Photos of Terrain Maker Board Project - Using Magnets

[intobattle]

Hi All,

I thought I'd share a recent project I finished. I've been looking for a good way to hold Terrain Maker hexes in place and at the same time have a good board with a furniture quality look to it - to provide a solid gaming surface and a nice platform for photography.

I found the galvanized steel/magnet option on the Baccus 6mm forum (so the idea was not originally mine) and I simply made it a little more robust. This has turned out to be a great option and the magnets hold the hexes just like I had hoped.

You can see pictures and a short log at:
http://wwiicentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=39


Thanks,
Tanner

[El Grego]

An elegant solution to an old problem - well done!

Do you intend to paint (or otherwise coat) the metal surface? The brightness of the metal might contrast a bit much with the terrained hexes (In my opinion, of course).

[intobattle]

Thanks El Grego

I'm not sure on whether I'll paint the metal surface, but I agree that it is a bit contrasting. My main concern is spending the time to paint it only to have the paint chip off with use. But, I imagine a good flat enamel with a sealant might do the trick.

Thanks for the comments,
Tanner

[Donald M. Scheef]

On the other hand, magnetic force drops off very quickly with increasing distance. Even a thin coat of paint may have a significant adverse effect of the magnet's strength compared to direct contact with the metal surface. I'd go ahead and try your flat enamel with a sealant - if it reduces the holding power, just strip off the paint or flip over the metal sheet. If it works well with the paint, you might consider using a different color on the opposite side - tan on one side for desert scenarios and green on the other for verdent climates (or white for winter).

Don S.

[intobattle]

True... I guess the only way to find out is to try. In my case though I glued the steel to the MDF board as I didn't want a loose piece of galvanized still sliding around. I may have to try another small piece with some paint to prototype it out first

Thanks for the ideas Don,
Tanner

[Hugewally]

You wouldn't have to paint the entire board, just a one or two inch strip along the inner edge (if you're not going to may foam pieces to fill in the gaps)...

[intobattle]

Martin,

I got to thinking about your comments and realized that maybe I am thinking about this too much

I think I'll just cut some hexes to fit the edges like you mentioned and I don't need to worry about painting or loss of magnetic adhesion. Problem solved

Thanks,
Tanner

[Sven]

Hi All,

I thought I'd share a recent project I finished. I've been looking for a good way to hold Terrain Maker hexes in place and at the same time have a good board with a furniture quality look to it - to provide a solid gaming surface and a nice platform for photography.

I found the galvanized steel/magnet option on the Baccus 6mm forum (so the idea was not originally mine) and I simply made it a little more robust. This has turned out to be a great option and the magnets hold the hexes just like I had hoped.

You can see pictures and a short log at:
http://wwiicentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=39


Thanks,
Tanner

You're welcome, Tanner. I'm glad I was of help & that you came up with such a great variation of the theme. I hope you also have had occasion to try the Baccus Polemos rules as well.

Even my GHQ armor is mounted on magnets and stored in VHS boxes with galvanized flashing glued to the bottom. I can't claim soul originality about the idea, because my Grandfather helped work up something similar with my Kriegspiel blocks & bar magnets back in 1959 or 1960. When strip magnets first started appearing at supply-stores, I just adopted the old idea to the new technology. It really is useful & though I like the Litko bases, I preferred the Foxbases overall.

Though it is a bit late to do it now, you could have darkened non-galvanized metal by using a propane torch to heat the metal section by section to a dark blue or brown then spraying it with WD-40 or some other light spray oil. When it cools you wipe off all the excess & have blued the metal to prevent rust. I do that to my Medieval Armor & it lasts for years with only occasional touch ups after a few years of fights.

Skal,
Sven

[intobattle]

Thank you very much Sven! I'm very happy with the whole magnetic approach

I hadn't thought of rust as a problem either... but I'll be storing this indoors and I live in the desert, so hopefully it won't be too much of an issue.

I'm a little curious on the storage of your armour... do you mount magnets under your vehicles? Rare earth magnets? Do you ever have problems with the vehicles being repelled (or attracted) by the magnets sitting under the terrain maker hexes?

