9. 'On the road again. Like a band of gretchin we go down the highway...' - Building a Gaming Board. Part 2.

Two updates relatively close to each other? HOLD THE PHONE!

But semi-seriously I am pumped for this board. It is proving to be fun, and I sincerely hope it will push me to play more game once it is complete.

I've been carrying on with my gaming board.
I'm still trying to keep progress into manageable chunks though. I have actually done more than I am currently writing about, but I'll save that for another day.


So, with the planning (mostly) done I think it is time we crack on, yes?


Step two! The layout.

You will need;
 

• Your Plans,
• Six 2ft x 2ft pieces of MDF (All the same depth. Mine is about 12mm thick),
• Twenty four or more 1ft by 1ft Square cork tiles. (I bought 3 packs of 9 tiles),
• Cork Adhesive (I used Unibond - Super PVA adhesive and sealer),
• Some heavy stuff/clamps might be helpful to ensure the bond,
• Craft Knife,
• Steel Straight Edge (To cut against. I used a wood saw),
• Pen,
• Paper,
• Pencil,
• Ruler (12inch),
• Tape Measure.

LET'S DO THIS!

  The first bit of this is pretty straight forward...but easy to mess up, so be careful.

   Glue the 4 of the 1x1 tiles to a 2x2 piece of wood, ensuring they all match up evenly and cover the board's surface.
Leave to dry. Repeat as many times as necessary (For this board that was 3).



While they are drying it is time to plough straight into phase 2

Straight roads.

First off you want to draw out the road.
   Using the tape measure/ruler/magic find the middle of the board.
Measure out 2.5 inches either side of it and mark it out (I recommend doing this about 2/3 times along the middle of the board to make the matching up easier).
Draw up the lines to match the board's edge and you have your road template.
Now do a similar thing with the cork tiles.
Using the template you have just drawn on the board as a guide, mark 2.5 inches from the tile edge onto the tile (I had to use a sharpie as opposed to a pencil for this). Match them up. Do this on as many cork tiles as necessary (in my case that was 8).

And voila! Road!



Part two is the cutting.

   Line up the steel edge along that line (Whichever side you are comfortable with, I went with the side that would end up with the most left on to try and minimise damage to what will be the pavement and such).



Using the craft knife, cut along the line against your edge.
Patience is key.
If you go at it too fast you'll tear the cork. This will be more hassle than it is worth to fix latter.
Rinse and repeat and you should end up with this;



Here's a shot for height;



Stick it down! Weigh it down or clamp away.
Anndddd...

Phase 3. Bend.

   This is the most complicated bit of the build thus far (and it isn't even that hard).
It had me stumped for a while (When I figured out how to do it I kicked myself for wasting almost half an hour trying to be clever about it).

   First off draw the road template as normal on the cork (After doing the other two you'll have the knack now).
Then turn it 90 degree and do it again.
You should end up with something like this;



Now to plan the curved bit. Maths maybe...



Nope!

   I'm sure you could use maths to do this. But I am lazy. I used a Spray can lid.
Seriously!
Line up a spray can lid (I used GW's black primer), and draw the curve.
This curve needs to be on the inside out outside edge as seen in this picture
(Note; I drew another square on the inside curve to make it easier to get the
edge; you just do the same for both);

Cutting this out is slightly tricky
Don't attempt the curved bits yet. Just cut out the block shape, taking care not to damage/remove where the curve should be.
Seeing as this hasn't been glued down it should be relatively straight forward.

  For the inside corner you start by cutting as you usually would along the now inside road edge.
When you hit the 'corner' you stop, flip the board, and do the other inside edge.

Then you start on the outside edge. Here it is important to stop before the curve.
You can either just go by eye, or mark them as I did in the picture above (I was over cautious with the 'just in case' space);

Instead of trying to do the curve, I cut along line XY. This meant that the core of the road could be removed.
The curves were then just a case of whittling down the remaining cork with the crafting knife;
Shave off the excess form the other corner and you should end up with this;



Glue that bend down!




And BOOM!

Core of the board complete.

It has no details yet... but it is a great starting block.

The next stage is basing... but after spending days doing this I reckon I'm going to have myself a break to do more experimentation/other stuff.
I will post my findings here!

However, in the meantime... -DH-