4 x 4 Game Board in Three Easy Steps

I have been in need of a proper 4 x 4 gaming board for some time now. While there is nothing wrong with a roll away mat and my dining room table, I wanted something a bit more durable and larger for use with 15mm scifi games. So, I figured it was high time to make one.

I already had the perfect 4 x 4 plywood off-cut laying around from another project and that would make the perfect start. The rest of the materials were things I had laying around as well from other hobby projects, so not a single new thing was bought for this project.

The first step was to lay on a good coat of Deck Restore. I like the 10X stuff because it tends to stay where I put it and provides a good solid coating which works well for adding to terrain projects. I should also note that Deck Restore does come in colors but I had the clear stuff on hand.

I was rather unceremonious about the application of the Deck Restore and started by pouring out a good amount of the can into the middle of the board. I then spread this around, changing direction a lot so as to minimize patterns in the stuff.

The final step in the application was to come back after about 20 minutes, with the material having set a bit and then distressing it some more for the look I wanted. Don't be too worried about texture after you apply it. Gravity will smooth a lot of those.

After the Deck Restore dries and hardens (24 hrs unless you leave it out in the summer heat), I went over it with a brush of a basic sandy color that I picked up at Home Depot in their paint department. I should note that this wasn't painted on but was still wetter than a dry brush. I more fanned a semi-loaded brush over the surface to catch most of the details.

Just as an aside, I cruise the paint department for mismatched or returned sample jars that they sell off for a pittance. It's easy to build up a collection of handy colors this way.

Once the base color was dry enough, I then went around adding some irregular splotches of other color by spraying on several colors of spray paint. I used tans and even a light olive color. The idea here is to break up the monotony of the tan base.

The final step was to stain the whole thing and bring it all together. I chose a Honey Cherry stain. A small 0.5 liter can was enough for the whole board. Again, not a lot of care was taken in the application here. I poured the entire can into the general area of the middle of the can, making an irregular pool. The only care I took here was to keep the precious color on the board.

After the can was empty, I then took my brush and pushed the stain out for the middle, making sure that ever part of the board got some and that too much wasn't pooling in any one place. This produced a nice irregular orange-ish sand coloration that looks quite nice. 

The end result is a durable and lushly colored earth tone and textured board. While it makes for a desert board easily enough, the color is neutral enough to really work for most ground types. Adding foliage will make it seem less barren and structures added could make it look like lived on ground.

-Eli

Ikwen Rock Village WIP - Part One

Here is a bit of video describing a technique I am using for a very inexpensive terrain project.

The Everyday War Gamer: DIY Lightbox

Many of us war gamers and modelers enjoy sharing photographs of our models through social media sites, forums and blogs. Unfortunately taking pictures of our small metal soldiers can sometimes prove to be difficult. Modern cameras are capable of capturing highly detailed images but simple things like bad lighting can ruin what would otherwise be a great picture.

An easy way to improve your photographs is to control how light falls on you minis. By manipulating the lighting you can minimize reflections and shadows that would otherwise obscure detail. Similarly, by controlling the light you can ensure that your photographs capture the true colors of your troops and help make them pop.

The easiest way to ensure good lighting is by taking pictures outside on a cloudy day. If your not patient enough to wait for perfect outdoor conditions then your next best option is to use a lightbox. There are dozens of lightboxes and light tents available commercially, but building your own is simple. Let me show you how it's done...

You can build it. You have the technology.

The first thing you need to do is gather your supplies. You will need the following:

• A cardboard box large enough to contain the models that you want to photograph.
• Tissue paper (the kind for wrapping gifts, not the kind for blowing your nose).
• Tape
• A box cutter, hobby knife, or even a kitchen knife
• A ruler or straight edge
• A pen or marker

Now use your ruler to draw a square on three sides of the box. The optimum way to do this is to lay the ruler on the box, along the outside edge. This will give you pretty good spacing from the edge of the box face.

The next step is to cut out the squares using your box cutter. When you are done the box should look something like this (maybe without the cat peeking through):

Next you'll want to tape tissue paper over each of the openings that you cut into the box. You can trim off the extra, or just wrap it around and tape it to various points on the box.

The final step is installing a background. If you want the seamless look that many minis retailers use then a sheet of white poster board will do the trick. Trim the poster board down so that it will slide into the box. You want to tape it against the top of the back wall, then allow it to curve out towards the opening in the front of the lightbox. This is the final result:

Voila! You've just finished your lightbox.

Let there be light!

Now that the light box is complete all that's left to do it is light it up. You will need a total of three light sources. I am using two desk lamps and a magnifier lamp on a long arm to light mine. For best results you should try to use 100 watt daylight bulbs. Incandescent bulbs will work, but will give a slightly yellow tinge to your photos (which you can correct in Photoshop or GIMP, but that's another article).

The tissue paper will allow light through, but will diffuse it so that your model doesn't catch any harsh reflections. You can control the amount of shadow by how you set up your lights. If you want lots of shadows use light coming in from only one side of the box. To reduce the amount of shadow bring in light from both side of the box, and to eliminate almost all of the shadows bring in light from the top as well.

Take some pictures!

I think that you will find that using the lightbox makes a HUGE difference in the quality of your pictures. Here an example of my results without the box versus with it.