Hello lovelies! Today is a grand day. I am breaking ground On my first custom table! The theme will be the planet Nessus from Destiny 2. Ever since the first destiny came out and showed all the vex architecture from Venus I was in awe and inspired to translate it to the table somehow. I now feel confident enough in my ability to start this project after seeing and playing on different custom style tables. Some worked well and others didn’t. I feel the techno-stone ruins will be easy enough to translate to a decently playable table. Lots of flat surfaces, easy LoF judgement, etc. What are some things you look for in a good table, and what are some things I should avoid? I’m planning on making this thing fully modular on top of a game mat, with many different pieces to give the table tons of different options and customizability. Some things I am planning on making and would love some input: Spires with “vex milk” waterfalls (waterfalls count as saturation?) Underground cave inside a cliff face (long section along a table edge, playability questionable) The giant Nessus trees (no idea where to start with this) Below I provided some reference photos as well as my test run on one of the spires. Planning on capping my terrain height to 1 foot so things don’t get too out of hand and hard to play.
Sounds fun... good luck with the project! In wide flat surfaces try to add some texture to the foam using a stone or a crumpled aluminum foil ball; otherwise it looks too artificial, like concrete. and do not forget the vegetation. regarding the modularity.... think in advance. Use paper tiles with the elevation marks to test the combinations and avoid gaps and so.
Going to make those creepy observing spheres you see everywhere on vex worlds. 2” and 3” wood balls were pretty cheap!
Yep, also some cuts to make cracks in non regular places (or at least not always foam thick, to break the perfection) and separate different levels of depth when smashing the rock. Solvents or heat can be used to texture the surface too. I have some images in mind, but forgot where the damn demos / tutorials are.
I have seen lots of tutorials using isolation foam for scenery, but only for fantasy: In german, with pics illustrating some techniques The Rob Hawkins terrain tutorials Looking again at the Nessus pictures looks like blocks of concrete that in some points are corroded or eroded, wuthbthe material chipped, and made as diffrent blocks creating layers with different depths. The texture will make a great difference and it is easy peasy to do with the foam. Be aware that some foams do not withstand common solvents or some paint. Try the material before! For the spheres, maybe you can purchase also in arts and crafts stores (in Spain, usually in those general stores All-for-one-euro chinese-branded) balls of expanded PS in different sizes (those white balls used for snowmen). Expanded PS is really cheap, but again it must be primed carefully before painting. And attention to the details. That makes the difference! Good luck and best wishes
https://1d3trees.com/terrain/making-a-cave-tile/ This is not the one I remember about making flat rocks, but it shows nice textures by solvents and smashing. The caulk can be replaced with acrylic gels or modelling pastes. Seems useful for the broken parts specially. Maybe the "tutorial" was in the previous forum, or this one but months ago (quick search returns threads with missing images *sigh*). Anyway, after more inspection it would not apply as it was cracked rock, not random blocks. It indeed looks like concrete, just that the blocks are not very regular, more like patches over patches. I would combine different thickness (as seen in your test part) and then apply thin rectangles of peeled foamcore (normally avaliable in 3, 5 and 10 mm thickness) for surface details, with pastes to unify and reinforce. For trees, small ones you can do classic mode, with tree top and everything, and for big ones (not many) just build the trunk and imply the rest is way above the level you play. Twisted wire or even kraft paper for armature, then paste for bark. Integrate some of them with the blocks. Maybe build some adapters (foam block, flat above, round below, like |C rotated 90) so you can place miniatures over horizontal parts of trunk (nice, only needs players agreeing if adapter fits, location is valid), or make really flat in the top zones of trunks (meh, rules obsessed people...). Lots of autumn flock too, with wool or similar to create the "spanish moss" hanging everywhere. Waterfall looks like white water? So water effects or gel over non sticky surface to get a first base, then peel and apply in place and add more coats. Mix a bit of white ink, or apply between coats. You will need LEDs if you want it to glow. The maps seem to be very vertical, which in Infinity can be tricky, 1 foot for a few eye catching things, maybe with top surfaces not usable (implied "continues above" like huge trees), and lots of lower blocks (2-5 cm thick) you can rearrange to create an elevated surface with some corridors at lower level (gaming mat), and taller blocks (classic buildings in other tables, 8-15 cm) but still below the 1 foot. Hmm, for storage you may want to build some things hollow and use the inner space to keep other smaller thing, Russian dolls style. Keep a silhouette handy to build steps that help moving without climb to the basic parts, otherwise it will be a Climb Plus / Super Jump freaks vs snails circus.
