"Ceramic Floor Tiles for ground terrain idea" Topic

Check out this YouTube Video @ 2:42, for the finished tiles. These tiles are made of some sort of concrete -- Yes, Virginia, they are HEAVY…

However, setting that quality aside for a moment, they are inexpensive, easy to paint/make, and they look amazing. They come in 1-foot squares, they are textured out of the box, and did I mention they are inexpensive?

I would suggest using a wet, natural sponge for applying the colors after the base coating is applied. Wet blending with the sponge, should yield superb colors, similar to what he achieved with his stippling -- both techniques will work. I've used the natural sponge wet blending technique before, and the results it gave me, were superb, so I may be a little biased towards the sponge technique. ;-)

I would supplement his recommendations by stating that you will likely want to put a carpet anti-skid pad beneath them on your tabletop. With the anti-skid pad, you won't need the peel-n-stick felt pads, unless you want them, as extra anti-scratch insurance and piece of mind.

As a lighter-weight alternative, I would suggest using thicker peel-n-stick vinyl floor tiles (2mm thick, more expensive @ $1.30 USD each). You might want to apply the anti-skid pad to the bottoms of these tile's adhesive.

Anyway, I thought his idea was brilliant, inexpensive, and a really easy crafting project which will produce superb ground tiles. Heck, you could even paint rivers, swamps, and other rough terrain types on these, if desired.

His video is really tempting… I wish I had seen this many years ago. Cheers!

These tiles can be found in hexagon form as well. Many years ago I purchased about 400x 4" ceramic tiles, painted the top surface black, and glued felt to the bottom surface. Instant geomorphic space maps…

Nice idea! Thanks for sharing. Cheers!

Or the pre-cut 24" x 24" pink insulation boards

But also in plain green how are they better than a piece of cloth?

Pink insulation foam is soft, and it dents easily; it is super lightweight, needing metal washers, marbles, or something heavy to weight them down so they are not so easily disturbed when in use.

I've used cloth, many times, both to cover the entire table, and for woods and swamp sections. Covering my table with cloth means I have to iron the fabric to remove the creases. Small sections for terrain types, usually are fine, with the wrinkles.

I invested in indoor/outdoor carpet, years ago, for grassland. I've never spot painted it to break it up -- well, I did for the hills I made out of it by covering foam 'armatures'.

I will likely use these stone tiles for making water terrain for a fantasy ship combat game I have in mind. I tried a disposable plastic table cloth, taping it with blue painter's tape to the table's underside. It worked and it looked good, but when I removed it, the plastic was so thin, it tore and stretched, ruining the whole thing. I considered the cloth option, but I have some sitting in storage that I hesitate to use because of the wrinkle issues.

I have a dedicated gaming table, so storing heavy tiles nearby is not an issue for me. I will investigate the 2mm vinyl floor tile option, as well, due to their durability compared to stone tiles. Cheers!

"Pink insulation foam is soft, and it dents easily; it is super lightweight, needing metal washers, marbles, or something heavy to weight them down so they are not so easily disturbed when in use."

My terrain boards are made out of 2" 24" X 24" Insulation Board squares. They paint up easily, can be flocked and sealed, and easily transported. True you can't bang them around when travelling but they can be moved AND repaired easily. A few pieces of scenics/buildings on them holds them down so you really don't need weights or magnets.

Ceramic tiles might be nice for home gaming but traveling could be problematic. I will stick with my mats add a few trees 🌳, hills and roads.

Very nice. Heavy, but nice.