it, of course).

You could also take a look on the official forums for Scarecrow's terrain. He made a batch of stuff from corkboard.

Me, I just use foamcard, sintra (foamed PVC sheet), gift boxes and scrapbooking supplies (corrugated card makes a great scale corrugated iron for roofing or walls of shanties).

Think you've got some good ideas there. Agree that a mix of styles can work very well, and especially if you are going for a tile approach, providing they aren't too contrasting you should be able to mix them up and not ruin the illusion you have created.

For my board I went for a mix of industrial areas, which allowed me to use a lot of foam shipping crates, upturned CD boxes as silos, biscuit tins as factories and other cheap DIY options. Then, I had a 'residential' sector, which featured a bunch of the MAS apartment buildings and walkways. Obviously there is a contrast between these, so rather than super-clean buildings in the residential sector I went for a dirtier, grafitti covered look, with skips, toilets and things like that!

If you like, please take a look at my blog (link below) - all of the terrain is from about page 3 onwards. This kind of thing can make a wonderful (and very consuming!) project - it's a lot of work but one of the most enjoyable hobby-related things I've done in recent years. Looking forward to seeing what you can come up with in any case!

Pacific, your board is inspirational. I'm afraid I'll be stealing several of your awesome ideas for my own board. In particular, your graffiti is fantastic!

I built all of my buildings out of foamcore and wooden bases. I got those 4"x6" wooden pieces from art stores, and huge black foamcore sheets, as well as a single 4'x4' black peterboro sheet. With a liter of carpenter's glue, you're golden.

I added a few of the small coffee canisters and tall beer cans, and I have a table that is full of terrain for about... 50$? It's a lot of work, and textured paint cans will help, but they'll drive the cost up a bit.

Ironbovin just stumbled on dollar store boxes that he turned the lids on, made holes for doors and double his density instantly.