Friday, December 3, 2010

Fourth Succession War: Skondia Part 5 - Board Construction

Welcome back! As promised, here is a succession of photos depicting the evolution of the Skondia battle diorama. It is seven and a half long by 5 feet wide. I originally built it so it could be broken down in-between battles for travel, but unfortunately, the poster board I used for the base warped very badly after I painted them. This rendered the expensive and time consuming to carve Styrofoam useless, so I bought a slab of particleboard and permanently attached all of the terrain elements to the board. Finally, I repainted it and applied grass and bushes. In the coming week, I will focus on the details that will populate the board. Click on the photos to really get the details, enjoy!

I used an old set of knives to carve up the Styrofoam. In the future, I will invest in some Hot Tools, but it was not in the budget this time.












The used foamboards all layed out with the river set I bought from here.












One side done with one more side to go.














Ok, here is the basic shape of the second hill group.













Hot glue is what I used to hold everything together, and to further hold some areas, I used straight pins.
















 Cutting Styrofoam makes a big mess. I better get it cleaned -up before my wife gets home.












The cats like the mess though.














Here it is all cleaned up...right before I messed it up with paint. I'm glad it turns out later.













Extra pieces for any number of future projects.














My wife is so sweet to allow me to keep these in the hallway until I assembled the diorama in the game room.











Here is the assembled game board ready for touch-up, drybrushing, and vegitation.
















Another angle.














Here it is completed, but without any removable roads, rivers, or trees.
















A close up of a level one hill where there will be a small suburb will be set. In the back ground, a level three cliff edge presents a formidable obstacle.











A view from the other side. The Kurita forces will have to move down those valleys in order to engage the Steiner forces on the desert plains.















A close up where the river will take a sharp turn.














A view from the highest point in the battle, a level four.












Me hard at work putting in the final details...with some help from one of the cats.













Final picture from the perspective of the Kurita forces who will be moving south to take the base.

















The final picture from the view of the Steiner forces who will have to hold the base and bottle-up the Kurita forces in the river valley.


Don't forget to click on the photos to enlarge them.

3 comments:

  1. You have some serious talent, imagination, and willpower. That table is freaking EPIC! Very impressive. I can't wait to see how the game turns out on that masterpiece. Oh yeah, tell you're wife she's very sweet to let you be a huge nerd and not mind it one bit!

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  2. Thank you so much. Your comment means a lot. Oh, and I'll let my wife know she is sweet...funny thanks!

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  3. It is good that you have a loving and supportive partner who understands that having you at home doing your hobbies is far preferable tot he alternatives of hanging out with mates at the local bar.

    Great scenery too. I had to go the modular board route, because of space limitations from living in a one bedroom flat. I like what you have done, and it's always good to see how others solve the problems ofs making terrain for themselves.

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