Hi guys, as always any questions I'm happy to answer where I can, and I'd love to hear your ideas and impressions of the build, what you'd do, if you'd change anything, ideas you've had - it's all fuel for the future ideas! As promised, here are the dimensions for drawing the roads and making the gibbet post, though there are templates available on my patreon, www.patreon.com/RPArchive if you'd prefer to make life easier and support future videos like this at the same time -there are also a ton of other benefits including bonus videos, so please check it out if you like the things I make :) Drawing the straight pieces: I made most of these as a single curve per piece, so I could make them wavy just by connecting them, though a few I made mostly straight for some variety. I also made the mistake of not taking into account the extra space taken up at the sides of the road by the dead grass - I've adapted these measurements to take this into account, so you don't need to worry about it :) I started all the roads 3/8" in from each edge, and drew the start of each line pointed straight from the edge (perpendicular) - this helps the pieces connect naturally to each other no matter which way they curve. From there on half of them I drew a curve out to 1/8" from the edge on one side, and 5/8" from the edge on the other side. On the other half I drew a slightly less curved road to 1/4" from the edge on one side, and 1/2" from the edge on the other. This keeps some grass showing in the middle of the edges, and keeps the road looking varied rather than copy/pasted across. Drawing the curved pieces: I did a similar thing with the curved pieces, again measuring 3/8" from the edge of each side I wanted the curve on, and drawing a curve as close to a circle as possible. You can check your two lines are at least similar to each other by measuring between them in the middle - if the gap is 2 and 1/4", they're at least the same on each side! For the 6x6 curves, I looked at it square and started the curves in the top of the right hand side, and left of the bottom side. This works pretty much as above for the outer curve that's quite close to the edge, but for the inner curve you have no other edge to measure 3/8 from, so just measure 2 and 1/4" across from your first outer curve on the left/top :) The turnoffs I made two of, one with the turn off on 'each side' of the curve, if that makes sense. Again I just measured 3/8" from the edge, and 2 and1/4" across from that to get where the road should mee the edge of the tile, and then drew a gentle curve connecting that to the rest of the road. Drawing the crossroads/turnoffs: These were really simple -same measurements again,3/8". For the T junctions, I just did a straight tile line on one side, and did little curves in the corners, basically the same as the inner curve for the smaller curve tiles. For the crossroads it was just little curves on each corner, again 3/8" from the edges. Drawing the footpaths: These were again, pretty similar. I made them 1 and 1/4" wide, and made two types, one weaving right to left, the other left to right. Either way they finished 3/8" from the edge of the tile, just like the roads, so they line up pretty well with the T junctions. Gibbet dimensions: 1/4" balsa 6" main post 2" arm 2" supporting beam (corners cut at 45 degrees) All glued together with tacky glue and stained as usual. Then I superglued in a wire hook just like the original gibbets, but in this case wrapped it around a small piece of jewellery chain to let it dangle more.
I typically dislike the way modular tiles like this look on the table, the lines just kill it for me. However, the way you do them is phenomenal, All of the lines are tastefully muted and fade into the background or underneath the flocking. Well done, love all the showcase footage.
Pretty much :) I spend a lot of time on the quality of my videos for you guys, means I can't release as often but I think it's worth it - the videos are going to be around forever anyway 😅
@@RPArchiveOfficial It’s definitely worth it! Many people see the beautiful terrain and appreciate how much effort is put in to making it but forget that setting up the shots, editing and mixing the sound is sometimes the same if not more work. Thanks for taking the time to make the videos just as enjoyable as the terrain you’re showcasing!
Thanks for the appreciation man, and you're right, it is pretty much half the work, and the more difficult half too generally. Shooting b-roll footage can be backbreaking getting the right setup and angles even with tripods, and editing is a repetitive strain injury waiting to happen haha 😅
You can also *heat the stones* a bit with a lighter before pressing them into the foam, it will make them embed themselves into the soil for added realism! There is a great board game called *Labyrinth* that uses tiles similar to these but without the magnets. Would be a cool way to do a premium version of that! Loved the project!!! =)
These pieces are really above and beyond, other crafters and even companies should take notes. Just the fact how seamless they look from a glance - and still look good even up close. The only real drawback I can see is storing all the different types
Oh yeah I love the static grass effect :) storage isn't too bad if you build storage boxes like the ones I show in another video, making something custom that perfectly fits the tiles in width and height requirements really helps
Thank you for the great video! We are working hard on completing our hobby room so we can create all of the modular terrain pieces from your videos! Have you considered a modular system for name places? If the wooden planks with names on the post were magnetized, you could swap them out and perhaps use as a sign above a village entrance. It might also be useful for the seasonal changes you mentioned.
It's honestly something I considered, but pulled back on to get the video finished in a sane amount of time 😅 I might do one in a future build, compatible with this system...
Such a huge inspiration, it all looks amazing. I've only made terrain and played on mats that conformed to a grid system, but this looks so great I might have to give it a go!
I love this whole idea - actually your whole modular system (and the storage solutions also). I really must start building terrain even though I don't do anything that requires terrain! I adore your videos too - straight to the point, well explained and beautifully shot, voiced and edited.
I love the way these look, my one concern for playability is I noticed you don't place any minis on the grass? How well does the static grass really hold up to minis being put on top of them multiple times?
I am a landscape designer, I make terrain in my spare time because it uses my existing skills. I don't know if you have ever tried but you would be a good landscape/ garden designer.
have you ever made a coach or horse and wagons for moving supplies by horse? i'm working on a scenario and need a small 3 wagon train and coach for passengers.
I just wanna say i love ur hamilton and burr shirt it makes for a real nice backdrop also no matter who shot first Hamilton was actually the reason any of this happened because he had been insulting Burr for half of his political career
awsome, but this are paths, marked by the constant walk in the filed, the roads are made putting material over the field, so the wather can filter and the people and vehicles can stil use the road.
@@RPArchiveOfficial Yeah, I'll be honest when I first started I thought they where a bit gimmicky ... but no, not at all. Now planning on encorporating them in to most of my builds. Your channel is the best spot for picking up magnet tips for sure
For y'all using a varnish for the second layer of grass, can you use like a basic Krylon or Rustoleum Clear Matte furniture spray? Or do you need to buy the stuff that is specifically made for arts and crafts?
