Need guidance putting 1-inch grid over terrain

[heliodorus]

I have made my first 'battleboard' for the Pathfinder roleplaying game, so I can have a 3-D surface.

Attached are pictures of the board, some terrain I built, which includes some hedges, and a 10"x10" (or so) 'watering hole/pond'. Oh, and trees made from woodland scenics trunks, with various types of 'leaf' based on a heavy linoleum tile (a great, cheap, textured base, btw).

The board itself is 24x25, 2-inch thick styrofoam (insulation), and it is mounted on a 3/4-inch plywood (for portability and protection).

I textured the surface, added black duct tape around all the styrofoam edging for protection, and then I used a primer, followed by a brush on green acrylic.

Overall, I'm happy with the results; I hope you agree it's a decent first attempt.

It's not quite done. I need to add a grid of 1-inch squares, since that's how the Pathfinder game functions.

Here is my problem/dilemma/need, with question. I've got no engineering background, so bear with me if I'm a dimwit in explanations.

I need the 1-inch squares drawn on. I used a T-bar ruler to pencil in lines.
I then bought some decent paint pens (0.7mm) and again using the T-bar, drew on lines (in off-white) until the pens reached the point of critical failure.
The felt-like tip of the pens failed, and while they were functioning, 90% of the lines they drew were clean, and 10% was bleeding well beyond .7mm. Now, I figure I can touch that up by hand, but the paint pens have both failed, and I think they're a poor tool for the job.

So what should I use to draw clean lines, easily visible on the green background?

I was also wondering if I should put a protectant on the surface before I draw the grid-lines onto the board, and on that count, I really have no idea how to protect this surface. For miniatures I would use a matt varnish spray paint, but is that sufficient here? I should emphasize that I know the surface will take damage, and I'm capable of repairing it. It's not a sacred artifact, it's going to be a functional gaming table.

Other random notes:
I went with a white paint pen because I thought a dark color like black or brown would make the play surface too dark. I wanted a beige, but I couldn't find one.
I went with an acrylic pen; there are also oil pens - I've never used oil before. If that's a better option, let me know, but I'm hoping there's yet an easier way.
The pencil lines are almost enough, actually, but they're not attractive, and they're really feint.
I'm thinking of going with a sharpie pen. Maybe just thin black.

Other other random notes:
The main surface is painted in one color. I had not planned on adding a highlight. Should I add a two-toned highlight? The trees and the watering hole are all mutli-highlighted and colored. I kind of thought that was fine for the specific terrain and a one-toned board is okay. Maybe I should put a little more time into it with a highlight. Would it help it feel more like real terrain?

Thanks

 

[Stewsayer]

Hi,

I'd say its definitely worth sealing with a matte varnish. Esp. if you decide to go back to paint or paint pen lines. Sounds like the texture on the surface is messing with the pen tips. Maybe some water colour pencils would do a better job of the lines and you could then do them in the beige you were after to begin with. These would need to be sealed over afterward if you want the lines to last.

Nice looking table BTW.

 

[heliodorus]

Thanks for the compliment. Means the world to me!

While my wife is looking for where she keeps her water-color pencils, I wonder if crayon would be an awful look... The nice thing is I can cover up any errors and try again.
Thanks for the tip, man, I'm going to try that today.

Does it matter whether I use a brush-on varnish or a spray paint (like those I use for miniatures)?

 

[heliodorus]

Thank god for test patches.
The spray finish (Krylon Matte) eats at my styrofoam.

If anyone has a suggestion on a product to use as a finish, please let me know asap!
Polyeurethane?

 

[Stewsayer]

With matte spray from a can I'd guess that the propellant in the mix is the culprit at eating the foam. If you have an airbrush you could try a matte finish from the Vallejo Model Air range on a test piece. Otherwise I'd suggest going with brush on stuff.

 

[heliodorus]

It's Done

Attached you will find pictures of the completed, Pathfinder-legal table featuring 1-inch grid lines.
Whoever told me a watercolor pen, thank you. It was cheap and easy, although if anyone is interested, I found that the varnish over ink made the ink run, but the ink over the varnish was fine, and it made the grid lines much easier to apply.

So this board has been modified from the original as follows:

I experimented with drybrushing a few various colors into the base green. Ultimately I found a green/brown mottle looked quite nice. I probably did 3 coats of paints that I hated to reach this point (I laughed several times at the thought of buying individual Games Workshop paint pots for this work, as instructed by the GW book from which I've learned my techniques.) I'm using a Martha Stuart acrylic bought at Michaels for the dry-brush. Very pleased with it.

Following this, I did two coats of a gloss varnish, of some brand I can't name. It's an old bottle bought from a craft store - probably 6 years old or more, and it worked fine. Brush on (remember that I tried a test spray varnish and it ate the styrofoam).

Then after those coats dried, I applied the grid lines using a watercolor pen. I went with a brown, because dark was necessary to see it. I let that set for a bit, and then I applied a light coat of mod podge, which is a stuff people use on jigsaw puzzles to protect them and glue them together so they can be framed or displayed or such. I needed that basically because the varnish was gloss.

Finally, I attached some felt pads to the underside of the plywood (which also achieved the effect of balancing it from a slight warp when on a tabletop), and I painted the exposed plywood (i.e., everhthing but the underside) an aqua color that we had lying around the house. Then I replaced the tape that had been on it originally with new tape, because the old stuff had been painted to death. Okay, then I was done

I still have to redo my water pond and trees to get them to conform to the 1-inch grid requirement, and I have to build a small stream that is precisely 2-inches across while running at a diagonal to the grid! But I'll figure those out.

I have had a ton of fun doing this.

Hope you like it.