The Nice Inn – Bringing DnD to the Tabletop

I have now completed the following steps

1. Added two sets of stairs

2. Added rooms to the first floor

3. Completed the adding of the wooden framework ( with the exception of some supports which still need to be added.

4. Cheated ( yes I know I said it would be all scratch built) and used some premade doors for the external doors in the building. Plus some premade moulded balastrades.

So next up is the base.

Challenge

Card stock plus liquid has the potential to create serious warpage.

So what an I planning to use to texture the base…geek gaming basing splodge which is basically a mix of filler and shredded paper. This needs to be mixed with water to create the texture.

Plan

So what I decided to do was tape the base to my desk using quite strong electrical tape. The idea is that I can add the texture over the tape then I can cut around the edge when it is dry and hopefully not warped ???

Ok so the roof, the bit that I have been kind of putting off. Originally I was going to creat a tiled roof, then after cutting out the strips of card I thought, nope I am going to attempt a thatched roof for the first time in my life.

So how to do a thatched roof, well as I have seen from many a you tube video over the years the best looking roofs require the fur of a teddy bear. So after a quick search on Amazon I found some camel coloured teddy Bear fur that had long strands that will act like straw.

I placed my order and waited after a couple of days it arrived.

The next step was to decide how to do this , first up was to measure the roof sections. Then divide them up into equal parts. This enabled me to measure and cut strips of the fur. These strips were cut slightly bigger than required so that I could trim to shape afterwards.

The next stage is to stick them down to the roof, with overlapping sections this will represent a roof with gradations.

Creating the straw look.

The next step after gluing down the fur was to make it robust enough to survive the gaming it will meet.

So having looked around there are two options. First a mix of PVA and water approximately 1:4 ratio of one part PVA to 4 parts water. The other involved mixing in poly filler. I didn’t have any of that to hand so decided on the PVA and water treatment.

Ok so I have not managed to complete the project by 31st October, but onwards and upwards. From this point beyond its all after the terrain challenge deadline.

So on to the detailing. I have decided that I will up the level of detail on this model.

So what will this include

1. Adding wooden frame to the building
2. Interior walls
3. Stairs
4. A bar
5. The doors
6. The windows
7. The Inn Sign
8. Thatched roof ( this will be covered in a separate post)

Although I have carved the details of the frame into the foam core, it lacks a bit of dimension. So I have decided to start adding the framework of the building using 5mm wide coffee stirrers picked up cheap from and online store.

So on to the detailing. I have decided that I will up the level of detail on this model.

So what will this include

1. Adding wooden frame to the building
2. Interior walls
3. Stairs
4. A bar
5. The doors
6. The windows
7. The Inn Sign
8. Thatched roof ( this will be covered in a separate post)

Although I have carved the details of the frame into the foam core, it lacks a bit of dimension. So I have decided to start adding the framework of the building using 5mm wide coffee stirrers picked up cheap from and online store.

So on to the detailing. I have decided that I will up the level of detail on this model.

So what will this include

1. Adding wooden frame to the building
2. Interior walls
3. Stairs
4. A bar
5. The doors
6. The windows
7. The Inn Sign
8. Thatched roof ( this will be covered in a separate post)

Although I have carved the details of the frame into the foam core, it lacks a bit of dimension. So I have decided to start adding the framework of the building using 5mm wide coffee stirrers picked up cheap from and online store.

So with 11 days to go I have completed the main baulk of the building. I am pleased with how it has come out.

Ok so now the main building has been completed. I still need to do the following:

• The roof- decide on whether I use tiles or thatch, I am leaning towards thatch, but needed to order some teddy bear fur ( I have no teddy’s to murder?)
• The details, this will include the stairs and the interior walls, the balcony, the exterior view of support beams and of course the inn’s sign
• Basing – this will likely be done using geek gaming basing stuff. Although I have to consider avoiding warping the base ?
• Painting – and last of all I have to paint the building.

So will I finish it in 10 days I don’t know, but I do know I will be playing with it as it is on the table this weekend in a practice game of Barons War.

So finally I have reached the top. Yes the roof. Here is where I have a decision to make.

Do I use tiles or do I do a thatched roof.

Still both require the same basic construction.

First off triangles for the sides then card stock to create the base of the roof on which tiles or straw can be added.

The last bit of the construction is the Chimney stack. This was created using four sections of the foam core together.

These were then glued together and added to the roof. I did not texture it before gluing, but that was so that I could cut and shape it in site.

So the final level ( not counting the roof) is to create the second floor. To do this I have used pretty much the same process as the lower floors. However this floor will cover the entire top level including over the side archway.

So after building two levels of the Inn, it was time to work on the right side if the building.

The aim of this was to provide an archway through which horses can be taken to the stables ( stables not included in this build).

My mind was that there would be a stone archway that would then integrate into the main building at the third level.

With the floor made for the ground floor, it was onto construction of the walls. This I did by cutting my pre prepared strips of foam core into appropriate lengths of wall section.