I used (enamel I believe?) car lacquer, if that answers your question 😂 If can even be gloss, as the final scenic sealant/matte varnish coats will dull it back down
@@RPArchiveOfficial Interesting indeed 😀 Im all about fixed terrain, but when the battle reports kick in again, some flexibility might come in rather handy. 🤔 I cant build a board for every game haha.
Very cool. Long ago, I tried something similar, but my tiles were all the same size, so the results were not as good. Other things took priority, and I never got back to it. Your system looks much better, and I'm already thinking of a more 'tech/urban' version. Great work as always! :)
As someone who has just started their collection of grassland/wilds terrain it is somewhat daunting. One question I have for a lot of the tiles is how many I should try to make of each variety. In this video specifically there are 3inx3in straights/elbows, 6inx3in straights, 6inx6in elbows, 6inx6in elbows w/ a split, 3inx3in 4-way intersection, and 3in x 3in T-intersection. Any direction on some sort of check list to shot for would be incredibly helpful. Thank you as always for the fantastic videos.
I basically planned out a rough village layout I wanted to make in future, and made enough to show that :) Rough Sketching out the larger kind of stuff you want to make with a thing on maths paper is a good way to find out how many tiles YOU need, as it's a highly personal thing really :) I made 1 crossroad, 4 T junctions, 4 6" roads, 10 3" roads, 3 3" corners, 2 6" corners, 2 6" corner/y junctions, 4 narrow paths and 4 poi tiles (walls and rocks)
Absolutely fantastic! Sorry if already answered but is this normal XPS? It seems rather easy to indent compared to the pink / blue xps I get in Canada.
This is the xps we have easy access to in the UK, its called Ravatherm xps I believe, and I think they got bought by DOW, who make one of the US kinds. From what I can tell, that might be true, as some others have commented, but it's certainly not as indentable as the green styrodur bmc and shiftinglands often use, it does have a lot of 'bounce back' It's also VERY grained, it's much harder to carve into from what I can tell for things like wood grain. Xps varies through the world, I'd really like to get my hands on some of the Australian stuff to try, it looks very smooth and rigid...
There isn't one, you don't need one, use a tape measure :) I go through this in more detail in my very first video, but basically if wargamers can manage it without a dm to arbitrate, we definitely can. It also speeds up combat in large spaces. Square counting takes forever, measuring takes seconds 😅
Just wanted to take a minute to thank you for all your hard work making these videos. Are there any plans for having your hair do a video? He is very animated. JK😁 I do truly appreciate all your hard work and content. Just jealous since I lost mine decades ago😂
This is all beautiful work, but it doesn't seam very practical to me. When my group plays we do a lot of traveling during our sessions it seams like it would be a nightmare to have to constantly be changing the scenery.
Im beyond impressed on how you manage to provide a new elegant solution for problems nearly every crafter has experienced before- also, as others has pointed out, the video quality and format is really good, straight to the point, not to long, enjoyable to watch. Great job!
If you use one or maybe 2 normal pins (one sharp pointy end) on the bottom of these posts and you just stick them onto the foam anywhere once the tile is completed, would it still hold it properly or would it visibly damage the tile over time? Because that would be easier and faster and give you more liberty pinning anything anywhere, and even if you chose the same corner you probably wouldn't hit the same holes as before, specially if you do it in the middle of the grass.
You would absolutely damage the foam over time, not to mention the grass....unfortunately. Limit the holes makes them easier to ignore. The grass is the real limitation. Without that there's a lot more options, especially for larger accessories, but I'll get to that in a future video...
This whole thing with the cutting in for the roads- I wonder if you couldn't get a good result with a small print roller after cutting the road edges (or just leaving them alone for more sloped edges where the root systems aren't allowing quite so much erosion) to compress the foam prior to using a paintbrush end to get the divots...
Other thought now that I've got to the end of the video- I bet you could suspend a bit of wire in one of the plaster rock moulds to get a random stone to fill in spaces. Might even be able to do similar with a bit of tin or button head with the slightest stub of wire underneath, something you could get to come loose with a magnet on a stick. Oh- and I bet you could put these on the path and road tiles that curve, so you have a terrain reason for the road to weave a bit and then correct itself with the next tile. Lots of neat ideas from this!
While I love the design I feel like me and my players would have an issue figuring out how far they can move without the grid. Is there a fix for this?
It's all re-usable and modular! You never build a large amount to use just once. At most you might do a centrepiece tile or something for a one off, but even then...
I think you could get something think with a small slot on the bottom to fit on the road and hide the connection seams maybe even construction paper would work.
Check out the first video on the channel, the grid isn't required, and actually I find slows things down with nitpicking. You have an independent arbitrator, a dm. Use them! 😁 Wargamers wish they had a fair referee 😂
Me personally I feel that your creations look far more realistic than premade items. My DM has premade terrain and I like yours much much more, no disrespect to the premade stuff or my DM lol. Thank you for being Awesome and please Stay Awesome Brudda.
Joins are inevitable on modular terrain. I prefer the detail and ability to have less floating joins, compared to a 2d, printed battlemat with tons of floating bases. Way more lines there ;)
I’m blown away, long time tabletop wargame and RPG player and I’ve got to say this terrain looks amazing! Your stuff looks fantastic, and it’s easy to see you really enjoy what you do!
I use hobby zone, and it's pretty damn handy. I'd probably buy a few different bits if I was to do it again, but that's more because I'm moving away from gw paints and have more brushes and tools than is healthy...
Great video, if you use a foam cutter, and use the side quickly, you can get nice deep and smooth grooves afters some sanding. Mogjt be worth a shot for deeper ruts withiut having to chip at it with an exacto
I did think, but the problem with that is the groove needs to dip down and come back out again, if I did it with a straight wire cutter it wouldn't line up with the road tiles on each side :)
@@RPArchiveOfficial oh it'd be tricky indeed, ill have to try some and see what happens but i totally understand why its a pain lining up the textures between tiles
What is the max size you can get those the foam and chip board tiles to before warping happends? I've found 12x12 warps too badly with 1/2 foam and 1/8th MDF or chip bases.
