"3D Aquarium Background Strips As Tunnel/Cave Walls?" Topic

Aside from TMP's "arabianknight", has anyone else given the idea a shot?

link

If so, could you share your experience (and pics) with us? For example, did you use any special tools to cut the strips straight?

Thanks,

Dan
TMP link
TMP link
TMP link

Arabian Knight's a mensch amongst miniaturists.

I just felt compelled to point that out.

- Monk

Hum, that is an Idea…

I wanted to try this idea out but after i done a bit of research and found out the actual price of the false rock sheets lets just say they are not cheap so i didn't go ahead with the project, never the less its a really good idea if you can afford it…

For rpg purposes, walls are a bad idea.
I made a bunch.
They're just totally impractical.

Players sitting down can't see their figures.
Especially in corridors, moving figures becomes fiddly.

OTOH, if you're doing a short participation game for a con where youre punters will be standing over the table then that works OK.
Sort of.
Use cheap figures though as they're more likely to get bashed.

I took a sheet of the rocky backdrop that a friend gave me (he got a bigger fish tank) and with a bit of cutting and paint it looks pretty cool:

I am planning to add some sand in places (at some point) but I'm in no rush. I made it as a photo back-ground but haven't really used it much.

I used a Stanley knife and polyfiller to texture it all up and add some rigidity.

Aquarium supplies are always so tempting but they're also so expensive!

You could try the rock texture sheets from amera – link

Would cork be cheaper?

I have tried this stuff before but turned away from it for a number of reasons. It was too pricey, too brittle and not so good at taking paint – the surfaces were too smooth, so the paint streaked. By the time I'd got it the way I wanted it, I figured I might as well have worked with polystyrene, PVA and sand.

Colonel,

Wow. I didn't know the stuff was brittle and had such a sleek surface.

Thanks for the info.

Dan

I have a buddy that works in theatrical set design. I've seen him do some crazy stuff with styrofoam. One of the techniques the use to get a rough rock look is to sprinkle a chemical that eats the foam on it. He uses a brush and flings the stuff at the foam. That gives you rough streaks. It might be hard to get a look that is suitable for miniature work. theatrical work can be a lot more rough because no one sees it up close.

You might be able to apply it with a brush in light strokes to eat away small portions of the foam in a more controlled way. You could also lightly sand it and then apply a PVA/sand mixture to it.

I'm not sure what chemicals he uses but I think it's just paint thinner.