Thanks for the replies and tips guys! Definitely checking out these tutorials on how I can make this table epic! Here is my progress. Added some expanding foam and joint compound for more organic dirt and hilly areas. Also started work on a Vex cavern. Might be a bit ballsy but my plan is to have it on a table edge for accessibility and some structures protruding out of it. Nessus is very vertical, limiting the height of my structures to 1 foot so it’s not too crazy and unplayable, going to add vines and moss strategically on the stone structures to act as ladders so it’s not entirely a super jump/climbing plus paradise. As far as the waterfalls and water effects. On Nessus it’s an organic compound that makes up the power source to the vex (hints that it’s sentient and is actually the vex itself). Was thinking of adding in a pearl white to the water effect to give it that milky/alien look. I do have some silhouettes and models on hand to check accessibility of these structures. Want my bike and tag enthusiasts to be able to play on it :)
Good progress. The point about too vertical was that even with ladders (I knew I was forgetting something about the hanging plants), you are spending the movement to stay pretty much in the same zone, so to speak. But if you make things so soldiers can navigate around, and also "climb" by just walking over "stairs" (like the small blocks and bumps you have placed in some of the bases), or a combination of those "stairs" with climb / ladders, it should not affect the playability while keeping the impressive look. In short, provide part of up movements for free. For pearl effect, check Vallejo Metal Medium 70.521, it seems to be flakes of that.
Just foam insulation board, plasticard, spray foam and joint compound for the base materials for now lol. Planning on using Vallejo texture paste, woodland scenic water effects and red flock/static grass once it’s all painted. Senpai noticed me!! *swoon*
Thanks for solving the doubt. I had in mind pretty much the same question: how can you move in such terrain. Using vines and plants as ladders/stairs make sense; in other parts using piles of blocks with a smooth slope can make the same function... One detail that you have not commented is how you will recreate the hi-tech scaffolding that shows in some pics under the ‘concrete’ slabs. Looks like part of a Borg cube... Yep: paint, glue, anything with the wrong solvent will melt the foam. Styrofoam is polysterene with a 98% or so of microbbubles, so the usual glue, bondenes, primers, etc... melt the PS right away. If the product uses ketone, MEK, THF or others as component, be sure that you have to find a different product. Common glue for wood (what in spanish we call cola blanca) is the best for styrofoam. In some of the tutorials commented above they talk about primers and paints compatible with the styrofoam. Good luck!
Wire mesh, coat hangar and plasticard. It won’t be as intricate and high detail as the game but it’ll look good on the table. I’ll take pictures once I get a pillar made :)
The suggested wood glue, or the cream versions (here big bottles were same price, but cream one has some level of water resistance white one lacks), Gorilla glue (not the superglue kind, but the one that foams with water), acrylic paint (left overs from walls), silicone sealers, no-more-nails and similar solvent-free glues... and of course, PS foam contact glue. Worst case (eg for painting with something that has solvents, like some spray paints or the additives in some sprays), coat the surface first with something cheap, like acrylic paint or wood glue (and paper, for extra reinforcement). This texture? I don't know what "scale", but mesh, wires and cards sounds like a good candidate, as Snowball said. Bamboo sticks too.
If weight becomes a problem, look for cooking supplies. Since fondant became so used, all kind of shapes are being sold in foam with all kind of shapes (cubes, pyramids, spheres...). I would suggest to be carefull with the 3D, because Infinity is not truly centered on said mobility and you can find some units get deploid in unassailable positions (for example, snipes and infiltrators looking for high perches... specially Shasvastii, who like to gamble with their "KO" state in missions about controlling zones). As long as there is more than one way to reach a position without needing climbing plus, super jump, or more than 2 full orders it should be ok.