There it is! Use tacky glue in thin layers. It warps less than PVA, holds strongly and soaks in still like PVA. Also let it dry under flat heavy objects to keep it in place. Coating the top in mod podge is fine again, provided its not too thick. You want to think of it like paint in terms of thickness, you don't want it obscuring detail (even if there is none to obscure) Hope that helps :)
i dont think you say it in this video, but the magnets you say are 'neomidium' magnets. do you mean to say 'neo-DYM-ium' magnets or is this a 'aluminum-aluminium' thing?
I know what you're talking about. I once misread something so hard that i believed an entire parallel universe collapsed and merged with this one. Im still convinced i have a Berenstein bears book somewhere
I show the first version in the grasslands video, and update it in the basing video. Any video where I use it also has the formula I used in the pinned comment :)
These look amazing and I would definitely love to make them, but I'm concerned about storage and the longevity of the pieces. Any tips on how to store these tiles?
Check out my storage box video, they're homemade and specifically designed to store these tiles without damage in the minimal space. Also great for transport to the game table :)
@@RPArchiveOfficial Awesome idea! Thank you for the reply and suggestion. I had been a long time viewer of BMC, Luke, Wyloch, and DMS, but your style is much more appealing than all with the modularity and the aesthetic.
I don't necessarily have the distaste for floating scenery that you do. But I think with some magnets you could make a 'universal clearing' in your grass on your templates and have magnetic scenery that fits on like floating scenery making your pieces much more modular.
QUESTION: how durable is your magnetic system for houses? could you show, what happens if one of your friends accidentaly hits it with the back of their hand during play? in my expierence not everyone is going to be so accurate with placing minis on your terrain as you. would not be the first time, people throw terrain off the table. do you have to reassamble it, or does it stay intact? I have started a year ago with my own similar system for a big table full of terrain (+modular high elevations), so i guess, most of your system is not viable for me, but i only have mostly build one house and i plan on doing a castle, so these could be helpful! Your system looks amazing, for how modular it is, and i wish, I had come up with it myself :D!
That seems... Excessive. No, it wouldn't be intact dropping it on the floor, but it shouldn't be that damaged either, as it's quite lightweight and durable. Some pieces more than others, but still. Honestly, if the problem is that bad, I'd have a chat with your players about respecting the effort that goes into making them! Particularly for minis, which tend to be less durable...
@@RPArchiveOfficial Thank you for your quick answere! well i throw my stuff on the floor all the time (by accident), but that was not my focus point, more the hitting something because you had to reach into the table, as everything is so lightweight, it might fall apart, especially on the bigger buildings. Is the magnetic bond so strong, that it just withstands the bump? For context: I will put my castle on the edge of the gametable on a 40cm elevated mountiantop next to a forrest and people will interact with it. I dont want the castle to fall apart and into the forrest, just because someone had trouble putting their mini in a tough spot^^ (war game, not D&D) Could I still implement your system in such an enviroment, or do you think I should aim for something with less individual pieces to increase stability? Sry to waste your time with this, but your system is kind of a big deal!
Nudging isn't really a problem, it would need a decent knock or lean to knock a wall down or something. If you're worried about stability, they're a lot more stable with card tabs than pure magnets, if you've been following my upgrades to the system. Flat tiles are perfectly stable as long as they're on a flat surface, though you don't want to lean on the grass :)
@@RPArchiveOfficial Well in that case, I´m pretty sure, that your proofs of concept will be pretty vital for my coming constructions! I didn´t think, something like your system was possible, but now I´m getting all kinds of very time consuming ideas! Man, that castle is gonna be insane :)
Tile systems usually aren't the best for games that dont allow pre measurement, the tiles often end up turning into a measuring tool for both players. That said if you're into historics, nothing adds to the illusion of watching history unfold like a seamless tile system.
True, but as this is for d&d, I'm not sure why you mentioned it? Not to mention manyif not most games these days DO allow pre measures... Though I do miss the days of guessing cannon ranges....
@@RPArchiveOfficial I'm a wargamer and you popped up in my feed, I assumed it was for that. Ive seen wargamers craft entire tables like you have and after weeks worth of work they discover their mistake in the first 15 minutes of enjoying their table. In my life experience the people who actually craft terrain for RPGs are a rare breed, they are sorely lacking. I also miss the days of Guess weapons and the suspense of not knowing if you are within range to charge. Also the way you made that bramble and weeds, 10/10. I'd never seen some one do that before, it's a really amazing trick to making believable plant life.
Reminds me of Command & Conquer: Red Alert map editor. The dirt roads in that were very similar as they had to fit on to a pixel grid and join together to form longer roads. Sadly I can't find a good example of them online unless you want to download OpenRA and actually play around with the map editor: www.openra.net/ (it's free) The shapes they used would certainly be useful inspiration.
I thought your bushes/shrubs made with Jute twine and then flocked looked fine. I live in the Pacific Northwest and they remind me of built up Blackberry vines covered in fall leaves, and at full growth in Summer.
I like them a lot better after they were sealed a bit by the final spritz of sealant, it dulled down the leaves to something a bit more realistic that you see in the video... Visible glue is a bit frustrating but hey ho :)
Hmmm I might look into making tiles like this for my warhammer boards in the future instead of relying on battlemats. The mats are nice but these look very good and could allow for things like trenches/canals that actually dip down.
Solid plan, if I still played more wargames than d&d I might do that instead... Though smaller tiles do still give more options, especially when you start looking at incorporating the mountain terrain I've shown :)
@@RPArchiveOfficial it's a Scottish folk creature related to the fey despite its undead/demonic appearance. It took the form of a human torso, arms and head merged to the back of a horse like a rider, with arms which reached to the ground. It supposedly had skin which looked like it had been flayed alive. It was known to have toxic breath and to enjoy torturing its victims. It could not cross rivers or other fresh bodies of water however.
The quality of your builds and production value of the video is fantastic. You have yourself a new sub and I'll be binging all your videos at some point 👍
So many awesome ideas! I love it! My favorite one definitely has to be the accessory slot: Putting them on a corner was inspired. Absolutely brilliant. I'm looking forward to trying my hand at the rock piles as well.
