Good point - I bought a bunch of trees several years back from a model railroad outfit... and, since trees come in all sizes (small cherry trees to gigantic redwoods & sequoias), you can pretty much get a range of sizes. From 1-2 inches tall to 9-12 inches tall and anywhere in between. Unless you want to mount them on your own, though, make sure you get the ones with bases on them.
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No, Hirst Arts. Just...no.
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Good point - I bought a bunch of trees several years back from a model railroad outfit... and, since trees come in all sizes (small cherry trees to gigantic redwoods & sequoias), you can pretty much get a range of sizes. From 1-2 inches tall to 9-12 inches tall and anywhere in between. Unless you want to mount them on your own, though, make sure you get the ones with bases on them.
Pbartender
First Post
Model Train Landscaping Materials at Megahobby.
Railroad and diorama supplies are also a great way to pick up generic animals for use as minis.
I also have to give Hirst Arts credit. Those molds are spectacularly long lived and well worth the 35$ investment. I intend to get some more at GenCon this year.
Most hobbies, D&D included, have a significant buy-in cost. I agree that paying so much just to make addons to your D&D games isn't worth it. If you enjoy the activity of building as a hobby in its own right, it is totally worth it.
Most hobbies, D&D included, have a significant buy-in cost. I agree that paying so much just to make addons to your D&D games isn't worth it. If you enjoy the activity of building as a hobby in its own right, it is totally worth it.
WizarDru
Adventurer
Add me to the list of folks who think that Hirst Arts is just ducky. Yes, the initial investment is a tad pricey, but you can do SO MUCH with just a couple of molds. The big difference for hirst arts is that the cost to make a corridor is pretty high....but the cost to make a castle, dice tower and about 200x200 squares of dungeon floor is...about the same as the cost of the corridor (give or take a few dollars of paint.
If you want to go cheaper, then as folks have mentioned, paper collections are one option. Ink, as mentioned, begins to rack up. Foam board and a little paint makes for some easy pieces (my one friend made a four-piece colleseum from foam board that is pretty damn spiff)...but ultimately, there's a certain threshold you need to reach.
If you want to go cheaper, then as folks have mentioned, paper collections are one option. Ink, as mentioned, begins to rack up. Foam board and a little paint makes for some easy pieces (my one friend made a four-piece colleseum from foam board that is pretty damn spiff)...but ultimately, there's a certain threshold you need to reach.
One thing to consider if you want to make your own molds is that you may be dealing with components that oxidize pretty quickly -- degrading usefulness -- once the containers are opened.
So, you may want to have a bunch of originals ready for the process beforehand (probably even before buying the mold materials).
Of course, that you need originals in the first place may be a bigger issue! Give the sculpting a try first, and then consider how much you would pay someone to make a master -- and to make a mold from it!
So, you may want to have a bunch of originals ready for the process beforehand (probably even before buying the mold materials).
Of course, that you need originals in the first place may be a bigger issue! Give the sculpting a try first, and then consider how much you would pay someone to make a master -- and to make a mold from it!
malcolypse
First Post
TerraGenesis: Forum Index
these folks are full of great info on building your own terrain, and have some amazing pics of their stuff.
these folks are full of great info on building your own terrain, and have some amazing pics of their stuff.
I use extruded polystyrene insulation, usually called blue or pink board depending on the brand. A 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" is in the $10-15 range.
It is easy to cut into strips and then you can inscribe the stone or brick pattern in with a pencil. It's even easy to do while watching a movie or BSing. Once painted it holds up well to wear and tear as well.
I don't have any photos of my dungeon stuff handy, but here is an Old West jail I built using this method.
It is easy to cut into strips and then you can inscribe the stone or brick pattern in with a pencil. It's even easy to do while watching a movie or BSing. Once painted it holds up well to wear and tear as well.
I don't have any photos of my dungeon stuff handy, but here is an Old West jail I built using this method.
Toscadero
Explorer
I've got to chime in with support for Hirst Arts. $35.00 defrayed amongst a group will cut your cost. And one 50 pound box of dental plaster will make you a ton of bricks.
My suggestion is to start small. Get a floor piece mold and a basic wall mold and try it out.
I built my Descent board from Hirst Arts and it makes a world of difference in the visual appeal of the game. The tutorials on the site are great. These same pieces can be used as floor pieces in our D&D games for cavern crawls.
The amount of time for each mold to harden depends on where you live. I cast, scrape after 3 minutes and am demolding after 30 minutes. If I work fast and start as soon as I get home, I can get 8-10 castings done in an evening while watching TV. And then there is always that last cast of the night that waits to be demolded in the morning.
My suggestion is to start small. Get a floor piece mold and a basic wall mold and try it out.
