Making hexagonal game tiles

September 22, 2009 12:24 PM

Custom Settlers of Catan Tileset! Help me find (or make) the perfect hexagonal tile for Settlers

I've been wanting to create my own set of custom Settlers of Catan hex tiles for a few years now. The only thing holding things up is my desire for perfection. I cannot seem to find a perfect way to create the hexagonal base on which to sculpt terrain. I'd like the tiles to, well, tile nicely with no large or irregular gaps between them.

I've tried balsa wood, which a/ I could not reliably cut straight, and b/ warped once they sculpey clay I was using was baked hard.

I've also tried using a layer of sculpey clay, as seen here, but I again found that the slight pressure I applied deformed the edges, and removing it from the sheet of wax paper also stretched and deformed the whole thing.

So, hive mind: What would be the best way to create a hexagonal tile with perfectly straight edges? Or alternatively, what pre-made item could I purchase? Size isn't extremely important - approx 8cm in diameter, 1cm thick. I can either make/buy 8, or make/buy 1 and cast 8 copies.

I'm a bit light in the power tools department - I have a jigsaw, but no good way of securing material to a table. I also have acess to a dremel tool with a few attachments.

posted by comradestu to sports, hobbies, & recreation (7 comments total)

A bunch of ideas here.
posted by exogenous at 12:26 PM on September 22

These are apparently plywood, which would be more dimensionally stable than basla. More information on these (intended as bases for miniatures) here.
posted by exogenous at 12:29 PM on September 22

Ceramic hex bathroom tile?
posted by electroboy at 1:22 PM on September 22

I second looking into miniature supply shops for your tiles. The Litko tiles exogenous linked to are excellent. Note that they also sell acrylic hex bases, if that appeals to you more than plywood. These guys even have metal hexes for not too much ($2 per for 2" hexes)!

If none of those are what you're looking for, "hex bases" and/or "Battletech bases" might be a helpful search term. Battletech is the most well-known miniatures game which uses hex bases. The standard Battletech hexes are smaller than you're looking for, but some companies make larger ones.

Miniature stores may also have some neat options for finishing the detail on your tiles. The guy who did the Settlers set you linked to used miniature paints to finish the look of his set, for example. The fake grass/gravel/dirt they sell for miniature basing might also save you a lot of sculpting time. Also, I would suggest using green stuff to sculpt the mountains and such. It's a lot easier to work with than Sculpey, as there's no need to bake it or glue it onto the base -- it adheres naturally and then hardens as it dries, yet remains soft for long enough to do detail work while it's drying.

No matter how you end up creating your set, you should seal the finished product. Otherwise the paint will wear quickly with use. I like to use Krylon Matte Clear -- you can get this at any craft supply store. One can will probably do for the whole project.
posted by vorfeed at 1:48 PM on September 22

Draw your shapes on a computer and have them laser cut? Several services exist that will cut out arbitrary shapes from a range of materials (plastics, wood, leather, metal, felt, etc) and post the results to you. The one I've linked to also offers to use the laser to etch/burn designs into the surface.

I haven't used this site so can't vouch for it personally. If you end up using it I'd love to know, as I'm planning to have them cut some detailed parts for a project I'm working on.
posted by metaBugs at 1:54 PM on September 22

Thanks for the quick responses!

I'm going to take a look at metaBug's laser cutting link - seems like the perfect idea, depending on the cost.

exogenous's plywood bases also look great, but maybe a bit thin. Depending on what I cast the finished masters in, this might be a problem. Although I could always double them up.

Vorfeed - thanks for all the info! I've already sculpted a (too small) set with sculpey, and I was very pleased with how they turned out. I've got a lot of the products you mention on hand from painting my own minis, so I'm set as far as that goes. Oddly enough, I hadn't even considered using any of it for this project.
posted by comradestu at 2:43 PM on September 22

Here's one. He used the original tiles to guide while cutting out foam, then used that to make his molds.

I'd use a laser cutter but that's because it's what I'm familiar with.
posted by chairface at 3:21 PM on September 22