I found you by a Facebook post you made in a D&D group and I can say whole heartedly that I was blessed to find your content because the way you build sets is always how I’ve wanted to do it but never knew where to start. Now I have all the tools and inspiration I need to be a better set builder for my campaign. I binged like 20 of your videos in one day and had the time of my life doing so! Please keep it up, I look forward to future content.
Damn dude, fantastic work as always! These tiles look so good. I think this might be the tipping point to convince me to get a flocking applicator, and stop using my dill and mixed herbs grass solution 😅
I did think that, and might try it, the main problem being how deep the gaps are and how unlikely it is you'd be able to get the cast out without snapping a lot off...
Terrain look awesome as always, I was just wondering : did you remove the 1" grid? I use the grid when I play so I wondered if there was a way you found to incorporate it discretely in the terrain.
For outdoor builds particularly I just straight up removed it. I come from a warhammer background and using a grid always seemed such a time consuming waste to me when tape measures exist and are a LOT faster, and you even have a dm to arbitrate! If competitive wargaming can handle measurements, d&d certainly can :) I find it speeds up combat dramatically too, because you don't have players sat counting squares. Grids are OK in tight dungeons, but anything bigger and the system gets grindy FAST...
I've been watching you for a while and I'm hoping to get started on my own soon but I was wondering if you had ideas for rivers and water with this system
![ผัวเถื่อน - ยูริ โตเกียวมิวสิค [ OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/P08ORRVDGl8/mqdefault.jpg)
Hi guys, as always any questions I'm happy to answer where I can, and I'd love to hear your ideas and impressions of the build, what you'd do, if you'd change anything, ideas you've had - it's all fuel for the future ideas!
As promised, here are the dimensions for drawing the roads and making the gibbet post, though there are templates available on my patreon, www.patreon.com/RPArchive if you'd prefer to make life easier and support future videos like this at the same time -there are also a ton of other benefits including bonus videos, so please check it out if you like the things I make :)
Drawing the straight pieces:
I made most of these as a single curve per piece, so I could make them wavy just by connecting them, though a few I made mostly straight for some variety. I also made the mistake of not taking into account the extra space taken up at the sides of the road by the dead grass - I've adapted these measurements to take this into account, so you don't need to worry about it :)
I started all the roads 3/8" in from each edge, and drew the start of each line pointed straight from the edge (perpendicular) - this helps the pieces connect naturally to each other no matter which way they curve.
From there on half of them I drew a curve out to 1/8" from the edge on one side, and 5/8" from the edge on the other side.
On the other half I drew a slightly less curved road to 1/4" from the edge on one side, and 1/2" from the edge on the other.
This keeps some grass showing in the middle of the edges, and keeps the road looking varied rather than copy/pasted across.
Drawing the curved pieces:
I did a similar thing with the curved pieces, again measuring 3/8" from the edge of each side I wanted the curve on, and drawing a curve as close to a circle as possible. You can check your two lines are at least similar to each other by measuring between them in the middle - if the gap is 2 and 1/4", they're at least the same on each side!
For the 6x6 curves, I looked at it square and started the curves in the top of the right hand side, and left of the bottom side. This works pretty much as above for the outer curve that's quite close to the edge, but for the inner curve you have no other edge to measure 3/8 from, so just measure 2 and 1/4" across from your first outer curve on the left/top :)
The turnoffs I made two of, one with the turn off on 'each side' of the curve, if that makes sense. Again I just measured 3/8" from the edge, and 2 and1/4" across from that to get where the road should mee the edge of the tile, and then drew a gentle curve connecting that to the rest of the road.
Drawing the crossroads/turnoffs:
These were really simple -same measurements again,3/8".
For the T junctions, I just did a straight tile line on one side, and did little curves in the corners, basically the same as the inner curve for the smaller curve tiles.
For the crossroads it was just little curves on each corner, again 3/8" from the edges.
Drawing the footpaths:
These were again, pretty similar. I made them 1 and 1/4" wide, and made two types, one weaving right to left, the other left to right. Either way they finished 3/8" from the edge of the tile, just like the roads, so they line up pretty well with the T junctions.
Gibbet dimensions:
1/4" balsa
6" main post
2" arm
2" supporting beam (corners cut at 45 degrees)
All glued together with tacky glue and stained as usual. Then I superglued in a wire hook just like the original gibbets, but in this case wrapped it around a small piece of jewellery chain to let it dangle more.
Patreon link is broken, the closing bracket causing it.
Thanks man, should be fixed?
@@RPArchiveOfficial yup! It’s all good now
beautiful scenery man, would like to see the same technique with a futuristic twist. but yh good work :)
Thanks man :) sci fi stuff will probably be coming... Someday 😅
I typically dislike the way modular tiles like this look on the table, the lines just kill it for me. However, the way you do them is phenomenal, All of the lines are tastefully muted and fade into the background or underneath the flocking. Well done, love all the showcase footage.
Thank you :)
Why not use really tall grass?
Mostly playability, though you could add patches as scatter terrain...
@@RPArchiveOfficial oh, ok thanks
I agree Knarb. It just seems like a trade-off to me.
The variety of shots in this video is insane, it must have taken forever to edit! Really nice work :)
Pretty much :) I spend a lot of time on the quality of my videos for you guys, means I can't release as often but I think it's worth it - the videos are going to be around forever anyway 😅
@@RPArchiveOfficial It’s definitely worth it! Many people see the beautiful terrain and appreciate how much effort is put in to making it but forget that setting up the shots, editing and mixing the sound is sometimes the same if not more work.
Thanks for taking the time to make the videos just as enjoyable as the terrain you’re showcasing!
Thanks for the appreciation man, and you're right, it is pretty much half the work, and the more difficult half too generally.
Shooting b-roll footage can be backbreaking getting the right setup and angles even with tripods, and editing is a repetitive strain injury waiting to happen haha 😅
You can also *heat the stones* a bit with a lighter before pressing them into the foam, it will make them embed themselves into the soil for added realism!