Thanks again, take care,
Tanner

[Mk 1]

Do you ever have problems with the vehicles being repelled (or attracted) by the magnets sitting under the terrain maker hexes?

Two words: HOVER TANKS!

[intobattle]

Very nice Mark! You're exactly right... maybe GHQ can find a way to introduce magnets and "hover tanks" into the W'47 line

[Sven]

Thank you very much Sven! I'm very happy with the whole magnetic approach

I hadn't thought of rust as a problem either... but I'll be storing this indoors and I live in the desert, so hopefully it won't be too much of an issue.

I'm a little curious on the storage of your armour... do you mount magnets under your vehicles? Rare earth magnets? Do you ever have problems with the vehicles being repelled (or attracted) by the magnets sitting under the terrain maker hexes?

Thanks again, take care,
Tanner

In your case I wasn't thinking so much about rust - though take a look at old buildings & you'll see it's a problem even in the desert - but more for the fact that it will give a nice dark background color to the metal without the issues arising from coating it with paint & reducing the magnetic attraction.

I don't have a problem because I use a different kind of magnet. What I use for my tanks, minis, or my Baccus bases is the brown magnetic sheeting, the heavy duty stuff. Take a look at the Litko website & you'll see a bunch of precut sizes such as 1" square for use with the GHQ rules. Or you can go to the hardware store & get a roll of 1" magnetic strip - it's disadvantage is the semi permanent curl that you have to fight to remove.

What I then do is print what the mini is - which group it belongs to, etc for a batch of minis on thin paper using 8pt Kartika font (very small) and glue it to the bottom with a thin bit of white glue. A light coating of sealer goes over that so the label is then decoupaged in place. - it loses very little in terms of magnetic attraction. If I need an exposed unit label on top I then add it to the top of the magnetic in the lower right hand corner using the same technique & the same small font.

On the top I then use Vallejo Sandy paste & model the ground & tread ruts, etc. I place the model on before the paste dries & it's held in place. If there's rubble I add it at this time. Then depending on the location I'm modeling I ink the top with a brown ink allowing it to pool & exaggerate any depths I've created. After it dries, I flock the base leaving the ruts or wherever I want to show dirt exposed. Perhaps add some static grass or even larger vegetation.

Each base then is like a mini scenario. I can then store them safely in a plastic box - I use old VHS boxes, but I've seen large flat craft boxes that work as well. Just remember to thoroughly rough up the plastic before gluing down your galvanized bottom plate. Back in the 70's & 80's I build wooden chests with slide in 1/4 plywood drawers that I put metal on too. I hand carved the sides & top & decoupaged the front with some nice picture for color. Worked great for all my 15's & the boxes are still holding up after 30 years. I hope that is detailed enough to help you understand what I do. Feel free to ask me questions if you need more help with this.

Skal,
Sven

[Sven]

BTW a bit of the magnetic sheeting or strips works on the hexes too. I wasn't as industrious as you by embedding rare earth magnets in the hexes - just glued two 2 inch x 1/2 inch strips on the bottom.

Skal,
Sven

[intobattle]

Sven,

Thanks again, very helpful. One more question though I use Vallejo gel for basing as well but I've never seated the miniatures when the gel/paste is still wet. Does that serve as the adhesive alone or do you also use a drop of CA glue, etc.? And if you just use the Vallejo gel, have you ever had a problem with miniatures breaking loose?

Thanks!
Tanner

[busyguy]

I liked the idea you had. I already use magnets to secure all my miniatures for transport. expanding the idea to the game board had not occurred to me. As a test I made a 12"x8" sheet steel over MDF as you did. However, I spray painted it dark blue to test if it would hold my ship miniatures and still let them move for maneuvering. Much like a refrigerator the smooth paint held it securely let allowed it to move freely. I'm planning on building a game board using 2'x4' sections of MDF/sheet steel, with edge dowels and joining brackets like a table leaf. this will allow me to vary the size of my game area as needed. Painting it blue allows me to use it for naval battles, putting magnets under the terrain maker hexes allows allows me to play microarmor battles. Thanks again for an excellent idea!