I sent out an email yesterday inquiring about custom hexagonal bases but haven't yet received a reply. I've also tried sending a message to the facebook group to no avail as well. So will Minibits do any size? I need ones that are 77mm flat to flat. It'd be perfect if I could get them in 4mm thickness, otherwise I could just buy twice as much and glue them together or something, no idea how that would turn out at all >.< I'm using them to expand my 15th anniversary Catan set which uses 4mm mdf. They never released any expansions for it nor does it seem likely they will. I've been on a wild goose chase the past couple of days searching from site to site for someone that might be able to help me with this, but most don't do custom sizes or they have the wrong material/thickness/size. Couldn't find the material locally either to attempt it myself, but I doubt I'd be able to cut them correctly.
Can Minibits solve my dilemma?
Hey Finz!
Just wanted to let you know the owner of minibits is 'out' this week because he is sick, so maybe his reply might take a bit longer.
http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,6622.0.html
Cheers
Peter
Ah, thanks Peter. Never would have seen that. Well, I can be patient, no problem. Hope you feel better soon Leon!
No problemo ;)
I do think he can make customs as far as i know, but i don't know how precise, so keep your fingers crossed :P
I did ask about this one, and he can do it. I was asking to make some custom bases for DBA forests.
Any idea of what the best way to get graphics on top of them would be? The art isn't even online that I'm aware of, so I have to either scan it in or take a picture of it and then print them off onto sticker paper in the correct size and cut them out. I wonder how it's actually done :-\
Scan, print on stickers and cut to size is probably your best option - getting the edges neat may be tricky.
I don't know if you can print a large sheet of stickers, get that stuck to the MDF then cut the hexes - again getting everything aligned may proved tricky - and the heat of the laser might be a problem - the edges of the MDF come out a very dark brown.
Make the image 2mm smaller than the actual hex. Paint the MDF hex black (or other color). Print on thick paper (matte photo paper?), cut to size. Use spray mount that allows you to relocate your paper. After you get in on the right position, spray with matte sealant.
Still waiting to hear back from Leon about getting the actual hexes (hopefully soon) but that's an interesting idea with just using thicker paper, gluing and sealing it. I don't need to paint the hexes as the existing ones are unpainted mdf as well. The art sort of has a natural border on it, unless printing it 2mm smaller is just for wiggle room. If it is hanging off the edge a tag I think an Xacto would trim it to a nice edge. Thanks for the ideas.
I' say, he may do the contrary :
Print 2-4 mm larger.
Glue.
Then turn the base up side down.
Cut with X-acto.
Et voilà , clean edges.
With the other technique, it will prove to be hard to center the print on the base.
I did it that way back then. But too much slips so I use the new way.
@Finz: The mdf hexes will have burn mark (from... you know... LAYZ-er). They will be blackened at the edge.
Alright Sevej, so what do you suggest? What's the "new way"?
As I suggested above, smaller image for wiggle room.
(forgot to mention if you make larger image it can potentially cause "off-center" images, except if you get an image designed with bleed--excess image field intended to compensate little inaccuracies of machine cutting)
The need of bleed is obvious. :)
I suppose you could say it's designed with bleed; each hex has a bit of a "border" around the outside that is designed for roads to be placed on top without obstructing the image. So I believe printing it a tad larger, adhering, and trimming it upside-down with a blade is the best way to go.
@Sevej And even if the edges are blackened I'm fine with it. The majority of the hex will match the others. Otherwise I'd end up painting all 80 of them >.<
The only other problem is thickness. The new ones will be 3mm bases while the current are 4mm. This was the fastest and easiest option for Leon and I both, but I'm wondering if I could just print on a thicker material. That way it would compensate for that extra .5-1mm. Not sure what the best option is. Card-stock? Ideas?
Yeah card stock could work, and otherwise some 1 mm Thick plasticard? You can get it cheapisch on ebay.
Can you print onto plasticard with, say, a laser printer or would you have to glue paper to the plasticard?
Well I've gathered the supplies and here is my first attempt. Unfortunately I'm not very happy with it. The re-positionable spray adhesive was closer to a gel than anything else (I used Loctite). It was quite messy for something this size and it didn't want to hold very well at first which is expected. I went over the piece with the matte sealant (Mod Podge) and came back later, you can see in the picture it looks to have almost bled through. Upon writing this I find that that part can be scratched off (akin to dry skin I suppose). As you can see it doesn't quite match it's original as closely as I had hoped. I'll have to make the image a bit darker, all of the ones other than this water one match better. So I should probably switch to a glossy sealant(no idea which though), but should I also switch from matte to glossy photo paper?
As for the spray, use the red 3M. Permanent.
Spray the paper (in a box) not too close. Wait 1 minute. Glue.
Don't try to varnish, it will cause some parts to become transparent.
Use a good paper.
So use 3M for the glue? Repositionable? Super 77? Something else?
So don't try to seal it, but won't it wear out eventually, get wear and tear, etc?
And what constitutes good paper? I just took my photos to a service that would get me 4x6 matter photo paper prints.
3M : The RED one. Photo mount. Costs (a lot) but this is good stuff. (used in graphic design)
Good paper is coated and at least 180. You may have to look for heavier, but cost rises. I'd use an online printer if I were you.
For the colors, you won't be able to have the right color except by try and error. (common problem on the graphic chain of production)
For the seal, I'd try those for art, in spray, but with the first sprays really really light : You don't want to wet the paper. Let dry between any applications. You'll have to do it a lot : 7 or 8 times. Last applications can be heavier. The main problem, is where the paper is cut, the seal will enter there.
Alright so I believe Super 77 is the "Red" one.
I'm not sure what the 180 is you're referring to. I've heard of coated paper but all I have is an ink jet printer, would that suffice? I don't have 2 weeks to send a job out to an online printer, unless you were referring to a place to order the paper. Printing at home would also be easier for trial and error.
So glossy seal it is then, will make them shiny like the other pieces.
The 180 is the paper density in grams/m2. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_density
Standard paper for copiers/printing is usually 80 gm/m2
Yeah. 180 gr. But 240 is better.
Usually, online print arrives in 3-4 days.
This is the spray you're looking for.
(http://www.distriver52.com/catalog/images/Image/3m_photo_mount.jpg)
Do you have a service you could recommend? It gets rid of the trial and error test for color, but it's close enough for me.