There is a great board game called *Labyrinth* that uses tiles similar to these but without the magnets. Would be a cool way to do a premium version of that!
Loved the project!!! =)
You continue to do the dopest stuff. I don't play wargames, but man, you make me want to just so I have a good reason to make all your stuff.
Haha! Thanks man. It's a hobby worth getting into just to make stuff to be honest, watching this world come slowly to life has been great fun to do :)
Here I was thinking I could sleep...
Haha! And I just posted this as I woke up... Ish :)
These pieces are really above and beyond, other crafters and even companies should take notes. Just the fact how seamless they look from a glance - and still look good even up close. The only real drawback I can see is storing all the different types
Oh yeah I love the static grass effect :) storage isn't too bad if you build storage boxes like the ones I show in another video, making something custom that perfectly fits the tiles in width and height requirements really helps
Thank you for the great video! We are working hard on completing our hobby room so we can create all of the modular terrain pieces from your videos!
Have you considered a modular system for name places? If the wooden planks with names on the post were magnetized, you could swap them out and perhaps use as a sign above a village entrance. It might also be useful for the seasonal changes you mentioned.
It's honestly something I considered, but pulled back on to get the video finished in a sane amount of time 😅
I might do one in a future build, compatible with this system...
Ok, here is a guy who really puts his soul into his work
Thank you man, it's nice to hear the effort noticed :)
I've been watching you since the beginging of the quarantine. And I must say that the production of latest videos increased exponentially! Great job!
Thanks for mentioning man, it's a lot of work and I've been aiming higher, so it's nice to hear :)
Such a huge inspiration, it all looks amazing. I've only made terrain and played on mats that conformed to a grid system, but this looks so great I might have to give it a go!
Do it....
Seriously, measuring is so much better. Especially with a dm to arbitrate!
6:47 I hate this bit. Don't do this please
ohhh yesss so good again. you have the video format just right now
Thanks man, I've spend a lot of time and effort on it so it's nice hearing that it's in the right place :)
I love this whole idea - actually your whole modular system (and the storage solutions also). I really must start building terrain even though I don't do anything that requires terrain! I adore your videos too - straight to the point, well explained and beautifully shot, voiced and edited.
Thank you, it really is nice when that effort gets noticed :)
Really love your videos! Content, music, voice, just everything
Thanks! It's always nice hearing stuff like that, a lot of effort goes in :)
@@RPArchiveOfficial you are very welcome 🖤
I love the way these look, my one concern for playability is I noticed you don't place any minis on the grass? How well does the static grass really hold up to minis being put on top of them multiple times?
I do place minis on grass, check out the full grassland video for more on this :)
They're mostly on paths because this is a video about... Paths 😅
I am a landscape designer, I make terrain in my spare time because it uses my existing skills. I don't know if you have ever tried but you would be a good landscape/ garden designer.
have you ever made a coach or horse and wagons for moving supplies by horse? i'm working on a scenario and need a small 3 wagon train and coach for passengers.
I just wanna say i love ur hamilton and burr shirt it makes for a real nice backdrop also no matter who shot first Hamilton was actually the reason any of this happened because he had been insulting Burr for half of his political career
awsome, but this are paths, marked by the constant walk in the filed, the roads are made putting material over the field, so the wather can filter and the people and vehicles can stil use the road.
Very cool! Have been recently converted to the ways of magnets... so versatile :) Those walls are class
Magnets are the future man, so easy to use in play...
@@RPArchiveOfficial Yeah, I'll be honest when I first started I thought they where a bit gimmicky ... but no, not at all. Now planning on encorporating them in to most of my builds. Your channel is the best spot for picking up magnet tips for sure
Amazing as usual :) Thank you for the inspiration!!
Thanks for the algorithm fuel and support :)
I like hover terrain, but I up-thumbed for the high-pitched cockney dialogue
Haha! I'll keep it up then 😅
I'm so excited. Ever since I saw the modular terrain video, I was waiting for how you would solve this.
I had it planned all along.... Mostly 😅
Now I need a hoofprint brush... 😉
For y'all using a varnish for the second layer of grass, can you use like a basic Krylon or Rustoleum Clear Matte furniture spray? Or do you need to buy the stuff that is specifically made for arts and crafts?
I used (enamel I believe?) car lacquer, if that answers your question 😂
If can even be gloss, as the final scenic sealant/matte varnish coats will dull it back down
Amazing set up, I'm inspired!
Nice video this one man! Im all about the "realisim". You love a magnet! Might have to give it a go.
I do indeed 😅 you could easily adapt it for a more wargaming scale with bigger, or more flexibly, longer, tiles...
@@RPArchiveOfficial Interesting indeed 😀 Im all about fixed terrain, but when the battle reports kick in again, some flexibility might come in rather handy. 🤔 I cant build a board for every game haha.
Exactly :) long term I plan on making sci fi/40k stuff to some degree, which will work smoothly with these tiles :) should be fun...
Very cool. Long ago, I tried something similar, but my tiles were all the same size, so the results were not as good. Other things took priority, and I never got back to it. Your system looks much better, and I'm already thinking of a more 'tech/urban' version.
Great work as always! :)
Thanks man!
As someone who has just started their collection of grassland/wilds terrain it is somewhat daunting. One question I have for a lot of the tiles is how many I should try to make of each variety. In this video specifically there are 3inx3in straights/elbows, 6inx3in straights, 6inx6in elbows, 6inx6in elbows w/ a split, 3inx3in 4-way intersection, and 3in x 3in T-intersection. Any direction on some sort of check list to shot for would be incredibly helpful. Thank you as always for the fantastic videos.
I basically planned out a rough village layout I wanted to make in future, and made enough to show that :)
Rough Sketching out the larger kind of stuff you want to make with a thing on maths paper is a good way to find out how many tiles YOU need, as it's a highly personal thing really :)
I made 1 crossroad, 4 T junctions, 4 6" roads, 10 3" roads, 3 3" corners, 2 6" corners, 2 6" corner/y junctions, 4 narrow paths and 4 poi tiles (walls and rocks)
Oh! The horse trampling the grass comment got me! I never thought about it before. The blue tack technique is amazing! #pompomshake
Haha! Thank you! I originally planned magnets but actually found blu tac worked better really... And was cheaper... And easier!