I built my Descent board from Hirst Arts and it makes a world of difference in the visual appeal of the game. The tutorials on the site are great. These same pieces can be used as floor pieces in our D&D games for cavern crawls.
The amount of time for each mold to harden depends on where you live. I cast, scrape after 3 minutes and am demolding after 30 minutes. If I work fast and start as soon as I get home, I can get 8-10 castings done in an evening while watching TV. And then there is always that last cast of the night that waits to be demolded in the morning.
Let me state up front that I am a HUGE fan of Hirst Arts. I actually have a business license with them to sell casts, kits, and builds.
Now, with that said, let me also say that you only 'need' 1 mold to get started. That mold is #60 - Prison Tower. It comes with floor tiles, wall bricks, windows, arches, and a couple decorative pieces for good measure. That plus shipping is $40.
You should be able to pick up 50 pounds of Hydrostone for around $20-$25. Other than that, you need a mixing container and either a way to scrape or a glass plate to get the excess plaster off of the mold. Over all, Less than $70 to get started (That's less than the starter 3 book D&D pack!!).
7 Years ago I bought 1 mold, 203 (cracked tile floor) to add additional floor tiles to my Dwarven Forge collection. Since then I have replaced my entire Dwarven Forge collection with HA builds, ad now I have around 90 or so HA molds, plus many custom molds.
However, if your heart is set on 'DiY', I do have a good site that may help get you on the right track. The text is in a foreign language (and is part of the pictures, thus can't use google translate on the entire site) but you can get the idea from the pictures.
Tutorial: Wolfgangs Vampirburg is the page I'm primarily referring to, however, the main site is at Tutorials.
Naloomi
Naloomi's Workshop
Now, with that said, let me also say that you only 'need' 1 mold to get started. That mold is #60 - Prison Tower. It comes with floor tiles, wall bricks, windows, arches, and a couple decorative pieces for good measure. That plus shipping is $40.
You should be able to pick up 50 pounds of Hydrostone for around $20-$25. Other than that, you need a mixing container and either a way to scrape or a glass plate to get the excess plaster off of the mold. Over all, Less than $70 to get started (That's less than the starter 3 book D&D pack!!).
7 Years ago I bought 1 mold, 203 (cracked tile floor) to add additional floor tiles to my Dwarven Forge collection. Since then I have replaced my entire Dwarven Forge collection with HA builds, ad now I have around 90 or so HA molds, plus many custom molds.
However, if your heart is set on 'DiY', I do have a good site that may help get you on the right track. The text is in a foreign language (and is part of the pictures, thus can't use google translate on the entire site) but you can get the idea from the pictures.
Tutorial: Wolfgangs Vampirburg is the page I'm primarily referring to, however, the main site is at Tutorials.
Naloomi
Naloomi's Workshop
thedungeondelver
Adventurer
Hirst Arts is nice; I have a tower someone gave me once upon a time, and someone else was kind enough to build and paint for me (thanks Gregg and Scott, in that order).
Before I decided what gaming terrain to buy, I looked at a lot of things, and tried some.
Flat "battlemaps" are...meh, okay, but at that point I might as well be drawing it by hand on a piece of paper*.
Punch out/cut out dungeon stuff looked great...! But...how many gallons of toner are you going to burn through to get a decent collection? TSR did a pre-made set that was a bitch to get together...bought two for $2 each at Circus World toys when they were having a clearance sale, and I think I only ever used them once.
Then I looked at Hirst Arts. That looked like a good choice. Buy the molds, knock out as many or as much stuff as you want! All you have to do is pour, and paint.
I had some hard thinking to do before I made that leap, though. How much pouring and painting would I actually do? Or would I do any? Would I wind up with a bunch of unused molds and slowly curing dental plaster sitting out here, like so many of my unpainted reaper minis?
Ultimately, for me, Dwarven Forge was the way to go. Yes their stuff is expensive. Yes, getting even a marginally decent 'crawl going is a serious $ investment...but at the end of the day, I thought, well, this is my hobby. I don't have a half-built antique car in the garage I tinker with, I don't have a collection of cameras and lenses - my hobby is D&D.
Thus I have slowly but surely built up a nice collection of two (well, technically three with the Den of Evil set), the cavernous passages set, both trap sets, underwater stream set, cavern set, lots of furniture, two Floor Sets, two Fantasy Starter sets, and tons of individual pieces.
Expensive? Yes. Hell yes. But, would I even have a quarter of this if I'd bought Hirst Arts molds and started rolling my own, like I did back in 2000 when I made that jump? Hell no.
So that's what you have to ask yourself: how much is your time worth?
*=I once blew up the map to B2 (in MSPaint!) so that each square was 2"x2", as well as edited out traps, etc. and used that for the gaming surface - in pieces as we went, because the entire thing would have filled the whole game room floor at that scale...)
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