Author Topic: 3-D Hex maps  (Read 76298 times)

Lord Cameron

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #30 on: 29 November 2011, 15:33:50 »
Someone on the forums there suggested that I share some of my projects here.  I am still figuring out the nuts and bolts of posting here, so this is a bit of a test post to see if I can post images and such.

Super job!  O0

Do you have a regular gaming group that you play with?
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ableman33

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #31 on: 29 November 2011, 15:45:42 »
@ Lord Cameron - Thanks. :)

A group of us get together the second Saturday of every month at a local gaming store.  We all share a group e-mail that we use to say who is going to make it and for those who are bringing the units to decide what era and force mix we will be playing with.

There is also an annual gaming convention here at a local college that one of the members of our group runs Battletech games at.

katya_Kerensky

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #32 on: 27 December 2011, 06:02:27 »
Ableman, I love your terrain, so much so I've been trying to make 3-d Hills for the basic print maps for our games, I sadly only had 2inch this dense foam board laying around to try out, While 2inchs makes for good elevation 2 cutting it or carving it in half to make a lvl one hex is abit wonky,  Looking over your projects is it correct to assume you use 1inch thick foam? and is all of your cutting done with a hot knife? No blades or saws?

Second question for those reading up on topics in the terrain forums.  Do you use paper maps still? (Including the new products like the lakes and rivers pack as well as the roads and builds)  And if so do you think having a 3D hill to plop down on a traditional map is a viable way to use the old maps?
« Last Edit: 27 December 2011, 06:04:31 by katya_Kerensky »
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ableman33

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #33 on: 27 December 2011, 10:07:28 »
@ katya_Kerensky  - I am glad you like my maps and have been inspired to make your own.

You are correct in that most of my maps have used 1 inch thick foam (anything with blue foam in the progress pics is 1 inch thick).  My very first map (the volcanic island with the pink foam) used foam that was just over 1/2 inch thick.  Half an inch proved too thin to act as a single layer.

I live on the Texas gulf coast where it never gets that cold (we get a light snow every 5-10 years or so and some years it does not even freeze in the winter).  As a result, the regular local home hardware places like Home Depot and Lowes only carry thin insulating panels, 5/8 inches thick at most.

I could have just doubled up my foam, using two sheets for each layer.  That would have worked quite well from a gaming point of view, but it would have involved extra work.  Instead, I bought a bulk order of 1 inch sheets from an industrial supplier that normally sells to commercial construction.  They had pretty much any thickness I wanted.



But you have the opposite problem, layers that are too thick to begin with. 

I do most of my cutting and shaping with hotwire tools, though I have experimented with extended "snap" blades, hacksaw blades, box cutters, kitchen knives, handsaws, and even acetone.

Every saw I have used has had the problem of making piles of electrostatically charged crumbs which are a pain to clean up.  All of them also leave a rough surface to varying degrees that may not be desired in some instances.

As far as splitting the thickness of a piece of foam in half, the best tool I could envision using would be a long hotwire.  I have seen rigs designed to do exactly what you need.  A long heated wire is strung either horizontally or vertically and the sheet of foam moved past it.  If the wire is horizontal, you can just slide the foam across a table.  If the wire is vertical, you can prop the foam up against a wall or support.

I cannot think of of a way to cut very large pieces of foam sheets in half without using a hotwire.  Smaller pieces of foam give you more options.

"Snap" blades at full extension are very narrow and give very clean cuts.  On the downside, their thinness means that the blades have a tendency to deflect side-to-side while you are cutting.  This problem seems to be more exaggerated the thicker the material to be cut is.  Going slowly, using sawing motions, and paying attention to exit points as well as entry points would be key.  These blades are usually no more than about 4 inches long, so you are limited to pieces no more than twice that in width or you will not be able to cut the center.  If the piece is small enough that the blade will reach all the way across in a single pass, your can make sure that the blade is cutting straight by making guidelines on both sides of the piece.

The above methods also hold true for kitchen knives, though their greater thickness will make deep cuts a greater challenge taking more effort.  On the plus side, their thickness means they are less likely to bend as you cut, and you can get ones in greater lengths.  For splitting larger pieces of foam, I would recommend a long "bread knife" with shallow rounded serrated edges.  Smooth-edged blades make smoother cuts, but are much harder to cut with whereas serrated knives aid the sawing action.

If you do not mind ending up with a rough surface, loose hacksaw blades or handsaws will let you cut through large pieces.  Again, side-to-side deflection is your enemy.


If you are trying to split individual pieces in the 6 to 8 inch size closely in half if not precisely, you should be able to cut your layers with non-hotwire tools without too much aggravation.  If you need to cut larger pieces, or if precision and/or cleanly cut surfaces are important to you, my only suggestion is some sort of heated wire.


