Hexboard advice

[Attackmack]

So summer has come and gone and the winterdarkness is slowely moving in so im thinking of occupying some of my spare time to create a hexboard for battletech.

What is a suitable size for the hexes if i want to have room for trees and such on the terrain pieces?
What is a suitable size for the board (hexnumber) for games that never go above lance vs lance?

[Kret69]

If I had a possibility, I would go for hexes as big as 10cm in height. This would bring the map scale to the model scale and allow to arrange a small scene in each hex, not to mention terrain specifics.  However I do realize that it would take too much space (and besides, buying a ready made ghq scenery hexes may be a better option).

In Your case 4-5 will allow planting trees and bushes and 6-7 will additionally allow to make smoother transitions between levels.

I make one board app. 3 maps size.

Best regards

Krzysztof

[Attackmack]

If I had a possibility, I would go for hexes as big as 10cm in height. This would bring the map scale to the model scale and allow to arrange a small scene in each hex, not to mention terrain specifics.  However I do realize that it would take too much space (and besides, buying a ready made ghq scenery hexes may be a better option).

In Your case 4-5 will allow planting trees and bushes and 6-7 will additionally allow to make smoother transitions between levels.

I make one board app. 3 maps size.

Best regards

Krzysztof

Hmmm. Yeah ive read that 10cm would make the entire map and terrain the correct scale for the mechs but that is wayy way way to big for me to house at the moment =/
And also, im new to battletech and completely new to terrainmaking altogether so whatever i make of this, ill have to keep it relatively simple and quick or I forsee i will never finish it =)

Ive been looking alot at ableman33s boards, and while its no use aiming for his level of detail and finish on the terrain, I do like his board design and size. He uses hexes with 1inch sides (2,5cm) and manage to squeeze some trees in there aswell.


So 2.5cm hexes, 17 by 15 (16 counting the halves) will make decent sized board that I can make room for.
Best part is that this size fits well with the materials my local stores sell and for one piece of the board, and some 1x2s i can get 6 of these boards together, more then enough to keep me occupied for the rest of the winter =)


But ive come to some other issues.

1. In order to mark the hexes on the board ive come to two possible solutions.
Either I "paint" them on somehow, possible by placing lines with a gluegun to get the hexgrid embossed from the board. Ive seen this on some designs and it looks really good.
The other option is gluing a styrofoam board on top of the baseboard, and soldering the hexgrid in. This will, IMO, give a neater look aswell as easy the fitting of modular terrain when setting up a game. It also opens the opportunity to hardpaint pockets in the terrain for water, pits, rivers and whatnot.
But it also required an additional sheet of styrofoam making the whole board thicker, aswell as the added work of soldering the styrofoam.
And since i want the gameboard to be as modular as possible I will likely not put any permanent terrain on them.
Thoughts?

2. When checking out possible styrofoam to use for future terrainpieces, im thinking of going with 30mm thickness to use for each level of height for hills. This good or should I use less?

[john blackwell]

I use Heroscape for terrain.  The tiles are 1.75" across which does note lend for lots of room for terrain, but I have been working on tiles that can occupy a hex while still allowing for a mech to occupy it too.  There are several threads worth of ideas.  I won't link them here, but they might give you some ideas.

I hope you find something you can use well.  Happy hunting,
JB

[worktroll]

I'll try and find pics & post them ... found'em! I used 1/2" foamboard & standard (1.25") hexes. Pipecleaner-based trees marked light & heavy woods hexes - I placed them in the hex corners, and painted the hex to match.

I ended up using a template to mark dots in a hex pattern, and then "embossed" the hexlines into the foamboard.  I cut out the different levels & glued them on - this is where 1/2"foamboard is great, because 2 levels is about the height of a 'Mech.



 I stuck to the 1.25" hex so I could get more maps on the same space - made them to match standard hexmaps, and I can fit 3x2 on my ping-pong/pool table.



Took a little time, but I liked the result. Remember, foamboard dissolves when hit by spray paint, so a couple of coats of housepaint is advisable to protect them. They're light, but bulky.

W.

[Kret69]

1. In order to mark the hexes on the board ive come to two possible solutions.

There are more:

1. Painting a delicate pattern. Print the hex sheet, perforate along the lines with - say - 2mm IV needle - and You have a template You can use for all Your future boards. If You use styrofoam base, it will also melt small holes that will be additionally visible - if You use canned spray that is.

2. Glue the hexboard onto the board, puncture angles only, then remove the hexboard (or not - will protect against paint). Now You have a whole wariety of options - use small terrain pieces like trees and stones to demarkate lines, or do like this:



You achieve the effect of elevated hex grid by linking the dots with water-based glue lines (white one, dilutes in water, used for paper - can be anything else that does not melt the styrofoam). Make the lines relatively thin - 1-2 mm. Wait until it dries. If You want demarkating landmarks, run another line on the first one and use sand or small stones or pieces of wood for tree trunks - whatever works for Your scene.

Now spray the entire area evenly with spray can paint - I use matt varnish. Do it outside or in ventilated area, because the melting process generates smell! After 1-2 hours the hex grid is ready. Before strapping off the hex grid (You may also want to leave it to demarkate fields more ), spray the entire area with glue spray and cover with vegetation. This is a long process and You may also want to take Your time with it - in that case, use other techniques (like water-based glue mixed with water, some earth and proper colour and than cover it with flock - for example). If You have flocking machine, this would make the whole thing even easier.

This is for boards. For grass mats (like the one from Heki) I would just use painting template. Then You roll it and it costs no space at all.

And since i want the gameboard to be as modular as possible I will likely not put any permanent terrain on them.
Thoughts?

