the advantages of creating wargame boards from layers of cardboard

[LuckyDiceRolls]

in this thread you will see why custom-created wargame boards made out of many many layers of cardboard cut-out and then glued together is far far superior to ANY form of flat map game

hopefully I will be able to post pictures of this process of making these finely-detailed 3D models

I am working on my second one right now and it is almost finished

this one I am making now is only ten layers of cardboard thick, but it shows the topography so well, and gives such a pleasing bird-eye view of the terrain, that basically, it makes all other forms of wargaming obsolete, at least in my opinion

and I have no bloddy bloody knives to speak of, either!

wish me luck on posting pictures

http://s716.photobucket.com/user/lambentdream/media/wargame%20shots/PC160032.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

[sparty]

I'd love to see something like this for a game like Battle Above the Clouds.  It'd really drive home the pain of the terrain (in Spain?) in Tenn!

[LuckyDiceRolls]

well I dont know what that is but I guess it could work

here is a picture of the first wargame board, after it had been painted
http://s716.photobucket.com/user/lambentdream/media/wargame%20shots/PC300019.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2
I should have stopped here
I went ahead and planted too many q-tip trees, it made maneuver almost impossible

[sparty]

Looks great!  Well done.

[LuckyDiceRolls]

thanks dude, it was fun making that first board
here is a picture of it when it was finished, except for the houses
][URL=http://s716.photobucket.com/user/lambentdream/media/wargame%20shots/P1130009.jpg.html]

[LuckyDiceRolls]

now there were several problems with this first board
I did not cover up the sides of the corrugated cardboard, so the hills looked terrible.  it was a good try but I also wound up planting too many trees
also the process should start from the bottom most layer of cardboard, and with this first board I began at the tops of the hills.  as a result there was some warping between the areas of hilly terrain

so, I set out to improve the idea.
I chose another good location in Pennsylvania and found an excellent topo map of the battle of germantown

here is the first picture of this new board, showing how I used long thin strips of paper to cover up the sides of EACH contour line

[Calandale]

Contours never worked for me. Oh, they're better than just a piece of felt
I guess, but I wanted natural slopes. With the contours, I might as well
be playing chits on a map.

[LuckyDiceRolls]

I dont see how there is any better way.  and even your flat, store-bought game mats have topo lines printed on them, but this way more realistic

anyway, here is what the second board looked like as I was finishing up the road net

[Calandale]

Some examples. Not the best I've seen (by far) but better:









For me, better terrain than I'm showing (and I've played on better) is the sine qua non of bothering
with minis at all. If I can't have the full visual, boardgames are better in every way.

[anarchy]

I've seen a few maps modified by players to have elevated hexes to provide a 2.5D experience.

[anarchy]

And a little papercrafting made Pacific Rim heroclix _much_ better:

[LuckyDiceRolls]

those are some interesting terrains
I liked the city scape one with the paper skyscrapers
did you make that?  from scratch?
anyway, I hope to prove that 3D boards made from layers of cardboard are superior to all other forms of wargame boards
I will post more pictures of this board I am making as they become available

[Rockhopper]

those are some interesting terrains
I liked the city scape one with the paper skyscrapers
did you make that?  from scratch?
anyway, I hope to prove that 3D boards made from layers of cardboard are superior to all other forms of wargame boards
I will post more pictures of this board I am making as they become available

Really neat stuff, but you'll have to work pretty hard to prove them "superior to all other forms of wargame boards."

1. Storage.
2. Many people have no problem visualizing contours on maps, so actually having real contours adds no benefit. After all, I am perfectly fine with flat counters with numbers on them, in lieu of a bunch of little dudes.

[anarchy]

those are some interesting terrains
I liked the city scape one with the paper skyscrapers
did you make that?  from scratch?

Yeah, I made the skyscrapers in Illustrator. They are pretty basic designs, graphically, but they really help the board pop. For miniature games, 3d terrain is a must.

[LuckyDiceRolls]

point of order -
henceforth and due to this forum's literal obsession with acronyms,
I will be referring to my multi-layered cardboard 3D wargame boards
as: M.L.C.W.B.'s

And now I must contend, that M.L.C.W.B.'s are the ONLY way
in which one can be sure of line-of-sight between units

you cant visualize line of sight.  it must be portrayed with a string
or thread
stretched between the firing unit and the target

you just cant do that on a flat board
its a process of 3D geometry which cannot be resolved using a two dimensional map