I hope that helps.  Good luck with your projects.  I look forward to seeing your work.  O0



ableman33

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #34 on: 27 December 2011, 10:22:17 »
@ katya_Kerensky  - Sorry, I only answered your foam questions in that last post.  ::)

We do still play on paper maps on occasion, and I do think 3-D elements plopped down onto a traditional paper map would be a great addition to game play.

I have even seen maps where people have taken a traditional paper map and simply cut it apart to make the 3-D layers.  Like in this project over at Heavy Metal Pro.











Making supplementary 3-D elements for paper maps sounds like a great idea.  I would like to see what you come up with.  I have been considering playing around with making some loose pieces that could be added to my general 3-D maps from more flexibility so your project intrigues me.

Good luck and happy building.  O0

katya_Kerensky

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #35 on: 27 December 2011, 17:32:37 »
I see your points on using 1'' thickness, and that will probly be what we gravitate too when we splurge again on terrain projects.

I remember seeing the heavy metal pro maps along time ago-So yeah something similar to that minus the tree's
We still use free standing tree's on bases and just cover the woods hexes with them and move them off when a unit enters the hex. Due to having many mechs and other objects of different scales (Old sculpts vs new sculpts) The tree made up hexes seem to add more problems than pleasure at least on the scale of normal BT hexes.

Another thought, if one makes the hills to be placed on the map sheet free standing, or not pinned glued to it  I am considering mounting them on cardstock or other thick board to both give weight/defined hexes and to pick up on your kitty litter usage around the bases of the elevated terrain that I really like.
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Charlie Tango

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #36 on: 28 December 2011, 01:01:14 »
Matte board (the stuff used to mount posters for framing) may be the answer to what you are looking for to mount the hexes onto there, katya_Kerensky.  I've done that with some on my foam project pieces that are particularly tall and need extra stability at the base.   You can usually get a pretty large sheet (32" by 40" or so) of it for $7-$8 at Hobby Lobby or a similar large craft-type store that does framing, and it comes in a lot of different colors.  It's much sturdier than cardstock but it does require a VERY strong pair of scissors or a matte board knife (essentially an Exacto knife blade in a mounting) to cut it cleanly.  However, it stands up to a lot more abuse than cardstock does, and provides a good solid flat surface.  Illustration board also works similarly, but I prefer matte board for the color aspect.

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ableman33

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #37 on: 08 January 2012, 20:44:55 »
For those interested, there is an exhaustively detailed account of the making of the wooden bases for my hex maps over at this Terragenesis thread.





truegrit

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #38 on: 09 January 2012, 09:48:32 »
I don't know why I didn't look at this thread sooner. Ableman33 your work is jaw-droppingly fantastic and very inspired.

ableman33

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #39 on: 09 January 2012, 13:39:14 »
Thank you truegrit.  :) 

I am glad you like these projects.  I do enjoy making and playing on them.

HyperionCormyr

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #40 on: 11 April 2017, 14:19:54 »
bumping for sheer awesomeness

BFenix

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #41 on: 11 April 2017, 15:16:34 »
bumping for sheer awesomeness

Saw your stuff shared on the BTI Facebook group today!

Absolutely stunning boards, I've been trying to find maps/tables that balance well the terrain and foliage details without compromising the hex grid. Most of these do that wonderfully. They also seem to retain alot of playability.

Thank you for sharing them and your building process  :)
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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #42 on: 11 April 2017, 15:19:54 »
Friendly Reminder: Per Rule 9 of this forum, bumping is not allowed. If you want a thread that's been inactive for over five years(?!?) to show up on the front page, please do so with a post that furthers the conversation. [copper]

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ableman33

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #43 on: 11 April 2017, 16:01:53 »
Hello all, ableman here.

My apologies, I forgot all about this post. I have done some terrain building since I last posted here, but I haven't reported on it.

Most of my old TerraGenesis posts got flushed in the purge before they switched to a new website, so almost all the links I used in this thread are dead ends.  :-[

I am considering creating my own blog where I will host all the detailed steps of my projects for those interested. Consider that part of my 2017 to-do list. Once I get that made, I can reestablish links for those interested.

I did create a set of magnetic map boards, and I did start messing around with ways to make arena-style terrain. However, I put that project aside for now. I did make a set of tropical island maps for Battletech.

Non-Battletech stuff, I made a 12-foot long Mediteranean Island map for ReaperCon one year a 12-foot long Star Destroyer with working lighting for the finale of a long-running Star Wars RPG I was GMing, and a stackable magnetic pyramid with a working puzzle room for another GM's D&D campaign. I also made a pop-up book style castle for a contest.

Glad to see folks are still inspired to make their own terrain.