Detailing

Just like the floor each section of wall needs to be detailed. Both inside and out.

For this I again use a sharp pencil. First if all I draw a line along the bottom edge of each piece on both sides. This line is 5mm from the edge of the section. This is is my guide point for the outside for detailing the wooden beams of the building frame. On the inside it shows the floor level.

Next stage is to draw in the uprights of the timber frame. Then where the windows and doors go.

When all the parts are marked out, I creat the wood grain as I did with the floor.

When the frames are complete I then add some character to the walls by showing where the dorb has come away from the wattle of the house.

Prefab

The next step is to attach the walls to the floor and the ground floor to the basement section.

This is done using PVA glue and masking tape to hold the sections in place.

First Floor

Once the main part of the ground floor is complete it was on to the first floor.pretty much the same process as the ground floor.

The main thing is to create an over hang which gives more space. I am only going to the main box with the intention to add more interior detail later.

Once the supports have been created it was time to commence building the floor.

This I do in two stages. The first is what I call underfloor. This essentially is filling in the space between the foundation walls.

This may seem to be a bit of an excess task, however, it adds additional strength to the building and more surface to attach the main floor.

The main floor

After the underfloor is complete I cut out the section for the main floor. This is a single piece of foam core.

Details

As I build this building I will be adding details as I go. The first of such details is the texture of the floor. This floor is made up of wooden floor boards.

To create the floor I draw parallel lines with a steel ruler, at 10mm spacing. Next I then insert lines between the parallel lines at 60mm separation.

I then proceed to free hand the wood grain using a pencil. And in no time I had a wooden floor.

The Building Process

Although I have a rough idea if what I will be building, much of it is guided by intuition. I don’t have a strict design idea, but I do start with a rough plan.

The first step is to construct the basement level of the building. But before I start this I ensure I have cut up some strips of foam core board. This provides me with a base of material I can use for construction if the walls.

After cutting the strips I decided that I needed a stone base for the building but I didn’t want it to be too deep so I created some 15mm strips of foam core

Creating texture

To create the brick texture I use the traditional method. Which is to draw a thought brick pattern on the surface. Then lightly score it will my modelling knife. I then traced it over with a pencil.

After creating the pattern, it requires texturing and for this I use the ball if Tim foil method to create the texture. You can see this in the pictures below.

Laying the foundations

Next job was to start gluing the walls to the base card.

I initially started with doing this with PVA, but this has the drawback of taking a while to cure, and needing masking tape to hold it down and in shape.

After pondering this I decided to go for broke and grabbed my hot glue gun, not sure if it would work I tested it on a piece of scrap. Fortunately it worked well. So it was time to try out it on the walls. The only caveat is that hot glue doesn’t have a lot of curing time so I had to work at speed. But it worked ( see below).

Floor supports

The other challenge is supporting the floor of the building. But to do this I used 10mm strips of foam core as supports in between the walls. These I added using just PVA as they will be hidden under the floor and don’t need to be perfect.

So where to start I have the tools and materials ready to go. However I need to figure out the design of what I want to build so that I can break it down into logical steps.

Requirements

All my scratch built items of terrain items in 25/28mm are based on two sizes of foot print. Either A4 or A3. This is so they can fit onto the table and are not too difficult to store or move around.

I have an idea of what the Inn looks like, as I drew this out for my DnD adventuring.

Although the drawing is well within the A3 template, it is not to scale, and if I scaled it up to 28 mm it would probably be far to big.

The other issue is I only have a single floor, my building will need to be across at least 2 if not 3 floors.

Requirements

• Design a new Inn, Toria has been considering a new look anyway
• Fit within an A3 layout
• Scale to be usable for 25/28mm figures
• At least 2 floors

Style

So whilst this is first and foremost a building for DnD, I also want to use it for multiple game systems. So the look and feel if the building is important. This means styling it to an Historical period. As the earliest I will be using it will be medieval I will be going with that period.

Requirements continued.

• Medieval style building.

The first thing to explain is that this build is going to be scratch built. No pre purchased MDF kits, no 3D printing, this is Old Skool baby!!!

So how do I start any project like this, well it’s all about preparation and ensuring I have the right materials and equipment for the build.

Tools

So first things first here are the list if tools I generally use in my builds.

• 30cm Steel ruler
• Pencil
• Eraser
• Craft knife
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Pots to put glue and paint in
• Largish paint brushes
• Cutting Matt

Optional tools

Because I am visually impaired, I also use the following Tools:

• Bright lamp
• Magnifying glasses

Materials

So that the tools sorted out now for the materials.

• A3 Grey card stock about 1mm thick
• A3 Foam core board about 5mm thick
• Balsa wood strips 6mmx6mmx30mm
• PVA Glue
• Masking tape
• Tin foil
• Hot glue sticks
• Water
• Paints
• Basing materials
• Kitchen tissue

The good thing about scratch building is that it is relatively cheap and easy to do.