Lightweight Modular Game Board - WIP

[MDSW]

Here is my start on a project I have thought about for a number of years. The GW board I really like but, $300 is a little steep, as great as it is... It has inspired me to make my own. My thought is to make this extremely lightweight and portable. First step is to design the boards for maximum flexibility.

I started with 2' x 2' squares and the mountain concept from GW and thought to expand to include some ravine/rivers. Here is what I have come up with so far.

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My thought is to use the HDF insulation boards with some sort of thin backing. If I use the insulation and some tempered fiberboard I can buy an 8'x4' sheet of each for under $20.

Thoughts and ideas are welcome!!

[Greatwulf]

seems cool, I look forward to see how it comes out.

[King Ulrik Flamebeard]

That is a great little idea. I am really looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Kuffy

[MDSW]

Thanks for the encouragement - Off to the store! I purchased 1 4'x8' HDF foam sheet (1/2" thick) and 1 4'x8' tempered fiberboard sheet along with some 1"x2"s for framing and some 'L' brackets. Total cost was $26 and change. I suppose I could have used something different than the fiberboard, but I want something thin and stiff - hopefully, it will do the trick.

Tonight I will set up the table saw and do some cutting!!

[MDSW]

Step 3 - My biggest concern is that I need to get each 2'x2' piece perfectly square. So after a rough cut to size, I glued the foam to the board and let it sit overnight. My plan is to line up a guide to shave off an edge and get edge side smooth and it will keep all 6 six pieces the exact same size.

Here is one of the square sets before gluing the foam to the board. The foam is 1/2" thick and the fiberboard is about 3/16". So far, so good...

Board1.jpg

[MDSW]

The table saw worked very well and I was able to just shave off each edge (after a little custom extension on the table to bring the guide 24" from the blade. After the shave on each edge, the exact dimensions of each square is 23 3/4" - so, my table will be just a hair short, but I can live with that. The end result was 6 pieces exactly square and exactly the same size - this was my biggest fear when starting, as not being able to achieve this important step.

Here are some pics with the 1' x 1' square piece glued down for the plateaus and the subsequent rough sand to shape for the raised hills. I will need to do four squares just like this and make sure they all transition to each other the same regardless of how they are placed together.

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All six pieces weigh less than 10lbs - pretty light and the glued HDF on the fiberboard is extremely stiff. Now on to the fun part - sculpting!!

[MDSW]

Here are the boards all primed up. They fit together pretty good. Hopefully, I will be able to put a little work into it this weekend with some river and rock details and then some washes to bring up the stone details. Then will come the base colors.

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[Greatwulf]

nice work really impressive

[TheDapperGenestealer]

Ohhh nice, the tiled road is schweet. I've been thinking about building myself a modular board so will definitely be keeping an eye on this. +rep!

[Malacoda]

I will be watching this too. I have always wanted to build a portable table but wasn't sure what materials would be best to use.