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Post by sgtslag on Dec 20, 2022 4:30:25 GMT
There was an article, Dragon issue #49, pages 28-29, "Getting a world into shape", by Karl Horak. It demonstrated how a person could use a large/small hex sheet, to map out their imaginary world, cut it out, and glue it into a d20 Globe. I bought some large, poster-sized, one-inch hex sheets from The Armory (went out of business in the 1990's?). I drew up my global map, labeling continents and oceans. Many years later, in the early 1990's, I gained access to a large format photocopier: I made three copies of my map, so I would have spares, in case the first attempt failed (it did...). I used some printing techniques I had learned in my Junior High School industrial arts Printing Classes to create professional looking labels for my original map (yellowing with age, but still good enough to make B&W copies of, if necessary). That all worked, flawlessly. I knew the paper copy was too flimsy to last, so I covered it with Clear Contact Paper, but that was still too flimsy -- and heavy. I then cut out 2mm cardboard triangles, gluing them to the back, which would be hidden inside the assembled d20 Globe. It did not work, and it became a clumsy mess during the assembly process. What was really rough, was that I spent hours using colored pencils to make it look pretty. During the 1990's, the available large format copiers were all B&W -- today, in the 2020's, the available large format copiers are C-O-L-O-R! A few years ago, I realized that if I cut out some equilateral triangles of MDF, I could use those as the core for my d20 Globe. My original plan was to color in a new master map, then use a large format color copier to make several copies of it. I recently discovered Etsy sellers who could laser-cut 200mm x 1/8 inch for me: perfectly proportioned, cut effortlessly, precisely, by a laser (just shy of 8" per side, a total of 20 triangles ran me around $70). Originally, I was planning to cut them out myself, using a table saw... Way too much effort, and precision cutting would be extremely difficult to maintain. I watched YouTube videos on Globe making, for ideas. I found none showing a d20 Globe project, but I found inspiration, from some other globe making project videos. I plan to glue the MDF triangles to one of my old photocopies, as assembling the paper globe with the MDF triangles attached, will solve the problem of how to assemble the Globe with the correct angles (135 degrees?)! I will glue the paper tabs together, pressing the MDF triangles tightly together, then using a Low Temperature Hot Glue Gun, I will seal the MDF seams together, to form a moderately strong d20 sphere. I thought that I would need to mark, and lay out, the triangle faces in proper order as my original plan was to color, and apply paper printouts over each triangle. I've since decided upon another approach entirely, which does not require the triangles be put in any particular order. Once the Globe is glued together, I will cut out foam sheets in the shapes of the continental shelves, surrounding the continents, gluing these in place on the faces of the d20 Globe. I will spray paint the entire Globe a dark, glossy Blue, for water. After that, I will cut out the continent shapes, gluing these atop the continental shelves. I will add another cut-out of foam on top of the continents, to mark out the mountain ranges. After that is accomplished, I will paint the foam cut-outs their proper colors. I will use Mod Podge to apply paper labels for the land and sea location names. When that is fully cured, I will seal the whole Globe with a couple of coats of Gloss Clear Coat, to protect the Globe's surfaces. I've been plodding along on this project since the early 1980's. Technology has finally given me the inexpensive tools I need to pull this project off! This is going to be very fun... I will post photo's of my progress. Cheers!
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Post by skunkape on Dec 20, 2022 22:02:22 GMT
What an interesting idea. Hope you manage to get this project done. Make sure to post pictures once it's finished so that we can oooh and aaaah at them! :-)
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Post by sgtslag on Dec 20, 2022 23:21:10 GMT
Thank you. I plan on documenting it all the way through in this thread. I hope to assemble the sphere this week, cut out the foam continental shelves, then attach them, so I can paint it all blue. It is not terribly difficult, just time consuming. Cheers!
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Post by margaret on Dec 23, 2022 19:50:37 GMT
Looking forward to seeing your progress!
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Post by sgtslag on Dec 26, 2022 1:57:22 GMT
I used Glue Sticks to attach the PDF Triangles to the paper photocopy: Link. So I made a realization that the paper tabs, glued together, would be very delicate. When I made my first attempt, I had some serious tears in the paper, and this time, I glued 1/8" MDF Triangles to the same paper, instead of 2mm thick cardboard... I decided upon the Handy Man's Secret Weapon... Duct Tape! It is vinyl, has really strong adhesive, and it is extremely hard to tear, without serious effort. I applied Duct Tape across the seams between the Triangles, to strengthen them, such that they are higly unlikely to tear in the assembly process, and in supplemental handling. I plan to apply duct tape oer the glued seams, if possible. Duct Tape Link1. I then covered every seam which is not glued: Duct Tape Link2. I used the same Glue Stick to glue the tabs together, applying it to each tab. I then applied wooden rulers on each side, with clothes pins to press them together while they dry: Seam Link. After they dry, I will fold them over, and cover them with Duct Tape. This should work until I get to the last face of the d20... Next update should be in a few days. Cheers!
