Switch Theme:

What are excellent materials for terrain bases? Foam board keeps bending and warping.  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
»
Author Message
Advert


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.




Made in ca
Regular Dakkanaut





The tittle says it all. But most importantly where do I find this material in Canada. And what is the best material to use for terrain bases.
   
Made in us
Ship's Officer





Dallas, TX

I personally don’t use or like terrain basing other than on trees/bushes which I just use round plastic bases, for your needs, try plasticard or sheet metal.
   
Made in it
Perfect Shot Dark Angels Predator Pilot





Sesto San Giovanni, Italy

Wood.

Or, even better, do not base your scenery.

I can't condone a place where abusers and abused are threated the same: it's destined to doom, so there is no reason to participate in it. 
   
Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







Thin hardboard tends to do the job but it's quite heavy.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also for smaller pieces ive seen redundant CDs been put to good use.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/01/28 14:29:10


Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
Cadre Coronal Afterglow w1;d0;l0 
   
Made in gb
Calculating Commissar





England

I have been wondering the same thing.

How thick should the plasticard be to avoid warping?

What kind of woods? I gather that MDF is still liable to warp (I know it is not strictly wood). Is thin (~3mm) plywood any good?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 Flinty wrote:
Thin hardboard tends to do the job but it's quite heavy.

I'm guessing hardboard warps less than its lighter MDF cousin?

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also for smaller pieces ive seen redundant CDs been put to good use.

I've actually got a piece mounted on a CD They do somewhat limit to terrain in size and shape though.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/01/28 14:39:12


 ChargerIIC wrote:
If algae farm paste with a little bit of your grandfather in it isn't Grimdark I don't know what is.
 
   
Made in de
Huge Bone Giant






 Haighus wrote:
IHow thick should the plasticard be to avoid warping?


Depends on what you want to do. I use 1.5mm thick plasticard for my scenery pieces and it becomes rock solid in conjunction with a layer of sand and PVA glue. I can easily hold a large piece (8" or more across) on one edge and experience no bending from the weight of the terrain. I don't put heavy metal objects or rocks on it, though. Mostly plastic with some wood and ceramic plaster (which tends to get a little heavy).

It also depends on whether you build interconnected supports into your terrain so that strain on one part of the base gets distributed to other parts as well.

I'm quite the fan of plasticard basing as it's a flexible material that works great as a base plastic terrain as plastic glue welds the pieces together as you would expect, and being flexible it can take a bit of strain to avoid cracks (more so with an added layer of PVA glue, which is somewhat flexible, too).

I use 1.5mm plasticard specifically because it keeps the terrain base low so as not to stand out too much as the main feature. As far as durability is concerned I'd say that's where you start to see good and consistent results for what you would typically put into a terrain piece at the scale we play. 1mm seems a little too thin for my taste, though it might work if you build light or for smaller scale. I've seen 3mm plastic boards used for terrain. You ask me, that's doomsday prepper size. If for some unfathomable reasons yo want to pack an actual rock (not a pebble, not a stone, a rock) on a base, you may want to start with 3mm thickness. Though at that point the thing holding everything together is the rock and the plasticard sheet is for detailing...

Ramble over.

Nehekhara lives! Sort of!
Why is the rum always gone? 
   
Made in us
Powerful Phoenix Lord





Sintrex is pretty good, but quite expensive compared to MDF.
   
Made in ca
Lone Wolf Sentinel Pilot





Los Angeles, CA, USA

Masonite or hardboard is probably your best bet for long term durability.
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut




Scotland

Believe it or not,cardboard!
Find a box that is made of a rigid cardboard(not easily bendable). Coat both sides in pva,this makes it waterproof and less likely to bend.
When dry, stick on your scenery then go round the cardboard with something like grout or plaster.
You will have a scenery base that is very tough and does not bend.

 
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran





the least warpy is quite expensive.

You want to used Foamed PVC, 5mm is usually good enough. Looks like foambard w/o the paper and without all the air holes.

Consummate 8th Edition Hater.  
   
Made in ca
Speed Drybrushing





t.dot

You could go to Home Depot and get sheets of 1/2" or 1" pink insulation foam, MDF board (also works great for display boards, but cutting it in anything but straight lines is a bitch unless you have the tools), a couple sheets of foamcore stuck together. Lots of options!

   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





Haven't tried it myself, but I've seen terrain building vids that claim coating the underside of a foam board base will un-bend it and let it lie flat. It makes sense--you have a compressive effect on both surfaces, cancelling each other out, instead of compression on only one surface.

This video by Wyloch shows the before and after, around the 2:20 mark.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/01/29 17:59:10


 
   
Made in us
Legendary Master of the Chapter






The Allfather wrote:
The tittle says it all. But most importantly where do I find this material in Canada. And what is the best material to use for terrain bases.


As others have stated foamed pvc is pretty good and wont warp.

you may have some luck asking some sign shops if they have cut offs or maybe stock you could purchase. otherwise you may be able to find plastic whole salers. and then ebay and amazon probably has it.

they have everything.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:
 Scott-S6 wrote:
And yet another thread is hijacked for Unit to ask for the same advice, receive the same answers and make the same excuses.

Oh my god I'm becoming martel.
Send help!

 
   
Made in au
[MOD]
Making Stuff






Under the couch

 Flinty wrote:
Thin hardboard tends to do the job but it's quite heavy.

A heavy base can be good, to help stop the terrain from moving around or tipping over on the table.

I tend to use foamed PVC or foam board for most of my buildings, with Masonite bases for strength and weight.

 
   
 
Forum Index » Painting & Modeling
Go to: