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Folks, I throw myself on the wisdom of Dakka – how can I get cardboard to not warp when I use it to base terrain on? And is it possible to sand/ bevel it to prevent an awkward "lip" from forming?

Also, bought myself a big sheet of 3mm MDF, what's the best way to cut it, can I use a DIY knife or is it time to break out the big saw?

You cannot.

Cardboard and paper fiber products will do that

Even foam board will as well.

MDF will warp but you can kinda mitigate that by sealing with it varnish first.

3mm MDF you will probably want to cut it out with a jig saw.

Yep, no real way around it. It's just not a good material for long-lasting terrain unless you're doing a lot of work to it.

MDF is a good option, probably the best of the bunch. Another option is to buy some "sealed" style MDF. I used to use some small marker boards I got from an education supply store...hold on...

If you look up "dry erase student lap board" it should come up with stuff like this:



They're available from a variety of websites and you can buy them in bulk. At 9"x12" (pretty standard it seems) they're a pretty decent size for the majority of terrain. You might need to scuff the dry erase surface with some sand paper to make sure it holds paint, but it should be more paint resilient than normal MDF and it's normally sealed on both sides. Something to consider?

I think they have the same thing but in chalkboard form which should hold paint way better than dry eraser

but be warned im pretty sure if its the same stuff that home depot sells the back isnt sealed.

so you still want to hit the whole thing with a good spray varnish.

even when sealed if taken around to different regions with different humidity it may warp but if its from home use then i highly doubt it will warp. even when warping it shouldn't be significant.

Thanks for the advice, I'll give them a try - damn, I was hoping not to have to spring for a jigsaw.. oh well!

 Skinflint Games wrote:
Thanks for the advice, I'll give them a try - damn, I was hoping not to have to spring for a jigsaw.. oh well!

Jig saw, scroll saw, band saw. all works fine

you can get away with a hack saw with a wood blade or even a copeing saw, but prepare to hate your self as you try and do it manually

I believe you - I've got one of those big Predator saws, cut tthrough most things like butter but it's going to be no good for cutting curved shapes :-/

why does "tool-man Taylor" come to mind here... hehe

Part of the card board warping issue might be due to the size of the card board.

I made small terrain pieces that did not warp, and it also helps to include weight to the piece itself. Like small rock piles, fake fish tank plants, or coating the whole thing with glue and sand.

(all these pictures were taken back in 2010... I just recently got back into the game... no new pictures yet)

One thing you can use that won't warp is lexan - any clear plastic sheeting, really - in the 3mm thickness range. People mostly use it to make tool guards and the like, but it works for terrain, though you do have to rough up the surface of it to get a good adhesion for glue.

If you have a hardware surplus store near you, picking up scraps for cheap is generally easy. Otherwise, good home renovation stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Rona, etc) will sell full sheets of it.

I generally use 3mm MDF, seal it with varnish once or twice. It's the water from most PVA glues that warps it. It's possible to score and snap the stuff if you want square sections. And a belt sander is really handy for beveling the edges, though a wood file works as well.

 Skinflint Games wrote:
Folks, I throw myself on the wisdom of Dakka – how can I get cardboard to not warp when I use it to base terrain on? And is it possible to sand/ bevel it to prevent an awkward "lip" from forming?

Also, bought myself a big sheet of 3mm MDF, what's the best way to cut it, can I use a DIY knife or is it time to break out the big saw?

You can get a wide variety of thickness plasticard on amazon for very reasonable price. The thicker stuff is quite stiff. I've based small terrain pieces on it before with good results.

If you're putting PVA glue on the surface it's going to warp, because PVA contracts a little when it dries. No way around except using a super rigid base or not use PVA glue. I don't believe 3mm MDF is rigid enough to stop all warping even if it's "sealed".

Hmm, interesting- might try tacky glue instead of PVA then... Nice pics by the way!