I enjoy building 3D models of some of the major encounters that my PCs are going to run through. My work isn't the best, but I thought you all might enjoy seeing some of it, so I posted it on Flikr.
Here's the model of Vanderboren Manor that I made for the Bullywug Gambit. This is built from cardstock using Worldworks Games' Shellendrak Manor templates. I had to redesign the map of the manor to get it to fit with the wall templates, and to keep it contained on a 20" x 30" foamcore board. I had to combine a few of the rooms (like the statuary room and the trophy room) to make it all fit. Some of the cardstock walls look really warped, largely due to cupping (warping) of the underlying foamcore, plus the moisture levels in my basement where it's kept. Still, it really got my players excited to go room-to-room hunting down bullywugs. I'm especially prowd of the Vanthus Vanderboren portrait on the dining room wall, right where it's described from There is No Honor. That was not easy to get scaled down and reprinted. The manor is rather sparcely furnished, because I ran out of time to build the furniture before we ran the adventure.
Here's my version of the Sea Wyvern. I used a Mega Bloks' Black Pearl as a base. I replaced the black cloth sails with white cardstock sails, which include an image of a blue wyvern that I found on the internet. I replaced the Black Pearl figurehead with a representation of a giant wyvern (a Mega Bloks' Cirrusfire Dragon ). I covered up the "lego bumps" with cardstock floors, and I custom-built the crow's nest. I used black thread to represent the rigging. If you're looking for a good miniature-scale ship, Toys 'R' Us sells these Mega Bloks Black Pearl sets for about $20, which is really hard to beat. I was planning to build a ship using Worldworks Games' Maiden of the Seas, but I would have spent much more than $20 on ink and cardstock alone.
My next project is to start on the village of Farshore, using Worldworks Games' Scull Cove templates.
Smart work--I appreciate economic ideas. Thanks for sharing.
I wish I had more time, then I would do this...
This is great!
I wish I had more time, then I would do this...
This is great!
Thanks! The ship was pretty easy. It probably took 10-12 hours of work all told, but if you ignore the figurehead replacement, the rest of it was just a few hours of work. The wyvern figurehead ended up taking a good deal of time, because I had to drill out holes and pin it to the ship to keep it on.
The Manor took a few weeks of nights and weekends to get constructed. It was fairly easy to build, but it was rather time-intensive.
Nice!
This thread might interest you.
Yes, your thread was my inspiration. I used your recommendations as the baseline when I started looking at various ship options (and the Mega Bloks ships in particular, which have turned out to be nearly perfect). I found the Pirateology model on clearance at Borders for $4.99 each, so I bought 4 copies.
I'm planning to add in a couple extra sea battles for my players before we get to Farshore, so I need lots of ships. I only wish I could find a copy of the Mega Bloks Flying Dutchman, just so I can have one more ship option. So far, Toys R Us has plenty of the Black Pearl sets and Empress sets, but no FDs.
I plan on building something along the lines of your Wreck when my players finally get to Serpents of Scuttlecove. They're starting Sea Wyvern's Wake right now, so it'll be a while before I have to start building my own Wreck.
I've also planned on including the Shellandrak Mansion for my BWG.
I am half way thru building the mansion and its pretty time intensive.
One thing that i did differntly was to use 2 boards so that I can include the the outside wall and garden. I think that my players will enjoy planning their approach thru the garden. Another thing that i did differently was to use poster board for the outside wall. This way there was no sagging or bulges. I literally followed the exact plans on the scenario and thus the room were somewhat cramped and i was not able to get their beautiful grand stairwell in. If I were to do it again, I would increase the room dimension by another 5-10 ft.
I've also used Worldworks' village set for the battle between the stiltwalkers/ Daimondback and the PCs. I was able to impressed them when they enter the room to find the whole table covered by village terains.
http://www.worldworksgames.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&c Path=4&products_id=24
I will post some pictures as soon as I complete the Vanderboren Mansion.
Another thing that i did differently was to use poster board for the outside wall. This way there was no sagging or bulges.
If I were going to do it again, I would recommend your approach as well. Or, if you have extra foamcore, that would be ideal. I have also heard recommendations to glue some paper to the underside of the foamcore boards, to help counteract the warping of the foamcore once you start gluing stuff to the top of it. Also, if you haven't figured it out yet, the outer wall templates are slightly longer than the inner walls, which really screwed me up when I tried to build the courtyard.
I literally followed the exact plans on the scenario and thus the room were somewhat cramped and i was not able to get their beautiful grand stairwell in. If I were to do it again, I would increase the room dimension by another 5-10 ft.
My game has 8 players, so I wanted to increase the size of some of the rooms and hallways anyway, just so all the PCs could fit in some of the rooms all at once. Having Shellendrak be a default 3x3 just made life easy.
I've also used Worldworks' village set for the battle between the stiltwalkers/ Daimondback and the PCs. I was able to impressed them when they enter the room to find the whole table covered by village terains.
We did the same. I had the village terrain already built from past games. One nice touch I added was using the crowd tiles from the most recent Dungeon Tiles set. That helped get the point across that they couldn't just charge the stiltwalkers.
