Crafting projects

The last couple of weeks have been disrupted by weather days at work so weekends have been cut short with work and chores and the game I had been planning to play is still set up on the table. I will attempt it next weekend.

 I've been focusing instead on some smaller projects that will lead to my Desert game. 

Buildings, excavation sites, and how to set up the terrain seem daunting, so I have just been doing them in smaller test projects to iron out any kinks. 

I found a decent way to strip the paper covering off of dollar store foam so I can have a ready supply of 1/4 inch foam. Easier for buildings, walls and small relief terrain than shaving down the 1/2 inch + pink board. I also bought some impression rollers for clay and they actually work pretty good on the dollar store foam. 

These are 3D printed texture rollers for clay. The detail edges are not exceptionally sharp so they do need some pressure to get an impression in foam. 

I got these on Etsy, about $10 each. They are a harder plastic than the standard 3D printed objects I've purchased in the past, but have only just started using them so will have to see how well they hold up. The figure is 15mm for size comparison. The cobble pattern left deeper impressions than the flagstone one. I tested the other 2 and they were about as deep as the flagstone. One other test I need to do is to sand down the skin of the foam and perhaps softer middle foam will lend itself to deeper impressions. All in all if they last for any length of time I think they are worth the money. I have air dry clay I can use too, but foam is faster, weighs less and is less messy.

I also tested some home made sculpt a mold using shredded TP and durhams water putty. I may try to fine tune the mix, but would rather get some plaster of paris to work with.

This is a test piece for covered excavation sites for the Desert terrain. I'm adopting a few standard sizes for them so they can be covered with a selection of either buildings, or simple terrain.