HOTT Terrain Boards

Finally got started on my modular boards for HOTT. My initial plan is to make four starter tiles.

Two tiles with a river (1 straight with a road crossing it at a ford/bridge, the other curved), one tile with a crossroads to join to the straight river tile and the final tile with two hills. As you'll remember I started with eight x one foot pieces of 6mm mdf thanks to Mister B&Q....all for £9.

To make the river recessed into the board I reached for my newest toy (Courtesy of my Dear Wife!) my Makita Router! The course of the waterway was drawn on the two tiles - 20mm wide. Then I cut it out to a depth of 2mm with my 10mm cutter freehand. Far simpler than I feared and leaving a lovely finish after a quick rub with a sanding block (wearing a mask and glasses of course).

I then had a bit of a disaster. I'd had this brain wave to use rare earth magnets to help hold the finished tiles together on the table. This failed......first they proved too weak to hold on and second I'd forgotten my schoolboy physics about magnetics and polarity! It was never going to work....Doh!

Never mind onward and upward to the roads. Using Hobbycraft self-adhesive foam rubber.

Cut into 20mm wide strips it was stuck down to ensure like the rivers, it leaves the board at the centre of the edges so they match up.

To blend them into the board and form the banks at the edge of the road I use decorators caulk.

Then, when dry, a coat of PVA and some scattered budgie sand.

Finally for today, an. Undercoat of spray grey primer for the roads and rivers. These will be painted largely using match pot paints ..... Currently 4 for £3 in B&Q.

More tomorrow.........