Sci-Fi Urban Game Board

 I have a piece of grey art board that I lay down as the basis for urban games.  It works well, as seen in some of my previous games, but I fancied something with defined roadways and other markings to add some extra character.

We had some internal doors replaced during building work a couple of years ago, and I cut up the old doors into square sections with the plan to build some modular terrain with them.  They're sturdy and rigid, but relatively light in weight.  I decided that one of these pieces would be the ideal thing to use.

 I started by sanding the painted surface down to give a good key for whatever I glue or paint onto it.  After a wipe with a damp cloth to remove and sanding dust and greasy fingerprints (hazard of having children), I sketched out the road design with a fine permanent marker.  I've stuck some felt pads on the underside to prevent it sliding around and ensure there is no risk of it scratching whatever table I put it on for gaming.

Outline planning.

 The design includes a central "island" with roads of 2 different widths around it.  Once I had decided on the initial road layout, I added on some parking areas.

Practice panels at bottom.

I wanted the design to have a low relief finish, which I created using cereal box cardboard.  I used Tesco Malt Wheat boxes, which I find to be a particularly smooth, dense card, ideal for model making.

Low relief cardboard panels.

Each area of ground is delineated by 3mm edging strips.  The interior is filled with a mixture of interlocking card shapes.  Rather than a basic grid, I've tried to make it more varied, with angled panels.  The outlines were glued in place first, then infilled.  I've used UHU glue which grips quickly, causes less warping than PVA would, and will hopefully last better.

Kerbs in place.

Infilling took a long time for the first 3 sections.  The first few pieces of card were quick, but it soon became time consuming to try and measure and cut the more intricate pieces.

Tools & materials.

Cutting was done using scissors and a craft knife, with a metal straight edge used to keep the lines straight.

Adding kerbs.

I decided on a faster method for the later sections of the board.  After carefuly trimming to the exact size, I worked out the panel design in pencil, then inked it in with felt-tip once I had finalised it.  The pen lines are about 1mm wide, so by cutting them away completely, it leaves suitable gaps between the panels.

Central "island" panel design.

One of the sections was partly completed, so it took a while to cut the insert to the correct shape.

Designing panels to fit in.

I drew in angled corners for several of the panels.  Some of the larger panels have smaller strips separated from them.

Ready to cut out.

I applied a base coat of grey washable wall paint that I got remaindered for £1 in B&Q.  I chose the washable sort because it should be harder wearing than normal emulsion paint, and an ink wash can be applied without soaking in too quickly or reactivating it.  I applied the paint with a scrap of sponge, which leaves a much smoother finish than a paintbrush and also uses less paint.

Painting the panels with sponge.

 Thinly applied, the paint dried in just a few minutes.  I mixed up a wash, a couple of drops of black ink and a generous squirt of thinned matt varnish, no exact proportions, just enough for a good stain.  Each section received a generous coating of the wash.  I immediately used a piece of kitchen roll to wipe away most of the ink, leaving the panels stained.  I painted a second coat of wash onto some panels to produce a little more variation in the shading.

Base colours completed.

I painted the edging kerbs with Vallejo Imperial Yellow Xpress paint.  Being semi-translucent, this lets the shading and staining show through from underneath, adding a weathered effect to the kerbs.

Road markings added.

 The roads have been painted with white masonry paint, tinted to a dark grey with some more of the black ink. [Edit: now that the board is finished, this hasn't proved to be as durable as I'd hoped.  I think it will scratch off fairly quickly.  I might try more sanding and perhaps sticking a layer of thick paper onto the road beds for a better base layer.  If anyone has a suggestion, please let me know in the comments!]

Panel detail.

Road markings were stencilled on using a piece of paper and a scrap of sponge. The white markings are masonry paint.  The yellow markings are a tester pot of old Wilko "Bumblebee" wall paint.  The centre of the road are 20mm long, 2mm wide slots cut in a piece of A4 paper, with a 10mm gap between each line.

Panel detail.

 

Parking area & panel detail.

 

Parking area.

  A few photographs with buildings (3D printed Flatline City) and figures (mainly GZG civilians, plus a few Alternative Armies and Checkpoint Miniatures):

The narrow road are designed so that the Flatline City bridges and platforms span the gap neatly.

Flatline City skybridge.

Flatline City walkway.

The thing that prompted me to get this finished was the prospect of a Five Parsecs battle taking place in a city - coming soon to a blog near you!