Absolutely fantastic!
Sorry if already answered but is this normal XPS? It seems rather easy to indent compared to the pink / blue xps I get in Canada.
This is the xps we have easy access to in the UK, its called Ravatherm xps I believe, and I think they got bought by DOW, who make one of the US kinds. From what I can tell, that might be true, as some others have commented, but it's certainly not as indentable as the green styrodur bmc and shiftinglands often use, it does have a lot of 'bounce back'
It's also VERY grained, it's much harder to carve into from what I can tell for things like wood grain.
Xps varies through the world, I'd really like to get my hands on some of the Australian stuff to try, it looks very smooth and rigid...
Thanks for sharing great ideas. Can you tell me what the giants are you have? Those would work well in the setting im creating
Wizkids unpainted Hill giants :)
It looks awesome, but with all the differents sizes, how do you track movent? (What is your grid?)
There isn't one, you don't need one, use a tape measure :)
I go through this in more detail in my very first video, but basically if wargamers can manage it without a dm to arbitrate, we definitely can.
It also speeds up combat in large spaces. Square counting takes forever, measuring takes seconds 😅
Just wanted to take a minute to thank you for all your hard work making these videos. Are there any plans for having your hair do a video? He is very animated. JK😁 I do truly appreciate all your hard work and content. Just jealous since I lost mine decades ago😂
Haha! Thank you for taking the time man :) yeah my hair is... Its own entity sometimes 😅
This is all beautiful work, but it doesn't seam very practical to me. When my group plays we do a lot of traveling during our sessions it seams like it would be a nightmare to have to constantly be changing the scenery.
It's no more difficult to transport than a warhammer army really :) but one location helps obviously
"Poundland" means something very different in America....................
Yeah... I'm quite sure it does 😂
Im beyond impressed on how you manage to provide a new elegant solution for problems nearly every crafter has experienced before- also, as others has pointed out, the video quality and format is really good, straight to the point, not to long, enjoyable to watch. Great job!
Thanks man, I work pretty hard on the ideas and videos so that is really awesome to hear :)
If you use one or maybe 2 normal pins (one sharp pointy end) on the bottom of these posts and you just stick them onto the foam anywhere once the tile is completed, would it still hold it properly or would it visibly damage the tile over time? Because that would be easier and faster and give you more liberty pinning anything anywhere, and even if you chose the same corner you probably wouldn't hit the same holes as before, specially if you do it in the middle of the grass.
You would absolutely damage the foam over time, not to mention the grass....unfortunately. Limit the holes makes them easier to ignore.
The grass is the real limitation. Without that there's a lot more options, especially for larger accessories, but I'll get to that in a future video...
Just discovered you and your plethora of ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Glad you like them!
This whole thing with the cutting in for the roads- I wonder if you couldn't get a good result with a small print roller after cutting the road edges (or just leaving them alone for more sloped edges where the root systems aren't allowing quite so much erosion) to compress the foam prior to using a paintbrush end to get the divots...
Other thought now that I've got to the end of the video- I bet you could suspend a bit of wire in one of the plaster rock moulds to get a random stone to fill in spaces. Might even be able to do similar with a bit of tin or button head with the slightest stub of wire underneath, something you could get to come loose with a magnet on a stick.
Oh- and I bet you could put these on the path and road tiles that curve, so you have a terrain reason for the road to weave a bit and then correct itself with the next tile. Lots of neat ideas from this!
While I love the design I feel like me and my players would have an issue figuring out how far they can move without the grid. Is there a fix for this?
Check out my very first video, a grid isn't needed :)
too bad you cant hide the seam lines on the roads somehow. you can't tell where it's flocked, but it's super obvious on the dirt.
Yeah, but that's the case for ALL modular terrain, so unless you build complete scenes for EVERYTHING... That's gonna happen 😅
Just started watching and love your builds
Thanks man :)
seriously, who has time for this? You'd spend 40 hours prepping for a 4 hour game.
It's all re-usable and modular! You never build a large amount to use just once. At most you might do a centrepiece tile or something for a one off, but even then...
I think you could get something think with a small slot on the bottom to fit on the road and hide the connection seams maybe even construction paper would work.
Problem is, that's tends to add more lines horizontally elsewhere, and is also fiddly :)
Hi! I'm in the UK and cant find any foam like you, where did you get yours
Check out my equipment list in the description, you can order it online :)
I don't do dnd but all of your work looks cool
Where do you buy your Foam from? I’m in the uk and find it very hard to find the right stuff.
Online, there's a link in my equipment list in the description :)
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Okay I may be dumb, but how do you do the d&d combat speed on these things without the grid
Check out the first video on the channel, the grid isn't required, and actually I find slows things down with nitpicking. You have an independent arbitrator, a dm. Use them! 😁 Wargamers wish they had a fair referee 😂
Me personally I feel that your creations look far more realistic than premade items. My DM has premade terrain and I like yours much much more, no disrespect to the premade stuff or my DM lol. Thank you for being Awesome and please Stay Awesome Brudda.
If only I had the space
5:04 don't think I didn't notice the Hamilton shirt. Fantastic video!
Haha, I was wondering if someone would notice 😅
Nice build but the dirt road really made the joins between tiles stand out
Joins are inevitable on modular terrain. I prefer the detail and ability to have less floating joins, compared to a 2d, printed battlemat with tons of floating bases. Way more lines there ;)
oooh 4k
I try :) not all of it was shot in 4k but its useful for where I need to digitally zoom and not lose too much quality...
The realism police is very pleased. You must have watched Lindybeige.
I have indeed, and I've seen him comment on the channel before, so I thought I'd include it 😅
@@RPArchiveOfficial Hahahaha brilliant!
I’m blown away, long time tabletop wargame
and RPG player and I’ve got to say this terrain looks amazing! Your stuff looks fantastic, and it’s easy to see you really enjoy what you do!
Matt,
What system do you use for hobby storage organization? I am looking at TTG or Hobby Zone.
I use hobby zone, and it's pretty damn handy. I'd probably buy a few different bits if I was to do it again, but that's more because I'm moving away from gw paints and have more brushes and tools than is healthy...
