Terrain bases

[Splurk]

Ive read a few thread on what to base terrain on that won't warp, alot say MDF, I also read alot about Matte board. After some thought and and considering my workspace I picked up a sheet of Matte board.
After building several rocky outcroppings (like Gareson posted in his thread) they have started to warp. One of them has not even been textured yet. Has anyone else used Matte board and had any isses with it? any idea what I'm doing wrong? We've had a humid couple weeks here with lots of rain, good that have any effect?

[ThatRickGuy]

Do you mean Matte Board like the thick card stock used for framed picture matting? I can't imaging that it will hold up well to humidity :(

I use 1/4" MDF for my terrain pieces that need bases. It's a fiber board, so there's no grain to warp. As long as you don't get it soaking wet and wrap it arround something, it'll stay good and straight for you.

-Rick

[Splurk]

Do you mean Matte Board like the thick card stock used for framed picture matting?

Yep, thats the stuff. I've read some posts saying it would be good for basing and would not warp when textured with watered down elmers+sand kitty litter mix. It didn't at first, like 2 weeks later it started to, even the untextured one. I just cant believe humidity would warp it when a coating of glue and water didn't.

[ThatRickGuy]

You could try pressing it flat as best you can, then glue a second piece (slightly smaller) under the first. the glue should harden and the second sheet should prevent it from bending. But I would make sure that any time it's humid and you're not using it, store it on a flat surface.

-Rick

[Splurk]

Maybe ill try that, seems like alot of matte to use for one terrain piece though, that stuff isnt cheap, better then humped up terrain though. thanks for the suggestion. If i try it ill post here how it worked

[ThatRickGuy]

Might want to shop around a little bit. I got a huge sheet of matt (I use it for shingles) for $6 at the local craft shop. MDF can be had pretty cheap as well, I think the 2'x4' board I got at home depot might have been $10 or so. And that's enough to handle a lot of bases.

[inrepose]

I would use Plasticard, you can get it in most hobby/art stores. If you get the 1mm thick stuff it can be easily cut to a base size, never warps and is a very sturdy base for adding terrain, buildings and texture.

[Coalshed]

It's a common problem. You may be able to save it by coating the underside of the board with glue. That's only going to work if your board has bowed up. If it's just gone weird and wavie then you might have to stick a sheet to the bottom but i would probably re-base the whole terrain piece. Hard board is better but everything can warp and will. The smaller you piece the less likely it is to warp.

[Broken_shards]

another option is either to wet the bottom of the sheet when you start glueing, (this was with heavy cardstocK) or to glue a sheet of news paper to the bottom of the terrain piece as your doing it using the same pva as you are using to stick the talus to the terrain, used to work grand with all the terrain we used to build

[JBugman]

Something my gaming buddy prefers is to make the base footprint as small as possible to cover the building/ruin/whatever (nomore than 1/8"). If he can get away with not having any base then all the better. What he says makes sense: if there's bases with a particular theme (e.g. desert, jungle, village) then if you use it on a different themed table then it'll look like it doesn't belong.

Just throwing ideas out there.

[Warsmith_Ckaile]

go to your local home depot, lowes, etc. and find the thinnest stock of plywood you can get. that stuff will be damned impossible to get to warp.

[fire4effekt]

go to your local home depot, lowes, etc. and find the thinnest stock of plywood you can get. that stuff will be damned impossible to get to warp.

Built a lava table from the thinest plywood, and it didnt warp, it bowed. I screw it in place when i bring it out. Use MDF board, or old hordes PDF files;)

[whitekong]

I am a big believer in mdf board myself, doesnt warp and is relatively cheap.

[PretiJewel]

MDF is the least likely to warp, but to ensure a lack of warping, paint both sides at one time so that the tension of the paint drying and the weakening from the moisture of the paint acts on both sides at once. I use 2-3 small blocks of scrap foam to set it up off the table while it dries. Plus the paint on the bottom will seal it from stray moisture and humidity down the road.

[Debris]

Hardboard is what I have used for years. It's the brown wood-like substance typically used for clip boards.

It won't warp, is very strong and cheap as hell. You can get a whole 8' x 4' sheet at Lowes or Home Depot for about 7 dollars.

[Blockbuster]

MDF hands down .. wins it for me .. but its heavy same as 1/4 ply but i suggest both of those for durability and non-warping-ness

foam core works well & is light weight

pannel board the 1/8 thick cardboard they use for door pannels in automobiles is also made with non-warping in mind (i use this on my D&D/star wars/other 25mm grid maps) & other than the few i left in the carport ...flat as a pancake!

a tip is that all cardboard (even pannelboard) will bend easyer 1 way than the other. you can use this 2 ways
1) work on the side that bends up easyer so that it pulls on the tough side
2) glue 2 pieces together with the eazy bend sides together

its been covered in above posts .. paint both sides or PVA news paper to the other side of the cardboard (sand/kitty litter on 1 side newspaper on the other)

[Broken_shards]

what we found used to work quite well for store terrain was to glue a sheet of newspaper to the bottom of the terrain peice whilst it was drying as the contraction of the glue whilst drying on both sides tended to keep it straight

[infamousd]

Masonite. It's in your art
stores.