Hand made replica of Oregon light house from cardboard and styrofoam. Hope everyone likes it.

Hey everyone,

I could really use some advice on how to upgrade my tabletop setup. There are so many ways to go about it, and I’m completely torn right now.

Currently, I’m just using a standard dry-erase battle map and throwing some scatter terrain on it. It works and it’s okay, but it’s just not that awesome. I want to take my game to the next level (I briefly thought about a TV table, but decided against it for now).

I’m currently debating between two main approaches and would love your input:

Option 1: Crafting DIY Terrain (XPS foam or cardboard)

The Pros: Total creative freedom. I could easily make curved walls, round rooms, and custom shapes.

The Cons: It’s a massive time investment per piece. Also, if I want different biomes or ground textures, I’d have to craft a ton of different pieces. Plus, they don’t naturally interlock, so I’d probably have to mess around with magnets to keep the board stable.

Option 2: 3D Printed Systems

I’ve been looking into 3D printed tiles (like OpenForge Click & Lock, or grid systems where you can insert individual floor tiles and attach walls).

My Ideal Setup: I’d love a system with a base grid where I can just swap out the floor plates (water, swamp, city streets, cave floor, etc.) and securely plug in walls, hedges, and pillars so they don't constantly get knocked over during play. (Obviously, I could still just place regular scatter terrain on top of it).

The Cons: Everything seems so strictly square! I can hardly find any curved tiles. Furthermore, there are so many different systems out there. I haven’t found a perfect "all-in-one" system on Maker's World yet (maybe I’m just using the wrong search terms?).

The Question:

I am going back and forth on this. What do you guys use and what would you recommend?

Should I start crafting and use magnets? Should I go for a 3D printed Click & Lock system? Or a Grid system with inserts?

Any advice, system recommendations, or specific search terms would be highly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Where i live (Norway), primers are extremely expensive, and no stores carry the go too cheap primers that i hear people use in the US etc. So, i found a good quality but cheap black matt spray on a local hardware chain: https://www.clasohlson.com/no/Paintguide-spraymaling-svart-RAL9005,-400-ml/p/41-3355

I'm inclined to try it out (granted, it's still expensive, but not as expensive as Vallejo and Army painter that the local nerd shops carry).
So, i'm gonna use it on terrain only. Is this gonna work out ok?
EDIT: Thanks for all the helpful comments, this is gonna save me some money :)

Hey everyone,

I've been working on my modular dungeon; it took almost 2 months to print and paint everything! I wanted to share the final look with you all! I'd love to hear your thoughts. And also, there are interactive puzzles in it!

The Kickstarter campaign is currently live for anyone interested in checking out the full dungeon.
Kickstarter campaign link

Paint pens really do make quick work of the kerbs

Hi again all! Here’s yet another set that of tiles to add to the pile.

These eight half tiles provide modular flexibility in addition to a change of level which I think should make for some interesting layouts and hopefully games.

Made this modulair trench board for TC and Weird WW1, 90x90cm. Will add another 7 tiles in the future to make it 120x120. 3D printed walls with foam floor boards.

Also posted in the TC sub as i didn’t knew this existed. Maybe it can be of some inspiration for someone.

Happy days!

Hello guys,

Watching since a while the poste here to get inspiration.

I just come back from a trip to korea and was interested in doing the houses i saw during médiéval ages (Joseon)

Would you have any tips to do the straw rooftops ?

I aim to make a board for medieval skimirshes.

Thank you for your help

This is was my first terrain project for actual gaming as I've only scratch built a couple buildings before, just for the sake of making something. I'm not bringing anything new to the table as I mostly just copied the overall design from Supernova Building Guide and techniques from Eric's Hobby Workshop.
It took me quite a long time and I am not happy with everything, namely the unsightly gaps between the tiles and the mud texture which looks a bit too much like a kind of alien goop, but I'll call it good enough. I will probably darken the walkways that go on top of the trenches as they jump out a bit too much.

The red on the arm will need another coat for sure but I love it so far.

Very over the top and since it's a drive thru it makes sense that it's fast because we need premium service on those grot burger KPIs.

First of my attempts at some 40k terrain, still gotta prime and paint. Used sculpey clay to form the bricks, chopsticks for the shelter roof, gel gorilla glue to stick it together

I really need to tidy my desk!

Finally finished my latest terrain project. I enjoyed the combination of scratch building, 3d prints and GW parts. I learned a lot about the use of stencils, dirty down rust and streaking grime. C&C welcome.

Used hair spray technique, still working on the braces to hold it up

My village on the planet where the colony ship crashed is starting to take shape.

I’ve added tarp-covered crates to the two existing buildings.

Next up: a hotel built out of cryo-pods :D

Disclaimer: these are not renders these are painted, please don’t remove them 😢

My gf did the honour of painting it whilst I’m tweaking the offsets in the app to fix the gaps for next time

This goes right into my Nam and Wadiya collection. No modifications other than adding 2 beads for planters. Fun and cheap little kit.

I've not seen any videos or pics of anyone else attempting this but my group really wants grids.

Set printed from Eons of Battle.

I want to make some crop circles terrain for 28mm heroic games (frostgrave sized models). Normally people make wheat crops with floor Matt's but I want the standing sections of the crop to block line of sight so I can have some spooky aliens hiding in the crop circles. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can use?

i haven’t blended the bridge in yet and it is removable for now.