Author Topic: heroscape 3d hexes again  (Read 5202 times)

tsmpaul

  • Corporal
  • *
  • Posts: 97
heroscape 3d hexes again
« on: 18 October 2017, 01:04:01 »
(Edit: see photos further down for a board that is more completed)

I'm getting back into Quick Strike and BattleForce after a few years break. Mostly been playing games like MechCommander on my retro PC :)

Anyhow, I decided that since I don't use the shiny green swamp heroscape tiles, I'd spray paint them black. Now I've got roads that can run about the tabletop!

I was thinking of dotting white lines along them, but I also play other scaled miniatures games, so it might clash with 25mm or 30mm people. For now I've just left them flat black.

I really should get around to painting the bottom of all those trees too... it's just Green Stuff holding the trees down to black round miniatures bases to stand them up. Kind of stands out...

Looking forward to getting another Master box set of hex tiles next week, so I'll be able to make more varied landscapes at last!

« Last Edit: 25 October 2017, 23:12:40 by tsmpaul »
- red vs blue battletech painting -

Frank Olson

  • Corporal
  • *
  • Posts: 69
Re: heroscape 3d hexes again
« Reply #1 on: 21 October 2017, 12:51:49 »
What are those black tiles? Have you seen that heroscapers.com has a thread with files that let you 3d print heroscape tiles? At least they fit the originals.

NeonKnight

  • Freelance Writer
  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 6324
  • Cause Them My Initials!
Re: heroscape 3d hexes again
« Reply #2 on: 21 October 2017, 18:05:53 »
What are those black tiles? Have you seen that heroscapers.com has a thread with files that let you 3d print heroscape tiles? At least they fit the originals.

He used the dark-green tiles from the MARO set and spray painted black.
AGENT #575, Vancouver Canada

tsmpaul

  • Corporal
  • *
  • Posts: 97
Re: heroscape 3d hexes again
« Reply #3 on: 23 October 2017, 22:12:25 »
I got the new box of heroscape tiles in the mail today :) Extends my ground-space by an extra 50%, and allows for a lot more 3d-ness in the landscape. Now I've just got to paint and flock stuff to make it all match. I also painted the bottom of all the trees in brown, so it no longer stands out in green and black plastic.




- red vs blue battletech painting -

tsmpaul

  • Corporal
  • *
  • Posts: 97
Re: heroscape 3d hexes again
« Reply #4 on: 25 October 2017, 23:07:58 »
I've done enough to have a working game table now. I combined the Battleforce 2 map sheet with half of a river between forested hills map sheet (I'm not sure what that sheet is called).



I've replaced all of the rough/rubble hexes with sci-fi industrial structures to add some interest to the map. I also found some roughly 6mm scale cars, trucks and motorcycles (some with laser guns and turrets on them!) which should be great - my goal is to have campaigns set during the MechCommander campaign (liberation of Port Arthur). All I need now are some Japanese style miniature houses.



I decided to finish the road pieces, and painted brown edges and white dotted lines along them to make them look more like roads for 6mm figures.





The only problem I see at the moment, is that I didn't have enough trees to do all of the Woods hexes - and the trees I own are for 20mm / 25mm fantasy or sci fi battles, so the scale's all wrong. I've ordered a heap of 6mm scaled trees which will let me finish the map off once they arrive.

Can't wait to play out some BattleForce and Alpha Strike in 3d!
- red vs blue battletech painting -

worktroll

  • Ombudsman
  • Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 25565
  • 504th "Gateway" Division
    • There are Monsters in my Sky!
Re: heroscape 3d hexes again
« Reply #5 on: 25 October 2017, 23:16:54 »
I love what you did there! Gorgeous. If only the Heroscape game hadn't died quite so quickly :(

I did both those maps 3D with 1" foam sheets - marking the hexes, and cutting out the different levels. Even dug in 'ditches' for the river, and put a little bridge in ... you'll see them in some of my older mini pics, if they're still up. They're great maps to use, particularly in the middle of a 3x2 setup to allow for a nice meeting engagement.

Well done! O0
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

tsmpaul

  • Corporal
  • *
  • Posts: 97
Re: heroscape 3d hexes again
« Reply #6 on: 26 October 2017, 00:43:01 »
Thanks! It's so hard to find Heroscape boxes here in Australia.

