D&D General DIY xps foam terrain. Videos? Pics? Advice?

[not-so-newguy]

I've made one 3X3 tile and one fence and now I'm hooked. I have all the necessary materials. Plus I just found out that I have $60-$70 in store credit at the FLGS () Is there anything that a newb should pick up that'll make their life easier?



3X3 Tile

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Fence

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Both together

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I know the Fence Base is skewed. Pro-tip: Don't drink and start hot gluing stuff.

Here's a few videos and channels that I like and follow:

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Channels

https://m.youtube.com/c/BlackMagicCraftOfficial

https://m.youtube.com/c/WylochsCraftingVids

Videos

As you can see, I've got a long way to go. So how about your creations? Any pics of something you're proud of? Any failures that you learned from? Any good DIY videos? General advice?

 

[thullgrim]

Black magic craft on YouTube.l is a good place to start

 

[pming]

Hiya!

Yeah, hit up Youtube and look for "modeling diorama". You'll have a rabbit hole to last you months! ...uh... sorry?...

My top three:

(1) "Night Shift" ( https://www.youtube.com/c/NightShiftScaleModels )

(2) "Wyloch's Armoury" ( https://www.youtube.com/c/WylochsCraftingVids/videos )

(3) "PLASMO" ( https://www.youtube.com/c/idaemonplasmo/playlists )

The Wyloch guy did a great series where he scratch-built the "entire Tomb of Horrors" for use with miniatures. Some great ideas he had! And Night Shift and PLASMO are both stupid-good at making dioramas and customizing everything to do with them (painting, modeling, resin, even electronics).

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[grimslade]

BMC is a great channel. I also like
Tabletop Witchcraft

RP Archive

Luke APS/ Geek Gaming Scenics

All will give you more ideas than you have time to make.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

Oh, I forgot one more I watch: Luke Towan ( https://www.youtube.com/c/LukeTowan/videos ). This guy is pretty amazing if you ask me!

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[el-remmen]

The DM's Craft - DM Scotty is very helpful. Black Magic Craft is good (his "formula" for black mod podge is a must for me), though he tends to shill stuff a little too much for my tastes. Both on You Tube Also a guy called "Encounter Terrain" (I can come back with links if google fails you).

There is a very vibrant DIY terrain community on Instagram that I partake in a lot. I have been making "dense foliage" scatter terrain and spend some time over the fall making modular mountains/hills that double as caverns.

 

[el-remmen]

As for tools, a good metal t-square and cheap hot wire cutter (wear a mask, do it in a well ventilated place) will take you far. Also I Mod Podge everything to seal it and give it strength, but some regular PVA glue (Elmer's Glue-All, not the school glue) is a must as well.

 

[el-remmen]

All my photos are on my phone but I browse ENWorld on my laptop only, so instead of trying to copy them all over, I'll be lazy and just share my insta: Timeline Zines (@how_i_run_it) is on Instagram - there amid mins, zines, and old D&D stuff, are all the pictures of stuff I have been working in (some of it is not included because I wait to share it until after I have premiered it on the table for my players)

 

[aco175]

My biggest thing is to make the actual squares easy to see- which you have. I see some maps and the floor is so busy that I cannot make out how to move.

I also heard someplace that you should use 1.25 inch squares. Something about placing walls between them and being able to still use the minis. Someone else will know better than me though.

 

[el-remmen]

My biggest thing is to make the actual squares easy to see- which you have. I see some maps and the floor is so busy that I cannot make out how to move.

I also heard someplace that you should use 1.25 inch squares. Something about placing walls between them and being able to still use the minis. Someone else will know better than me though.

Yeah. 1.25 inch squares is a thing. Personally, I use a mix of grid and gridless play and have made measuring sticks for my players to use (they hated counting boxes and I hated diagonal movement counting the same as straight movement so the sticks were the compromise which then opened up more gridless play) - but in general I try to be fast and loose with it. If my boxes are slightly off the game plays just as well.