I purchased this product yesterday after reading through the discussion about worldworks doing paizo stuff, to see what it is all about. At 16.99 US$, it is not expensive considering the sheer amount of material. (And it gets even easier on my wallet considering the exchange rate Dollar-Euro :-)) I guess I will find a way to print it at virtually no cost, one of the advantages being the "computer guy" at the office :-).
After reading the instructions, it does not seem too hard to do the building (especially considering that I just built an very simple white-paper architectural model for my studies from scratch). I have no idea when I will build it and even less of an idea if I will need it at all, but considering that I still have my knights campaign running, I might use it.
A few questions remained after reading the instructions regarding the basing. I can easily see the merit of glueing them to foamcore, and have found an onlineshop in Germany selling something similar, sized roughly 2ft x 1.5ft (50x65 cm), and in black or white. In black, they offer it only at a strength of 5 mm (ca. 1/5th of an inch). Would you consider this too strong, too weak, or just right? Is the size sufficient for the bases included in the set, considering a basic layout? Or would two boards be a better idea? (The white version comes in various strenghts, but white would be not a good idea for the bases.)
Any comments welcome.
Stefan
|
I've built quite a few elements out of the Castleworks set, and I've found that the 5 mm thickness is just right to have a strong, durable base.
I'd rather buy at least two (if not three) boards for even a basic layout, as you'll quickly find that it's used for a rather large number of parts - the obvious basings, various levels of taller buildings, and generic surface for the castle bailey/inner yard.
To me, the black foamboard gives the best results.
You can see some of my worst ever papercrafting jobs (still good looking thanks to the awesome quality of Worldworks' products) here - I used white foamboard, stupid refills for the inkjet printer with different color renders, and did a crappy job on edging and gluing.
Thanks for the answer. Your photos show clearly why a black foamboard should be used - white simply does not look as good. Well, if I order some white foamboard for an architectural model, I will order several black ones for RPG models along with it.
Stefan
One more question: I recall seeing a reference to paper weight used for printing the stuff, but can´t find it right now. IIRC, it was something like 110 lbs. Honestly, I was quite puzzled by this measuring until I found this paper weight chart. Now, paper weight can obviously vary if the base sheet size varies widely, as shown in the table. I guess that the "offset" category of paper weight is the one where the 110 lbs weight comes from. This would roughly translate to 160-180 grams per square meter, as paper weight is measured here (and which makes much more sense, IMO). This weight should be about right from my experience with printing other stuff, as thinner paper warps easily and is too flimsy and much thicker paper causes problems with the printer.
Any experiences?
Stefan
I've built quite a few elements out of the Castleworks set, and I've found that the 5 mm thickness is just right to have a strong, durable base.
I'd rather buy at least two (if not three) boards for even a basic layout, as you'll quickly find that it's used for a rather large number of parts - the obvious basings, various levels of taller buildings, and generic surface for the castle bailey/inner yard.
To me, the black foamboard gives the best results.
You can see some of my worst ever papercrafting jobs (still good looking thanks to the awesome quality of Worldworks' products) here - I used white foamboard, stupid refills for the inkjet printer with different color renders, and did a crappy job on edging and gluing.
Your builds look very good. I just purchased caveworks from their site and I am building it now. Question: did you reinforce your walls and such with the foam core? I was planning on doing that to make them more durable.
|
|
Your builds look very good. I just purchased caveworks from their site and I am building it now. Question: did you reinforce your walls and such with the foam core? I was planning on doing that to make them more durable.
Thanks.
I used foamcore just for the basings of the various tiles/floors. Walls are usually done by "sandwiching" a sheet of paper (eg. folding along a line and gluing the sides) to have a front/back look.This, coupled with the extra thickness of the card used, ensures enough strenght and durability to the various builds.
To avoid warping issues, just leave enough time for the glue to dry completely (maybe stacking some heavy books on top of your works).
EXTRA TIP: for some elements (such as the "floating walls" from the CaveWorks set) it's a good idea to add one or two extra sheets of card to the bottom support tabs - when present. Just use a blank sheet, and glue to it the support tabs of the assembled wall, the trim away. Repeat for triple-strenght durability and stability.
It's a good trick also for the corridors/tunnels, as they will be placed of the base tiles.
|
Your builds look very good. I just purchased caveworks from their site and I am building it now. Question: did you reinforce your walls and such with the foam core? I was planning on doing that to make them more durable.
There is a pretty amazing build on the Worldworks Site where matboard was used. It looks stable and yet maintains a rather thin wall. When I get around to building some of my sets, I think I am going to steal his technique.
This user's builds are very clean and nice in any case. I would recommend looking at some of his other galleries.