On a separate note, I just purchased some mega bloks from ebay, which included parts of some old ship set, but not a complete hull. I think it'll work nicely as the Thunderer (or whatever the name of the ship is that the Mother-of-All lives in). I'll post photos when I finally get that setup completed.
Hi Aron,
For the street battle between Daimondback and the stiltwalkers, I used several figures from the megamini townsfolk set to give them an idea of how busy the streets were. I believed that I had about 40 miniatures on the table. Although the figures were not painted, it still gave a very good impression of a crowded environment.
I would love to see pictures of your skull cove set as I might follow your example.
Tim
As for the ship; did that model match the official size of the Sea Wyvern?
I can tell you from my own megablocks Black Pearl, at 19 inches it is too big for the Sea Wyvern. The SW is a fairly small ship, only about 13 inches in scale. The bark from the piratology set is about the same size as the SW, but not in width. I used the Maiden of the Seas to make the Blue Nixie, but even then I had to cut it down by 2 inches on each side and 10 inches in length to get it to the 23 scaled inches it should be.
But I still am going to take inspiration from his work and modify the Black Pearl as he has done. Good work!
Bob
I plan on using Legend of Skull Cove and Maiden of the High Seas to make a version of The Wreck for my player's assault on this Crimson Fleet stronghold.
Unfortunately the session is less than 2 weeks away, meaning I don't have time to do the kitbashing needed to make an exact 3D copy of the wreck. I will probably modify the map of the stronghold instead, and will I also scale down the masterboard a bit so it will fit on the gaming table.
If I feel I have the time I might do a 2.5D version of The Wreck, but otherwise I will use the Maiden as the main stronghold.
I would love to see pictures of your skull cove set as I might follow your example.
I haven't started it yet; I have a baby due in the next month or so, so my spare time has been devoted to getting the nursery together and such. But I should have a model of Farshore done in a few months, and I'll post pictures when I get it completed.
As for the ship; did that model match the official size of the Sea Wyvern?
No, it's a bit too big in all dimensions to match the official map. Not by much--maybe 3 or 4 inches in length and maybe an inch or two in width bigger. It's within the margin of error, at least for me. I have 8 players and I need a bigger deck to deal with the larger number of both PCs and extra monsters to combat those PCs, so the extra deck space was actually a blessing.
The default Maiden of the High Seas is quite a bit bigger still, so if you're interested in creating an accurate representation of the Sea Wyvern, then you'd have to do a good bit of customization to get it down to the proper size.
I plan on using Legend of Skull Cove and Maiden of the High Seas to make a version of The Wreck for my player's assault on this Crimson Fleet stronghold.
Unfortunately the session is less than 2 weeks away, meaning I don't have time to do the kitbashing needed to make an exact 3D copy of the wreck. I will probably modify the map of the stronghold instead, and will I also scale down the masterboard a bit so it will fit on the gaming table.
If I feel I have the time I might do a 2.5D version of The Wreck, but otherwise I will use the Maiden as the main stronghold.
If you have the Maiden of the High Seas you could just print out a bunch of floor plans and make each deck separately and mark on each one how high off of the ground they are. I was able to get the ground level printed on a 36"x48" sheet at Kinkos for $10 in black and white.
I think this may be one of the earlier threads on the Wreck-
Go to The Wreck
Here is the Wreck I put together-
Go to Wreck pics
Making the floor plans was fairly simple so I'd start there. If you have time left once you get them done I'd start thinking about constructing it in 3D.
Good luck!
I plan on using Legend of Skull Cove and Maiden of the High Seas to make a version of The Wreck for my player's assault on this Crimson Fleet stronghold.
Unfortunately the session is less than 2 weeks away, meaning I don't have time to do the kitbashing needed to make an exact 3D copy of the wreck. I will probably modify the map of the stronghold instead, and will I also scale down the masterboard a bit so it will fit on the gaming table.
If I feel I have the time I might do a 2.5D version of The Wreck, but otherwise I will use the Maiden as the main stronghold.
If you have the Maiden of the High Seas you could just print out a bunch of floor plans and make each deck separately and mark on each one how high off of the ground they are. I was able to get the ground level printed on a 36"x48" sheet at Kinkos for $10 in black and white.
I think this may be one of the earlier threads on the Wreck-
Go to The Wreck
Here is the Wreck I put together-
Go to Wreck pics
Making the floor plans was fairly simple so I'd start there. If you have time left once you get them done I'd start thinking about constructing it in 3D.
Good luck!
That is some beautiful stuff. I'd love a seat at that table! My question is: What do you do with this stuff after the game is over? Where do you store it? It seems a shame to throw it out after all that hard work!
That is some beautiful stuff. I'd love a seat at that table! My question is: What do you do with this stuff after the game is over? Where do you store it? It seems a shame to throw it out after all that hard work!
I actually packed it up and sent it to another DM running the STAP from these boards. His name on the boards was paradox. He did send me an email letting me know that he received it and that he couldn't wait to use it. He was going to send it on to someone else once he used it so maybe it'll be coming someone else's way soon!
That's fantastic!
