Ethandrul
Warrior
301 Posts
    
 | | 05/30/2006 10:13 PM |
| | so, i want to invest in some 3d terrain- what is the best brands for the money? don't just say dwarven forge- they are great and all- but i want to see some of the other brands. | |
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Malin Lug
Sergeant
742 Posts
| | 05/31/2006 11:38 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Ethandrul
so, i want to invest in some 3d terrain- what is the best brands for the money? don't just say dwarven forge- they are great and all- but i want to see some of the other brands.
It really depends on how much you want to spend and how much work you want to put into it. The best stuff you can get will all be custom work which will be either very expensive or very time consuming or both. Hirst Arts does some really good molds that you can cast anything you want with. Here are some general auctions.
http://toys.search.ebay.com/terrain_Games_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfromZR2QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsacatZ233QQsbrsrtZd
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PatEllis15
Commander
4463 Posts
| | 05/31/2006 12:39 PM |
| I highly recommend Hirst Arts (www.hirstarts.com), but they are best for those with some time. If money is no object, buy up DF to your hearts content. If money IS an issue, but you have some free time, Hirst Arts is the way to go.
DF is limited by what they produce, Hirst Arts is limited by your imagination.
Don't be intimidated by the painting, that is the easiest part (for simple stone colors... painting in the mold and fungus would obvously take a bit longer!), the investment of time is in casting, and building. But then you can build out exactly what you want!
Pat E | |
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Skyscraper
Sergeant
659 Posts
Montreal
| | 05/31/2006 1:31 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by PatEllis15
I highly recommend Hirst Arts (www.hirstarts.com), but they are best for those with some time. If money is no object, buy up DF to your hearts content. If money IS an issue, but you have some free time, Hirst Arts is the way to go.
Could you inform me as to what DF is?
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The wise man doubts often. The ignorant, sometimes. The fool, never. | |
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jgsugden
Commander
4320 Posts
Walnut Creek, CA
| | 05/31/2006 1:32 PM |
| | 3d terrain is a huge investment in either money or time. I've searched for some reasonable alternatives, but so far I have not been able to come up with anything great. Hirstarts and Dwarven Forge are the best 3d options. | |
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Skyscraper
Sergeant
659 Posts
Montreal
| | 05/31/2006 2:02 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by jgsugden
3d terrain is a huge investment in either money or time. I've searched for some reasonable alternatives, but so far I have not been able to come up with anything great. Hirstarts and Dwarven Forge are the best 3d options.
Ah, dwarven forge. Gotcha. *googles* Hehe. Okay... that's what you mean by huge investment in money :)
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The wise man doubts often. The ignorant, sometimes. The fool, never. | |
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Lachlarlan_the_Mad
Sergeant
470 Posts
| | 05/31/2006 2:21 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Skyscraper
quote:
Originally posted by PatEllis15
I highly recommend Hirst Arts (www.hirstarts.com), but they are best for those with some time. If money is no object, buy up DF to your hearts content. If money IS an issue, but you have some free time, Hirst Arts is the way to go.
Could you inform me as to what DF is?
Dwarven Forge.
That Hirst Arts chess set is the coolest thing I've ever seen! MUST HAVE ONE NOW! | |
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Zaukrie
Underboss
2007 Posts
| | 05/31/2006 2:26 PM |
| Your other option is printing out cardstock and making 3d terrain from "paper".
Worldworks games is the leader in this field, but there are others also (whose names just popped out of my head).
I've made some of the free samples, and it isn't super hard, and does look nice. | |
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jgsugden
Commander
4320 Posts
Walnut Creek, CA
| | 05/31/2006 3:13 PM |
| | Before you spend the cash on anything, I suggest using some books, glasses, etc... on your battle mat to simulate 3d terrain. Check out the difficulties in moving (and seeing) figures with 3d materials on the map... you may find that you don't want that 3rd dimension... | |
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FeranEldritchKnight
Sergeant
385 Posts
Kansas City, MO USA
| | 05/31/2006 4:08 PM |
| | I think I mentioned this a long time ago, but I built a boat out of foamboard. I'm sure you could buy cheap foam pieces from a crafts department and build crude models. | |
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Talistran
Warrior
310 Posts
| | 05/31/2006 5:38 PM |
| I also build custom terrain to your liking. I am less expensive than DF stuff...
