This is going to be a work in progress as I comment on the process I use to design my next game board. I've come up with a general idea of how it would be more effective to create a plan before I start building so that way I can have a more effective board.
- December 11, 2001 -
To begin with I'm going to layout my goal for the project:
The biomech units of the Technoids have punched through the Delbac front line anchored in the rocky pass on the south end of the great mountains. The area is both a desert and a mountain range. The heavy clay content in the area gives the rocks and dirt a reddish tint for the most part. The scarce vegetation is made up of low bushes and strange towering cacti.
Okay, I have an idea of what I want my board to look like. I also know that I'm going to be modeling in a 6mm scale so that will also affect my material choices.
So I sort of know what my paint scheme should be: red-brown, tan, and possibly gray for the mountain sides.
The plants could be made out of either Lichen or a form. I like the gray-green color of lichen to contrast against the red/tan of the background. I'm not sure about the cacti. I may get some pipe cleaner if I end up using that idea.
Materials I'll need:
spray paint ($2)
table cover/mat ($5)
pipe cleaner (?) (OR Sweetgum tree seed-balls)
lichen (free if I can collect it from the woods)
rocks (free again)
polystyrene (free)
foam (free)
What I'll build:
Steep hills or cliffs, 3-4 inches high or more.
Low hills, less than 2 inches high.
Patches of bushes, 3 or 4 bushes on a 2-3 inch base
Rock piles, again a 2-3 inch base covered with various size rocks.
Barb wire sections, maybe 1-3 inches long by ½ inch deep.
Trench/Fortification sections.
Temporary Command Post, to use as an objective. Tents and that sort of thing.
- September 9, 2002 -
Has it really been nine months since I started this project?! Between summer activities and another move, I haven't worked on this project since the spring of this year.
I have a batch of "Large Cacti" bases completed: plastic base covered with sand and then two or three Sweetgum balls glued on top of that. I was intending to spray paint them and then dry-brush the "cacti" green... but I haven't gotten to that part yet.