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Post by sgtslag on Dec 26, 2022 15:16:56 GMT
I am realizing that the seams will likely flex, especially over time, due to its weight. I may need to attach wooden dowel ribs over the seams, to strengthen it. An internal rib structure would be ideal, but impossible to pull off.
I believe the angle on the faces is 135 degrees. Achieving that, is a challenge. Keeping it in shape will require a rigid skeleton of some sort. If I stuck to lightweight paper, no problem. It's a fun project, even if it fails.
If it does fail, I may have to make inquiries of 3D printing services. A large, 3D printed d20 would have internal supports which would keep it in shape forever. Cheers!
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Post by skunkape on Dec 26, 2022 21:00:42 GMT
I saw something like this years ago for the Traveler game.
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Post by sgtslag on Jan 3, 2023 0:54:41 GMT
All options are on the table, as of right now. Someone on another forum, suggested gluing a styrofoam ball inside of it. I love that idea, for structural support. I will look into that! My wife suggested leaving the last face of the d20 open, attached only on one side, to use it as an access door. Another great idea! So I taped the last few faces together, to get an idea of how accurately it will come together, when I do the final assembly. A test fit, if you will. I used cellophane tape over the seams, on the open faces, to hold it in place, for the test. Looks pretty decent for size and shape! Not all of the seams are as tight as I want/need them to be. However, Most are quite good. I am seriously considering gluing a wooden dowel inside, across the faces, to strengthen the structure. I needed a way to determine how long the dowel needs to be... I laid a plastic cutting guide my wife uses for quilting, across one face, holding the dowel vertical, on the same surface. I used a marker, to draw a line on the underside of the guide. Then, I subtracted twice the thickness of the MDF 1/8" thick x 2 = 1/4", or 6mm). I subtracted that from the measured height of the d20: 307mm - 6mm = 301mm, for the needed dowel length, to span the inside faces of the d20. I next cut out the hex sheet's land masses, from my last copy of the original map (which I still have, in reserve). I taped these to a sheet of red craft foam (will be glued to the surface, then spray painted blue, with the land masses being hand painted with craft paints, afterwards), then I cut the shapes out of the paper, taped in place, and the foam. I will cut out Continental Shelves, which will be glued to the globe's surface, first, with the land masses glued atop these, but that will come later. This was another dry run, on how it will look and work. Here is Cegia, and its three islands, Bakretia, laid out on the globe, with Cegia spanning across a seam, taped in place to see how it all looks. This is where I have been running my campaigns since 1986. My players will recognize it, immediately, so this was my dry run continent. So far, so very good! I am pleased with how it is coming together. My major concern, of course, is how fragile it might be. My plan is to suspend it from the ceiling, over my gaming table, so it is accessible during my games, but out of the way. I may rig up a retractable string, such that it can be pulled down/pushed up, as needed to get it out of the way, keeping it safe. Time will tell. Cheers!
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Post by margaret on Jan 4, 2023 17:44:16 GMT
Using foam sheets for the continents so they can bend over the edges is a great idea!
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Post by sgtslag on Jan 4, 2023 22:26:25 GMT
Here is a link to the image folder for this project. This folder will contain all of the images for this project, more than what I've linked to, previously. I will add all future photos of this project to this folder, such that it will have all of the images collected together, from start to finish. I will continue to add new posts with links to individual images, as I add them to the project. Still exploring ways to reinforce the structure, internally. I have not decided on any one method yet. The idea of gluing styrofoam ball sections to the inside plates is gaining appeal for its simplicity, and ease of application. I briefly considered gluing the triangles to a rubber/plastic ball, if I could find one the exact size I needed... Short-lived idea, as the ball would need to be within a few millimeters of the needed diameter -- virtually impossible to find. Really excited to complete the sphere structure so that I can seal and fill in the seams with Hot Glue, then attach the foam Continental Shelves, with the foam Continents atop them. I will spray paint the whole sphere blue; after that, I can begin painting the land masses. Still a long way to go before crossing the finish line, but it is a fun journey, thus far. Cheers!