@@RPArchiveOfficial Thanks :)
Where do you tend to get your grout pal?
In the UK, from wickes, they do a few different colours of unsanded grout :)
@@RPArchiveOfficial thanks pal!
Sorry for showing up late. Top work as usual sir!
Thanks man! Always appreciate the comment :)
Great video, if you use a foam cutter, and use the side quickly, you can get nice deep and smooth grooves afters some sanding. Mogjt be worth a shot for deeper ruts withiut having to chip at it with an exacto
I did think, but the problem with that is the groove needs to dip down and come back out again, if I did it with a straight wire cutter it wouldn't line up with the road tiles on each side :)
@@RPArchiveOfficial oh it'd be tricky indeed, ill have to try some and see what happens but i totally understand why its a pain lining up the textures between tiles
What is the max size you can get those the foam and chip board tiles to before warping happends? I've found 12x12 warps too badly with 1/2 foam and 1/8th MDF or chip bases.
Barely warps at all for me, but here's the kicker - what glue are you using, how thick and are they drying under flat heavy objects?
@@RPArchiveOfficial Well, I'm using XPS foam and there are reliefs along the top of the foam. using Modge Podge to coat things and standard PVA glue.
There it is!
Use tacky glue in thin layers. It warps less than PVA, holds strongly and soaks in still like PVA.
Also let it dry under flat heavy objects to keep it in place.
Coating the top in mod podge is fine again, provided its not too thick. You want to think of it like paint in terms of thickness, you don't want it obscuring detail (even if there is none to obscure)
Hope that helps :)
i dont think you say it in this video, but the magnets you say are 'neomidium' magnets. do you mean to say 'neo-DYM-ium' magnets or is this a 'aluminum-aluminium' thing?
Yeah you are correct, I constantly slip up when saying that :) it is neodymium, I just misread it early on and keep struggling to correct myself 😅
I know what you're talking about. I once misread something so hard that i believed an entire parallel universe collapsed and merged with this one. Im still convinced i have a Berenstein bears book somewhere
Ok. As someone who loves this content but lives in the US. Does anyone know of a store equivalent in the US as geekgaming?
It does have a US storefront? :)
I found like the day after I posted this XD
Can anyone tell me how to make the dirt and grout mix or a link to buy it?
I show the first version in the grasslands video, and update it in the basing video. Any video where I use it also has the formula I used in the pinned comment :)
Love the solution to the scatter issue. Very cool.
Thanks :) been trying to work around that for a long time, I think this is a nice compromise...
I built a stone well using the method you used to build the walls
Cool :)
this channel is gold, thank you so much.
Thanks Grace! 😁
I saw this on Reddit. Really cool idea
Thanks :)
Just wish the ogre had some shading on his muscles.
Hill giant, actually, and this isn't a mini painting video...so...?
These look amazing and I would definitely love to make them, but I'm concerned about storage and the longevity of the pieces. Any tips on how to store these tiles?
Check out my storage box video, they're homemade and specifically designed to store these tiles without damage in the minimal space. Also great for transport to the game table :)
@@RPArchiveOfficial Awesome idea! Thank you for the reply and suggestion. I had been a long time viewer of BMC, Luke, Wyloch, and DMS, but your style is much more appealing than all with the modularity and the aesthetic.
Thank you man! I have a lot of respect for those guys too but everyone has their own style/preferences I think :)
I don't necessarily have the distaste for floating scenery that you do. But I think with some magnets you could make a 'universal clearing' in your grass on your templates and have magnetic scenery that fits on like floating scenery making your pieces much more modular.
I think you already did this with the updated fence posts. I think you could do it with rocks and walls if they've got a similar enough 'footprint'.
Not a bad idea, problem is making sure every rock is the exact same size to hide the gap with grass... Might be a bit restrictive :)
@@RPArchiveOfficial that's a very good point.
The magnetize joke was all it took me to sub
Glad I threw it in there haha, it's all I hear every time I grab the magnets 😅
Loved this... one of your best to date 👍, it may well inform me going forward on some of my own modular builds! Thanks
Awesome, glad I could help :)
QUESTION: how durable is your magnetic system for houses? could you show, what happens if one of your friends accidentaly hits it with the back of their hand during play? in my expierence not everyone is going to be so accurate with placing minis on your terrain as you. would not be the first time, people throw terrain off the table. do you have to reassamble it, or does it stay intact? I have started a year ago with my own similar system for a big table full of terrain (+modular high elevations), so i guess, most of your system is not viable for me, but i only have mostly build one house and i plan on doing a castle, so these could be helpful! Your system looks amazing, for how modular it is, and i wish, I had come up with it myself :D!
That seems... Excessive. No, it wouldn't be intact dropping it on the floor, but it shouldn't be that damaged either, as it's quite lightweight and durable. Some pieces more than others, but still.
Honestly, if the problem is that bad, I'd have a chat with your players about respecting the effort that goes into making them! Particularly for minis, which tend to be less durable...
@@RPArchiveOfficial Thank you for your quick answere! well i throw my stuff on the floor all the time (by accident), but that was not my focus point, more the hitting something because you had to reach into the table, as everything is so lightweight, it might fall apart, especially on the bigger buildings. Is the magnetic bond so strong, that it just withstands the bump? For context: I will put my castle on the edge of the gametable on a 40cm elevated mountiantop next to a forrest and people will interact with it. I dont want the castle to fall apart and into the forrest, just because someone had trouble putting their mini in a tough spot^^ (war game, not D&D)
Could I still implement your system in such an enviroment, or do you think I should aim for something with less individual pieces to increase stability? Sry to waste your time with this, but your system is kind of a big deal!
Nudging isn't really a problem, it would need a decent knock or lean to knock a wall down or something. If you're worried about stability, they're a lot more stable with card tabs than pure magnets, if you've been following my upgrades to the system.
Flat tiles are perfectly stable as long as they're on a flat surface, though you don't want to lean on the grass :)
@@RPArchiveOfficial Well in that case, I´m pretty sure, that your proofs of concept will be pretty vital for my coming constructions! I didn´t think, something like your system was possible, but now I´m getting all kinds of very time consuming ideas! Man, that castle is gonna be insane :)
Sounds awesome man!