Happy building everyone!  :)

Daryk

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #44 on: 11 April 2017, 19:04:50 »
Glad to see you're still at it!  I have no idea how I missed your posts the first time around, but I'm definitely tagging this thread!  Beautiful work! O0

Mwenski

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #45 on: 12 April 2017, 17:16:45 »
I saw this post back before terragenesis dumped your old work logs and I was inspired by that. I would love to see a work log so I can refer to it in future projects, as well as admire the fantastic details in your terrain pieces.


Demoyn

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #46 on: 17 June 2019, 17:19:09 »
Have you made anything new since the last time this was posted?  Also, are you planning to be at the previously unmentioned convention this year?  I haven't been able to make it in a few years, but I hope to be able to get in some Battletech next February!

ableman33

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #47 on: 17 June 2019, 17:54:08 »
@ Demoyn - Hello!  :)

I haven't been active on the Terragenesis site for a while, and looking back there it looks like things might be falling apart a bit.

However, it looks like you can still access my WIP series for a commissioned Battletech hex map I did in the time since I last posted here.

http://www.terragenesis.com/mybb/showthread.php?tid=1041

In the (hopefully) not too distant future, I plan to put together/host my own website where I can post all my old and future projects. Until then, I hope you can enjoy what's left of my stuff on Terragenesis.

ableman33

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #48 on: 17 June 2019, 17:56:25 »
Regarding the link to Terragenesis above, just scroll down past all the error codes at the top of each page (I think it's from broken ad links) to the WIP posts.  ;)

BirdofPrey

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #49 on: 17 June 2019, 18:48:55 »
Holy crap!
I didn't even know that project existed.  Last thing I remember seeing was some foldable dungeon thing.

ableman33

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #50 on: 01 August 2019, 10:57:27 »
Hello all,

I deeply enjoyed my time with the TerraGenesis community, but realized that it was not the best place to permanently store my projects and work-in-progress threads.

So, I've taken the plunge and started my own website:  http://handcraftedterrain.com

I lost a lot of my old posts during the TG purges a while back, but I intend to repost all the material I have from my old projects that I can find.

That may take a while, though.  ::)

In the meantime, you can follow along as I work on my latest project.

Hope to see you all there!   :thumbsup:

Mwenski

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #51 on: 01 August 2019, 23:29:32 »
Thank you for getting your own site to host this content!  I have been enjoying your articles since before the purge and was really sad when the old guides were taken down. (I had so many notes, but didn't save any content, I just had a host of links to specific posts that covered techniques).  I really enjoyed your foam plate hex designations, the drywall + glue and sawdust technique, and water methods.  I'm very excited about the new site!

BirdofPrey

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #52 on: 19 August 2019, 01:05:46 »
Great stuff as always.  I hope you manage to get a hold of thee rest of you build logs.  They've all be so fascinating.

If I might make a suggestion, a table of contents for each project wouldn't go amiss.  It's a LOT of scrolling going on.

ableman33

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #53 on: 19 August 2019, 07:55:21 »
Thanks BirdofPrey, that's a really good suggestion. I do plan to make things more user friendly at the site once I'm done with my current project. Because of things this summer, I've got about two months of stuff left to do on the terrain and only 18 days left to get them done.  ;D

Thankfully, I have saved copies for around 2/3 of my posts from TerraGenesis. For the other posts, I at least have most of the pictures, if none of the text or comments.

Once the con is over, I'll plug away at getting what I have posted on the new site, AND making it more reader friendly.  :thumbsup:

Until then, happy building everyone!

I am Belch II

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #54 on: 19 August 2019, 09:04:37 »
What are you using to cut the foam.....Hot Wire Cutter?
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ableman33

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #55 on: 19 August 2019, 14:41:01 »
Hello I am Belch II,

For roughly cutting the foam into shape, I either score it with a box cutter and snap in, or use a saw.

For detailed cutting I do use a hot wire tool. For small stuff, I use a hot wire scroll saw table from the Hot Wire Foam Factory. For big stuff, I've created a hanging cutter that suspends a hot cutting wire from a ceiling chain using a spring and turnbuckle for tension. This converts one of my worktables into a hot wire cutting platform with effectively infinite clearance with the only limits on what can be cut being that it has to fit in my garage.

For sculpting foam, I use a variety of tools including rasps, blades, Hot Wire Foam Factory engraving tools, and a soldering iron. The soldering iron is my go-to to for most things as the Hot Wire Foam Factor engravers can't keep up with the volume of foam I'm usually trying to work with without being too slow.

Hope that helps answer your questions.  :thumbsup:

I am Belch II

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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #56 on: 20 August 2019, 13:24:43 »
Thanks for the answer. Been thinking of getting a hot wire foam cutter.
The cuts and lines are very straight so just wondering.
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Re: 3-D Hex maps
« Reply #57 on: 17 September 2019, 06:44:11 »
I'm glad your still active building these wonderful maps, ableman33.  Looks like you have to have alot work and resources to make these pieces of art!  Are you still active building BattleTech maps?
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