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Post by sgtslag on Jan 5, 2023 14:33:12 GMT
Progress has been made. I realized that no matter how I attempted to reinforce the internal structure of the d20, it would be difficult, and it would provide little strength, in the end. So I abandoned that idea. I just Hot Glued the seams together. I tried to inject the Hot Glue into the seams, and it worked, for the most part. After it hardened, I took a new box cutter razor blade to it, to trim off the excess Hot Glue, sheering it as close as possible to the MDF surface. This is easier, and more effective, than trying to shape the Hot Glue with the hot tip of the gun. I discovered pockets of air, which will need to be filled in with more Hot Glue. The razor shaving, and peeling excess Hot Glue off with my fingernails, resulted in some rough patches, some torn MDF fuzzies. I will use some 400 grit sandpaper to smooth those patches out -- they would show very clearly, if left alone. On a previous terrain-making project, I learned that MDF soaks up spray paint like a sponge, leaving a very rough, uneven coating, which looks terrible, unless you apply 4-5 coats. The solution is to first seal it with wood sealer. This will make the paint stay on the surface of the MDF, rather than being absorbed into it, leaving a rough surface. Two coats of paint should do the job, after it is sealed. I cut out a generous Continental Shelf piece of foam to underlay the continent of Cegia, and the Isles of Bakretia. I learned that Continental Shelves vary -- a lot! On Earth, they run as narrow as 5 miles, to as wide as a few hundred miles! This is my fantasy world, so I went generously with them, as they will support aquatic races, and I wanted to give them plenty of space to live and roam: my Continental Shelves are around 200-300 miles in width from the continents. Until my next update... Cheers!
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Post by erho on Jan 5, 2023 21:51:21 GMT
Looking good Sarge!
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Post by skunkape on Jan 9, 2023 15:28:28 GMT
Looks great so far! Great progress.
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Post by sgtslag on Jan 9, 2023 22:11:02 GMT
I cut out foam underlays for the various Continental Shelves, along with foam cut-out's for each of the continents, and each of the larger islands for my game world: Link1, Link2, Link3. The foam Continental Shelves and Continents were all Hot Glued to the MDF d20 globe: solvent-based glues would never harden as the foam would prevent the solvents from evaporating; Hot Glue is easy to apply, and smooth out, minus the finger burns, of course. The Continental Shelves are overly generous, but I am OK with that. More than 90%+ of larger-than-plankton sea life exists within the first 200 feet of water. After you go beyond the Continental Shelf regions, the majority of plant and animal life, beyond plankton, drops off, severely. The regions beyond the Continental Shelves is commonly referred to as, The Abyss: the darkness, the lower water temperatures, and the high pressures, is hostile to most life forms. Since I want to eventually run an underwater campaign, with aquatic PC races, I needed large Continental Shelves to give me room to develop the undersea races. Not scientific, but fun, and I always err on the side of fun. I found a Blue, Ultra Matte, spray paint. I applied this over the entire Globe, as a means of priming it. The ultra matte paint will have sufficient texture for acrylic craft paints to stick to it. The majority of my game world planet is water, similar to Earth, so covering everything in the sea blue color, seemed appropriate: Link4, Link5, Link6. Next, I will paint the continents a combination of greens, browns, tans, etc. This will be the land mass colors, as seen in most real world globes. The paint does not hide nearly as much as I had hoped it would. I may need to take a sanding block to the globe, to smooth out the markings. That will be a lot of work: sand smooth, seal with Wood Sealer, paint. I wanted to try the Ultra Matte Blue Paint, first, to see how much it would hide... Decisions, decisions. I initially planned to print out paper labels, and stick them onto the globe's surfaces. I've decided to paint them on, instead. Well, I plan to try to paint them onto the globe... We shall see how well that goes! The paper labels are a good fall-back option, if my painting sucks diesel exhaust fumes. Cheers!
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Post by margaret on Jan 11, 2023 17:01:53 GMT
It's looking good! What about using the mailing labels that are clear film if you don't like your hand-painted efforts? The edges of the labels would be somewhat visible, but not as contrasty as paper labels. And the colors would show through around the letters. You can get the material as full letter-sized sheets, so you can trim to size around the printed names.
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Post by sgtslag on Jan 11, 2023 18:01:03 GMT
Did not know about those clear labels! I have a color laser printer that I can print them with. THANK YOU!!!
My wife was recently gifted with an older Cri-Cut: it only cuts letters, but of numerous fonts and sizes. I might explore cutting out the letters/names in craft foam, paint them white, then glue them onto the Globe. This project's scope keeps getting bigger, and bigger... Talk about Scope-Creep! Cheers!
