Dragons Don't Share -- terrain

[Painting Dog]

So I'm finally sitting down to attack the Dragons Don't Share diorama from a certain Kickstarter way-back-when.    Like everyone before me, I'm finding that the terrain pieces won't stay flat, no matter what amount of boiling / freezing I do with them. I don't want to get too fancy with creating a "subfloor" for the pieces, but thought that affixing them to hobby plywood ought to keep them level.

 

Does anybody have experience with what thickness of plywood would work for this kind of basing? I feel like 1/8" in too thin, but have never actually used it in this way, so don't know for sure. I'm hoping to get a best guess on what thickness to buy before venturing forth from my Vault home into the Wasteland home improvement store (so I can get the right size first time, and not have to go out again).

 

In the same vein -- Has anybody tried anything other than wood and had good success?

 

Thanks, everybody! And stay safe!

[cmorse]

I'd probably go with 1/4". Check the plywood carefully if you're getting it at a home improvement store. Finding a piece that isn't more warped than the terrain might be a challenge. You might have better luck finding a flat piece of 1/4" mdf. If you do find something flat make sure to seal both sides so that it stays that way.

[Inarah]

You might look for 1/4" mdf at dollar stores, it usually takes the form of a cheap school clipboard. 

[Chris Palmer]

10 hours ago, Inarah said:

You might look for 1/4" mdf at dollar stores, it usually takes the form of a cheap school clipboard. 

 

Dollar stores also sometimes also use mdf for seasonal decorative wall hangings; and with Halloween and Christmas on the horizon they should be in the stores now.   You can find round or oval shapes sometimes. 

 

 

I also wanted to suggest, for my DDS terrain, I put my ice water bath in a flat bottomed cake pan, and when I put the pieces, in I immediately pressed them down hard against the flat bottom.  The seemed to help them hold their shape.

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by Chris Palmer

[Painting Dog]

45 minutes ago, Chris Palmer said:

 

I also wanted to suggest, for my DDS terrain, I put my ice water bath in a flat bottomed cake pan, and when I put the pieces, in I immediately pressed them down hard against the flat bottom.  The seemed to help them hold their shape.

 

That was what I tried first. It helped, but everything went back to slightly wobbly after a few hours. Better, but still wobbly. 

 

Thanks, everybody, for the advice on dollar store / hobby store sourcing. What would you use for sealing? Lacquer? Or is something like Stynelerez primer enough?

 

Thanks again!

Edited September 21, 2020 by Painting Dog
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[cmorse]

Stynelerez is fine for sealing, really almost any primer, paint, varnish, lacquer would work. Ideally you want to do both sides at the same time and keep the first coat light and dry. Mdf is like a sponge and if you only do one side at a time the side you do will swell and can lead to warping.