Cobblestones and Broken Asphalt

Zombicide minis shamble across the pavement.

 Quite a while back in the blog I mentioned I was considering a modular terrain project.  I'm still in the prototyping phase but I have completed the two samples and hoping to get some feedback on how either project looks and on the best methods you the reader might suggest for the final design.

A top down view of the cobblestone tile.

The cobblestone tile that I hope to use for future games of Frostgrave is built from a block of pink foam insulation mounted on a 12"x12".  I made the impressions of the cobbles by repeatedly embedding a squared piece of copper tube that I had kicking around into the surface repeatedly.  To try and make the surface more interesting and to hide some of the really terrible "bricklaying" I did I tore some sections out and textured them with sand and added some miniature bricks.  Once it was marked up I brush painted the foam with craftsmart acrylic black (remember aerosol and foam= bad) then layered lightening greys over top.  I did a simple earth drybrush over the exposed ground and called it done.

Overeager, unpainted mercs plod on cobblestone stree........plain :(.

I like using the pink foam as part of the construction.  The additional depth would allow me to "dig" features into the surface and present some depth in the tiles.  This would allow me to build more convincing canals or a waterfront if I wanted to somewhere down the line and would look pretty cool if I wanted to add a stairway descending into the earth or maybe a ruined cellar.  I'm not so sure I want to surface the top with the foam though.  It shapes well when working with cut pieces but the skin is resilient and has poor "memory"; It doesn't take the cobble impressions as well as I would like.  For this reason I'm considering actually making a tile sandwich and topping the pink foam with an additional layer or white foamboard which is far more cooperative.

Fully realized, awesome urban terrain from World's End Publishing for This is Not a Test.  Dicks :)

I would like to use the asphalt tile for zombie, modern or maybe This is Not a Test.  The latter looks awesome!  If you liked Mordheim or Fallout you should check it out.  I'd like to give a shout out to Guerilla Minature Games for bringing this to my attention (Thanks Ash!).  They have some beautiful urban scenery in their gallery and I am very jealous.

Small wire brush for scarring foamboard.  Works great.

 Yeah, the tile.  I layered a piece of foamboard that I soaked one of the paper faces off of onto another 12"x12" MDF tile.  I then scoured it with a brass wire brush to add some texture.  You can scrawl across the surface or press pocks but the method I though best emulated pavement wash a back/forth motion as though you were brushing your teeth.  Brushing isn't a time consuming pain in the ass like cobbles but mixing the two effects would probably look really cool and make for a dynamic play surface.  Once I was happy with that I drew on some lines break up the surface and simulates seams/joins in the paving then added some cracks for wear.  I used a pencil to make these impressions.

Zombies still mugging for camera.

Like the cobble piece I brushpainted the foam black and mixed a dark blue grey from the slimey pile of cheap craft acrylics.  I sponged two lighter shades onto the black leaving the cracks black and making it lighter as I moved away from them.  I finished the pavement by taking a light blue grey paint and partially edging the seams.

Top down ashphalt.

 I liked how this turned out.  It could be improved by making those seams more subtle next time around and by adding some lines to the roadway.  I think I could get away with the lines because I would like to build any buildings on city blocks that include sidewalks and curbs that will form the next layer of any urban board I build.  That's it for now.  If you have any questions or better yet suggestions or opinions on what I should be doing post-prototype I would love to hear them.