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Post by margaret on Jan 12, 2023 17:52:57 GMT
Don't have a cri-cut myself, so this comment is just based on what I have seen others do. I know that you can get white vinyl for cri-cuts [as well as other colors], but the size of lettering that you need might be pretty fiddly.
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Post by sgtslag on Jan 31, 2023 17:26:57 GMT
No photo's, but I sanded it, quite a bit. Need to re-paint the blue. The sanding made an impressive difference, but I am not treating it like a repaint on an automobile -- it won't be perfectly smooth, just smoother than it was before I started.
I tried painting some brown's onto the continents, to see how it would cover the base blue coat... Not the best. I will likely use the extra Apple Barrel White Craft Paint I have left over from painting the four EPA foam mats for my G2: Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl project (also moving very slowly forward), to cover the blue, to make the continental paints show up better, as they came out rather dark, on top of the blue.
I am debating whether to use sculpting paste, from Michael's, to build up some surface textures (mountains). If I hang it, no issues with surface textures; if I set it on a shelf, for occasional viewing, the textures would be a liability, subject to cracking, coming off, every time it gets put down to rest on some textured terrain (plenty of textured terrain, on nearly every facet).
The texturing would make it super-appealing to look at, and it would be fun to do. I just have to weigh the pro's and the con's. I'll try to get more done, ASAP, including the blue re-paint, plus the white 'priming' of the continents, for the brown's and green's to follow. I will need to decide on the texture paste, first, though.
I have decided to cut out the letters for the names of the Oceans and land masses, using the CriCut, to make craft foam sheet letters. Still haven't begun to work on that, yet. I checked with the previous owner, and she said it will cut pretty small letters for me. I am thinking of painting the letters white, to make them stand out from the darker blue seas; not sure what color i will use on the brown and green land masses -- will cross that bridge when I reach it. Cheers!
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Post by sgtslag on Jun 20, 2023 14:04:47 GMT
Update:Photo1Painted the continents, first (mistake), then I painted the continental shelves with white Gesso, and then a light blue (should have done this first), to set them off from the oceanic abysses. Need to go back with a smaller brush and touch up the edges of the land masses with the light blue. After that, I need to apply another coat of the tan base color of the land masses, to be followed by greens and browns. Basically I will attempt to recreate the color palette used on most Earth globes commercially available -- it is what people are accustomed to, what is expected, and it looks good to my eye, as well. Photo2I made my 1st world map back in the Summer of 1983. At that time, this continent and island group, center of Photo2, were the entire world. Later on, I realized it was far too small, so I made it a continental-USA-sized land mass, and I added other continents around the rest of the globe. This region, Cegia and the Isles of Bakret, have been home to my campaigns since 1986. While it means nothing to you, it is quite special for me to see it on the globe. I will spend extra time on this land mass, to get it looking the way I want it to. From there, I will expand out to the remaining land masses, which have never really been mapped before. This project is taking me back to my Grade School days: my art/crafting skills are still at 6th Grade level, but my ambition and scope of projects, has expanded greatly. It isn't something to put on display at the County Fair Art Exhibit, but it's loads of fun for me, personally, as a DM since 1980, to see a childhood dream come to fruition. This globe project is also inspiring me to want to develop, map, and configure, the other parts of my game world. The group of large islands (upper left of Photo1), is known as Kees' Hand. I realize, in retrospect, that this would have been the better place to begin my campaigns: so much water, so many large islands, I could have made sea fairing a normal, everyday part of adventuring life; PC's could have had seaborn adventures routinely, even dipping below the waves, commonly. I would love to run an undersea campaign, using aquatic PC races, for something very different, very challenging for my players, and for me, as DM. Kees' Hand would have been idyllic for that purpose. Don't get me wrong, my players and I have traversed Cegia, and Bakretia time and again, and they are fairly well developed after 37 years, but I have the wander-lust growing inside of me, again... My hope is that I inspire others to build something for their game worlds. For that reason, I share it here. My players may never see the lands portrayed on this globe, but I see them, they inspire me, and that is all that really matters to me. They may inspire me to bring the PC's to new and foreign lands. Who knows, maybe I'll start up the next group of PC's in Kees' Hand. Maybe I will play out my dream of running a Council of Wyrms game, in the super-continent of Sauria (bottom of Photo1), where Dragons rule the lesser races, who quake in fear when their Dragon lords stir from their centuries of rest. LOL! More updates will follow, whenever. Cheers!
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Post by erho on Jun 28, 2023 19:52:22 GMT
Great job! Ive been thinking of doing a flat version but I just end up wanting to use Settlers of Catan hex terrain.
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