 I cut off all my elevated pieces out of styrofoam and finish it off in aforementioned ways. Stackable pieces of 1,3 and 7 hexes would probably be a standard.

But there is a decent alternative - paper hex levels. They were available somewhere on the Web (cannot find the link now, I think I found it in this sections sticked thread about paper terrain).

2. When checking out possible styrofoam to use for future terrainpieces, im thinking of going with 30mm thickness to use for each level of height for hills. This good or should I use less?

I use 3cm styrofoam (extruded) too, this is an optimal height to denote one level in my opinion.

Ive been looking alot at ableman33s boards, and while its no use aiming for his level of detail and finish on the terrain(...)

Why not strive for excellence? :)

[Attackmack]

Thank you all for your replies and pictures, ive got alot to think about and decide upon now.
Good think work and other things will keep me fairly occupied for the coming 2 weeks but hopefully ive come to terms with a plan, gathered tools and can start up next weekend =)
Time

[Kret69]

Found the link for quick modular hexed levels:
http://rorschachhamster.wordpress.com

[Attackmack]

Cracked earth/cracked desert...


Thats the texture I would like to have on my board.
Ive read several tutorials on how to make this, but they all are with incredible detail and only for model bases, and not for such a big area as an entire board.
And my plan is to make at least 2 of these board.

So my question is if anyone know of any tips/shortcuts to make this kind of terrain texture that wont require the extensive work and time it will take to do this on an entire board by hand =/

[Kret69]

No, I'm sorry. The idea is great but proper execution will require carving and cutting. Unless You try to paint hex lines directly on board with something dissolving styrofoam, which does not guarantee the effect either. Carving will only take a week.

[Attackmack]

Yeah thoughts so.
Im gonna rethink it. It will mean a helluvalot more work then i intended, remember im a beginner and should maybe not take on too big a project!

But I really like the idea. Maybe worth a shot, the materials are cheap enough, its the hours put down im worried about =)

[Kret69]

The photo You provided is really great as inspiration, I may think about my third board having these (at least some part of it) myself.

If You know how to handle basic tools, You're not going to embarass Yourself. It's not mechanics after all, just minor finishing works ;)

Please show Your work and progress if possible.

[Attackmack]

Yeah i like it =)
Thing is, for a long time ive been having an idea in my head for a scenario/campaign.
Originally (many years ago from my RPG era) it was intended as a campaign for the Fading Suns roleplaying game. Later, as I had quit playing RPGs, it became intended as a novel. And now, still not having become anything, ive started thinking about using it within battletech somehow. Maybe as a set of scenarios or a small campaign.

Its set on a scorched planet in its last habitable years orbiting a dying star. Thats why im so hooked on this terrain style =)
Ill be sure to start a thred about the project as soon as I get started!
And if you do this texture please keep me updated swell, love to see the progress!

[john blackwell]

You mentioned Ableman33.  He has used a crackle-paint for some of his effects.  You might look more closely at his posts.  I know he is very detailed about the paint, where he buys it, and how it's worked.  It might help you get the effect you want.

Just a suggestion,
JB

[Attackmack]

You mentioned Ableman33.  He has used a crackle-paint for some of his effects.  You might look more closely at his posts.  I know he is very detailed about the paint, where he buys it, and how it's worked.  It might help you get the effect you want.

Just a suggestion,
JB

Aaah, interesting!
While I havent found mr Ablemans posts on the subject, i did some scouting on the net and found some other tutorials on how to replicate this effect, many of them actually looks really good.
Thanks for the tips!

[john blackwell]

Here's the link to his thread: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,12806.0/all.html

From there scroll down to the 'mountain' board.  It's very vertical.  It will send you to another site.  He goes into great detail with the construction, but the paints come up on page 4.

Happy hunting!
JB

[House Davie Merc]

There's a couple threads discussing the merits of different sizes of hexes .

Here's a link to a poll on this site from a while back :
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,358.0.html

Between 1.5 inch and 2 inch seems to be the most popular .

2 inch allows more room for trees and terrain but reduces the amount of hexes
you can have in a limited space .

1.5 inch allows a more minimum amount of space for trees and terrain but allows
more hexes in the same space .

IIRC 1.75 inch hexes work reasonable well with Heroscape tiles ,
2 inch works with the old BattleHex system , and 1.5 inch hexes work
with Geo-Hex Battlescape products as well as Hotmatz  .

I personally use 1.5 inch hexes on a MondayKnight Productions matt
with 3/4 inch foam insulation for hills and some of the old Geo- Hex stuff . 
( MKP bought Geo-Hex and still makes matts )

Whatever you choose I would try to keep with the same sizes of hexes even for
a one-of board because you might want to later use it linked with other terrain .

[Attackmack]

There's a couple threads discussing the merits of different sizes of hexes .

Here's a link to a poll on this site from a while back :
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,358.0.html

Between 1.5 inch and 2 inch seems to be the most popular .

2 inch allows more room for trees and terrain but reduces the amount of hexes
you can have in a limited space .

1.5 inch allows a more minimum amount of space for trees and terrain but allows
more hexes in the same space .

IIRC 1.75 inch hexes work reasonable well with Heroscape tiles ,
2 inch works with the old BattleHex system , and 1.5 inch hexes work
with Geo-Hex Battlescape products as well as Hotmatz  .

I personally use 1.5 inch hexes on a MondayKnight Productions matt
with 3/4 inch foam insulation for hills and some of the old Geo- Hex stuff . 
( MKP bought Geo-Hex and still makes matts )

Whatever you choose I would try to keep with the same sizes of hexes even for
a one-of board because you might want to later use it linked with other terrain .

Are these measurements from corner to corner or flat to flat?

EDIT:
Aah flat to flat =)