Much of my stuff is built out of Hirst Arts material (especially the dungeons).
Here are some examples:
A river:
A Wooden Hill Fort:
Drop me a line if you want to talk more or see some of my dungeon / cavern stuff. I am also working on a large cave / river / dragon lair system for a board member right now.
Thanks,
Talistran | |
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Bert the Troll
Commander
3964 Posts
Adelaide
| | 05/31/2006 7:58 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by jgsugden
Before you spend the cash on anything, I suggest using some books, glasses, etc... on your battle mat to simulate 3d terrain. Check out the difficulties in moving (and seeing) figures with 3d materials on the map... you may find that you don't want that 3rd dimension...
Very good point. I have been using a few cut outs (from Wizards website & map folio 3d) and am quite undecided about it.
I love the look it gives, but the room it requires (to store and use) daunts me.
~~~
In another group there was someone selling thier custom terrain, quote:
I am looking to get $500 for the complete setup with the florescent lights, but not including the Shuttle. The biggest problem is that packing and shipping it will likely cost about $100-$150 because the pieces only break down so small. Perhaps I will have to find a local buyer.
Might be cheaper postage options than his guess-estimate.
It does look very good (http://members.shaw.ca/red-24/html/terrain.html) but expensive for most likely a once off thing...
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Ethandrul
Warrior
301 Posts
| | 05/31/2006 10:39 PM |
| | wow! very cool! | |
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Most Edumacated
zenthrus
Warlord
5132 Posts
SLC, UT
| | 06/01/2006 1:40 AM |
| That lava terrain is very impressive [:O]
So is Talistran's river [:O] | |
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Skyscraper
Sergeant
659 Posts
Montreal
| | 06/02/2006 1:46 PM |
| Wow, i'm impressed!
The fort is really nice, as is the river and the lava terrain. Those are really superb models guys.
The question that comes to mind, however, is how many times do you use those terrain models? How do you apply d20 rules (no grid?) to them, or do you? Of course, i guess it doesn't really matter since getting something like that done in itself must be quite rewarding. But i'm asking from the perspective of RPG play, in that 3-D stuff is really nice, but re-usability is a factor that i'd be looking for.
Sky | |
The wise man doubts often. The ignorant, sometimes. The fool, never. | |
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Username
Warlord
5692 Posts
| | 06/02/2006 2:02 PM |
| | Wow! Impressive! | |
Originally posted by Schooly_D
Username - he deals in minis
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Talistran
Warrior
310 Posts
| | 06/03/2006 2:19 PM |
| We reuse it all the time. Think about how often you fight near a river. And of course, goblin / orc / hobgoblin / bandit forts are used all the time.
As for as usability in play, we simply abandon the grid system and move to 1" system. i.e. each square is 1", so if they are "touching bases" or within .5" of another characters base, then they are in melee. And generally the base size (medium base) only allows a few in base contact anyways.
For movement, each character knows how many inches they can move, so they just move that far. It is easy to cut a piece of small rope to the number of inches that the character can move walking, running, charging, etc and then just use that. I like it MORE than having grids. :)
So, it doesn't hamper at all, but helps a ton! and we reuse things a lot.
Talistran | |
Fun little game...
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Skyscraper
Sergeant
659 Posts
Montreal
| | 06/03/2006 3:19 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Talistran
We reuse it all the time. Think about how often you fight near a river. And of course, goblin / orc / hobgoblin / bandit forts are used all the time.
As for as usability in play, we simply abandon the grid system and move to 1" system. i.e. each square is 1", so if they are "touching bases" or within .5" of another characters base, then they are in melee. And generally the base size (medium base) only allows a few in base contact anyways.
For movement, each character knows how many inches they can move, so they just move that far. It is easy to cut a piece of small rope to the number of inches that the character can move walking, running, charging, etc and then just use that. I like it MORE than having grids. :)
So, it doesn't hamper at all, but helps a ton! and we reuse things a lot.
Talistran
Good to hear, thanks for the comments.
Sky | |
The wise man doubts often. The ignorant, sometimes. The fool, never. | |
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