This system is great! Just genius!
Thanks man!
Your work is always a genius one.
Thanks man, takes a lot of effort but it gets there :)
Tile systems usually aren't the best for games that dont allow pre measurement, the tiles often end up turning into a measuring tool for both players.
That said if you're into historics, nothing adds to the illusion of watching history unfold like a seamless tile system.
True, but as this is for d&d, I'm not sure why you mentioned it?
Not to mention manyif not most games these days DO allow pre measures... Though I do miss the days of guessing cannon ranges....
@@RPArchiveOfficial I'm a wargamer and you popped up in my feed, I assumed it was for that. Ive seen wargamers craft entire tables like you have and after weeks worth of work they discover their mistake in the first 15 minutes of enjoying their table.
In my life experience the people who actually craft terrain for RPGs are a rare breed, they are sorely lacking.
I also miss the days of Guess weapons and the suspense of not knowing if you are within range to charge.
Also the way you made that bramble and weeds, 10/10.
I'd never seen some one do that before, it's a really amazing trick to making believable plant life.
Thanks! Totally get why you said it now, makes sense, I guess I don't always mention d&d in the videos 😅
Very beautiful work.
Thanks Eric :)
Love this dude, really great production value and finished product. I wanna try this out!
Doooo it.... 😅
I kind wanna watch it again. Those tiles look sooo good 😁
Ooh! I really like the moss on the stone.
Thanks! Turned out really nice :) can't take credit for the recipe though, got it from BMC years ago 😅
Reminds me of Command & Conquer: Red Alert map editor. The dirt roads in that were very similar as they had to fit on to a pixel grid and join together to form longer roads. Sadly I can't find a good example of them online unless you want to download OpenRA and actually play around with the map editor: www.openra.net/ (it's free) The shapes they used would certainly be useful inspiration.
Haha I used to play red alert, I know what you mean 😅
I thought your bushes/shrubs made with Jute twine and then flocked looked fine. I live in the Pacific Northwest and they remind me of built up Blackberry vines covered in fall leaves, and at full growth in Summer.
I like them a lot better after they were sealed a bit by the final spritz of sealant, it dulled down the leaves to something a bit more realistic that you see in the video... Visible glue is a bit frustrating but hey ho :)
Mmmmm more ideas for warhammer 40k and AoS these tiles are great. Will be adding them to my building list in the near future.
Awesome :) once I get onto planar terrain I think that'll work really well for AOS/40k...
Best terrain channel under 100K subs. Soon to be the best terrain channel over 100k (By years end, mark my words).
Thanks for the vote of confidence Daniel! I feel like I'm getting there now :)
Hmmm I might look into making tiles like this for my warhammer boards in the future instead of relying on battlemats. The mats are nice but these look very good and could allow for things like trenches/canals that actually dip down.
Solid plan, if I still played more wargames than d&d I might do that instead... Though smaller tiles do still give more options, especially when you start looking at incorporating the mountain terrain I've shown :)
Perfect for the Nuklavee encounter I've had in mind!
What pray tell is a nuklavee? 😂
@@RPArchiveOfficial it's a Scottish folk creature related to the fey despite its undead/demonic appearance. It took the form of a human torso, arms and head merged to the back of a horse like a rider, with arms which reached to the ground. It supposedly had skin which looked like it had been flayed alive. It was known to have toxic breath and to enjoy torturing its victims. It could not cross rivers or other fresh bodies of water however.
Nice!
+1 to engagement metrics
Cheers man.
The quality of your builds and production value of the video is fantastic. You have yourself a new sub and I'll be binging all your videos at some point 👍
Awesome! Cheers man :)
So many awesome ideas! I love it! My favorite one definitely has to be the accessory slot: Putting them on a corner was inspired. Absolutely brilliant.
I'm looking forward to trying my hand at the rock piles as well.
Glad you like them :) there'll be more for that system in future I think too...
I found you by a Facebook post you made in a D&D group and I can say whole heartedly that I was blessed to find your content because the way you build sets is always how I’ve wanted to do it but never knew where to start. Now I have all the tools and inspiration I need to be a better set builder for my campaign. I binged like 20 of your videos in one day and had the time of my life doing so! Please keep it up, I look forward to future content.
It is so nice hearing comments like this - I'm working on the next video right now :)
Damn dude, fantastic work as always! These tiles look so good. I think this might be the tipping point to convince me to get a flocking applicator, and stop using my dill and mixed herbs grass solution 😅
They are so worth it it's unreal 😅
This is now one of my favourite tabletop channels. I may dabble in modular scenery myself now
Do it! 😁 Let me know if you have any questions :)
Be good to try making a mold of the real rock wall and see if you can then make plaster ones quickly
I did think that, and might try it, the main problem being how deep the gaps are and how unlikely it is you'd be able to get the cast out without snapping a lot off...
@@RPArchiveOfficial yeah, I'd think youd have to the build with it in mind for that
Definitely
Terrain look awesome as always, I was just wondering : did you remove the 1" grid? I use the grid when I play so I wondered if there was a way you found to incorporate it discretely in the terrain.
For outdoor builds particularly I just straight up removed it. I come from a warhammer background and using a grid always seemed such a time consuming waste to me when tape measures exist and are a LOT faster, and you even have a dm to arbitrate!
If competitive wargaming can handle measurements, d&d certainly can :)
I find it speeds up combat dramatically too, because you don't have players sat counting squares. Grids are OK in tight dungeons, but anything bigger and the system gets grindy FAST...
After The buildings we are discovering the countryside of your univers
Definitely :) sooner or later I'll get to other civilisations/the planes...
@@RPArchiveOfficial I'd be interested to see your take on the City of Doors.
Now that would be interesting to do in the long run...mixed extraplanar architecture...
I am sure your imagination will find unknown shapes
Very good and nice, too.
Thanks!
I've been watching you for a while and I'm hoping to get started on my own soon but I was wondering if you had ideas for rivers and water with this system
I'll be doing those at some point soon - ish, I'm just gathering materials, testing, planning and getting other stuff out too :)