I did both those maps 3D with 1" foam sheets

Wow - there's 356 pages of your posts! I did some searches but couldn't find the pics, but I seem to remember ages ago seeing your terrain and your customised figures. I love some of the infantry figures you've painted. I'm cutting MWDA soldiers off their spinners at the moment, and gluing them in pairs or triplets onto standard 25mm round bases, and power armour as individually based figures, to represent BattleForce squads, and it makes me feel like I own heaps of them when the models get spread out like that.
- red vs blue battletech painting -

Mattlov

  • Catalyst Demo Team
  • Lieutenant
  • *
  • Posts: 1210
  • Fnord.
Re: heroscape 3d hexes again
« Reply #7 on: 26 October 2017, 08:56:23 »
As a person that uses Heroscape a lot, it is TOTALLY worth it to buy a gaming mat with 1.75 inch hexes.  You save so much set up and tear down time, and have a lot more terrain to use if you don't have to make the base of the board.
"The rules technically allow all sorts of bad ideas." -Moonsword


NeonKnight

  • Freelance Writer
  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 6324
  • Cause Them My Initials!
Re: heroscape 3d hexes again
« Reply #8 on: 26 October 2017, 11:42:55 »
As a person that uses Heroscape a lot, it is TOTALLY worth it to buy a gaming mat with 1.75 inch hexes.  You save so much set up and tear down time, and have a lot more terrain to use if you don't have to make the base of the board.

This....so much this!
AGENT #575, Vancouver Canada

worktroll

  • Ombudsman
  • Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 25565
  • 504th "Gateway" Division
    • There are Monsters in my Sky!
Re: heroscape 3d hexes again
« Reply #9 on: 26 October 2017, 16:57:32 »
My map pics went down a couple of years ago when the hosting site crashed (ISP did an unannounced OS upgrade ...  ::) ). And it helps I've been here since before dirt ;)

Anyway, I resurrected a few shots.





They're exactly map scale, so I could (if I wanted) use them with standard maps.

Process was labourious, but simple.

1) Got standard 1" thick foam sheets from hardware store.
2) Base map sheets got trimmed to size.
3) I took an A4 sheet of clear plastic, and laid it on a BT map. I then marked the hex joints with a dot of permanent marker. Later, I drilled out the dots
4) Lay the overlay on the sheet, and use a whiteboard marker to dab on each hole. This leaves you with a pattern of hexagons marked out in dots. Move the sheet, be careful to keep alignment, then repeat until sheet is covered.
5) I then used a cunning home-made tool (Worktroll's Wheel) to manually push the hex-lines into the sheet.
6) For elevations, I then marked & cut out the required shapes, using one of those extensible, snap-off craft knives. (Yes, a hot wire cutter would have been easier, but I didn't have one. Pro tip - every couple of minutes, cut the knife into a wax candle. This keeps the edge from sticking on the foam beads.). They were then glued into place.
6) A coat of leftover green housepaint, and some pipe-cleaner trees on the hex points, and voila!

I did up 9 of these, all standard BT maps. In retirement, I may resume and do the moonscape, and canyon maps. But as I haven't played for so long at the moment, they're mainly photo backdrops :(
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

tsmpaul

  • Corporal
  • *
  • Posts: 97
Re: heroscape 3d hexes again
« Reply #10 on: 26 October 2017, 18:27:46 »
Process was labourious, but simple.

1) Got standard 1" thick foam sheets from hardware store.
2) Base map sheets got trimmed to size.
3) I took an A4 sheet of clear plastic, and laid it on a BT map. I then marked the hex joints with a dot of permanent marker. Later, I drilled out the dots
4) Lay the overlay on the sheet, and use a whiteboard marker to dab on each hole. This leaves you with a pattern of hexagons marked out in dots. Move the sheet, be careful to keep alignment, then repeat until sheet is covered.
5) I then used a cunning home-made tool (Worktroll's Wheel) to manually push the hex-lines into the sheet.
6) For elevations, I then marked & cut out the required shapes, using one of those extensible, snap-off craft knives. (Yes, a hot wire cutter would have been easier, but I didn't have one. Pro tip - every couple of minutes, cut the knife into a wax candle. This keeps the edge from sticking on the foam beads.). They were then glued into place.
6) A coat of leftover green housepaint, and some pipe-cleaner trees on the hex points, and voila!

The trees in your photos, are they inserted into the corners of the hexes to outline the woods hexes?
- red vs blue battletech painting -

worktroll

  • Ombudsman
  • Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 25565
  • 504th "Gateway" Division
    • There are Monsters in my Sky!
Re: heroscape 3d hexes again
« Reply #11 on: 26 October 2017, 18:33:37 »
Yup. Simple green pipecleaners, twisted into a low shape (light woods) and tall shape (heavy woods), and put in every second corner.

Yes, there are still issues with most quads, but the average mini's arms are above the trees ;) It's also necessary to mark the hex in some way; hexes where light woods surround heavy become confusing fast. If I was doing it again, I'd flock.

The trees filling a hex look great, but I never figured out how one put minis in such hexes.

* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

 

Register