"Terrain Boards: The Joys of Half Inch MDF" Topic

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No warping and a great working surface. Best of all, no gaps between joints!!!

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how did you get it cut to size so square?

I've been using it for years. Groovy stuff ain't it?

I buy mine pre cut to 2'x4' boards. Then I cut them down with my table saw.

Jovian1,

Like DS6151 said, you can purchase a sheet and have it cut at most hardware/lumber stores. Home Depot doesn't even charge me for the cuts.

I hope the photos can inspire others too.

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Is that what we used to call Masonite?

Al

I never get decent cuts at Home Depot, it's always like 1/16" short or something, which is awful when you're trying to get things to line up.

@Allen57 – MDF is two steps below Masonite.

1. MDF- Medium Density Fiberboard
2. HDF – High Density Fiberboard
3. Hardboard (Masonite is a specific brand of Hardboard)

Regards, the Gorb

I've been doing the same with 1/4" hardboard which I buy in 2x4' sheets. It flexes a little but not once it's laid on the tabletop. I do have to be careful how I store it so it doesn't warp … but it is lighter and stores in a thinner stack.

Did have one funny / not so funny incident when I went and bought some more sheets -- turns out they were 1" bigger than 2x4'. Got stubborn and cut them down myself and of course didn't do a clean cut, but was able to repair with some wood putty.

On the brown surface, what are you using to do the highlight texture? A rag or sponge? Or just careful spray can bursts?

What's the weight like with that? I'd think it would be pretty heavy.

MDF is pretty heavy – and do NOT let it get wet, lest it return to the pulp from whence it came. Still, it's very useful stuff. Strong, easy to work with, dimensionally stable, and also nicely heat resistant. I used it to build a vacuum former once.

Doug

The precut MDF I've seen at Home Depot is all way too thin. Depending on the person…they sometime charge for cuts.

"On the brown surface, what are you using to do the highlight texture? A rag or sponge? Or just careful spray can bursts?"

I start by spraying textured paint (I use Fleckstone or an equivalent).

I then spray thin layers of the following: Dark flat brown, flat terra-cotta and flat tan. I spray each layer in an "8" shape, making sure the top layers do not cover the lower ones completely.

Finally, I do very light drybrush with Antique White.

May sound like a lot of trouble. However, if you have all the materials at hand, it really takes very little time to do.

I then add the static grass mat in irregular patterns and accent with various tones of static grass clumps.

The river bed is a very low rise of polystyrene (blue/pink insulation foam board).

CC

I use 3mm or 1/4" MDF with 1/2" styrofoam on top.

The MDF keeps it flat and the styrofoam is easy to shape into rivers, hills etc.

I recently switched to what I call double density styrofoam, which is essentially the stuff in the middle of foam core.

CC, looks good!

BooneC, where do you get double density styrofoam?

Cacique Caribe: "… spraying textured paint … then spray thin layers of the following: Dark flat brown, flat terra-cotta and flat tan. I spray each layer in an "8" shape, making sure the top layers do not cover the lower ones completely … very light drybrush with Antique White."

Thanks for the explanation. In the pictures I'm seeing neither the texture nor the figure-8 shape … but never mind. It looks good, and thanks for explaining.

Next to the foam core, at an Arts supply store, halfway round the world from you.

I've heard it mentioned a few time so should be available in the US.

Blue/pink board is more commonly used but that's only availble 1" thick here whereas this is 1/4" thick.

Cutting blue/pink foam board to straight edges is not as easy as it sounds. Most of my attempts have resulted in some gaps – most undesirable.

That is why I am opting for the pre-cut mdf from now on.

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Photos added to Flickr account:

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Here is my board while we were doing a test game:

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Granted, the table is not big enough for a full-scale battle, but we were a bit impatient.

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As you can see in these 3 zoomed photos, I can get numerous river configurations from this set up:

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And, unlike polystyrene sheets I've used in the past, the mdf boards allow for an almost seamless look.

Hope this helps.

CC

Someone just asked me for a template for the river on that table.

Short of mailing or faxing you a graph paper drawing of the template (which I can certainly do – just say the word), this might be useful . . .

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(Please pardon my hairy legs in that one shot)

My table is small (80" x 40"), but useful for skirmishes. Still I wanted some nice terrain to play on, so I went with MDF.

I kept one piece large (40 x 40), while all the other pieces were 40 x 20.

For the river entry/exit points, this is what I did:

On the large board, I made my marks 10 inches left from the upper right corner, and 10 inches above the lower left corner.

I followed a similar pattern for the smaller boards, so they could connect at the same points:

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Hope this helps.

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And here is a close-up of the effect of the spray pattern described above:

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