Increasingly Fragile Terrain

[chas]

Over the last few years I've lost some terrain pieces, usually during disassembling maps or occasionally to putting some pressure on stored pieces. So far these have mostly, although not exculsively, been clear water hexes. Recently a pal and I had an unusually difficult time trying to take some terrain apart. I know others have had problems as well.

I'm wondering if anyone has found any kind of lubricant that would help. Oil and DW40 are for use on metal, and I imagine would melt the plastic. Has anyone found anything that works?

Castle pieces have always been difficult to take apart; I've got some walls that are so tight that I can't take them apart from another piece at all! I've even used a hammer on some occasionally--which either works or it doesn't with a medium tap.

All suggestions are welcome.

Most of my terrain is old, since I've been playing since the beginning. And of course it hasn't been made in years. Renegade replacements might eventually be one answer. Originally I only planned to get things that were different from what we have already. And I have enough stuff that breakage hasn't threatened yet to implact our map building. But I'm starting to cringe when a fellow Scaper proposes to use a complex map for one of our custom scenarios we play each month!

[itsbuzzi]

For my castle pieces specifically I found that problem and my solution was to put the joint on the end of a table, a nice sturdy table, and really push down on the castle wall piece hanging off. I don't weigh much but I really push down on the wall. The force pushing back on the wall on the table as well as the force I'm exerting on the wall hanging off the edge is usually enough to get them loose because the forces work in opposite directions. I go for more constant applied force instead of the more impulse-related force like a hammer.

Physics.

[ryguy266]

Originally Posted by chas

Oil and DW40 are for use on metal, and I imagine would melt the plastic. Has anyone found anything that works?

WD-40 is safe for plastic. This is actually what I've applied to all my castle pieces. I took a paper towel and sprayed a marginal amount of WD-40 onto the paper towel. Then I wiped down each of the connection. One or two paper towels was enough to do the trick. Less is more! You don't want the smell to be overpowering, and it takes so very little to be effective. Since I did this to my collection two years ago, I haven't had any problems. They slide in and out super easily, and I haven't had to reapply. I would highly recommend this as opposed to the "put all my weight on a pair of pieces and hope they slide out" method as mentioned above. I have cracked an interconnect or two doing this.

I imagine that for certain frustrating pieces (I have some 7-hexers that are problematic) a small dab with the paper towel around the outside would help with those as well.

[chas]

Thanks for the tip on the WD40. The leaning method might work, but those of us old enough to be battling arthritis can't put much pressure on anything! (I wasn't going to mention that).

[Taeblewalker]

Originally Posted by ryguy266

WD-40 is safe for plastic. This is actually what I've applied to all my castle pieces. I took a paper towel and sprayed a marginal amount of WD-40 onto the paper towel. Then I wiped down each of the connection. One or two paper towels was enough to do the trick. Less is more! You don't want the smell to be overpowering, and it takes so very little to be effective. Since I did this to my collection two years ago, I haven't had any problems. They slide in and out super easily, and I haven't had to reapply. I would highly recommend this as opposed to the "put all my weight on a pair of pieces and hope they slide out" method as mentioned above. I have cracked an interconnect or two doing this.

I imagine that for certain frustrating pieces (I have some 7-hexers that are problematic) a small dab with the paper towel around the outside would help with those as well.

Thanks for sharing!

[GaryLASQ]

Originally Posted by itsbuzzi

For my castle pieces specifically I found that problem and my solution was to put the joint on the end of a table, a nice sturdy table, and really push down on the castle wall piece hanging off.

This is exactly what I've been doing for stubborn wall sections. Works great if done carefully.

[Retlaw]

The GenCon/ScapeCon terrain is starting to show its age. We lose a few water tiles each year (these are the solid blue tiles), the last two years have lost one 24 hex each year, and one of the 7 hex lava tiles has a small piece missing (still usable though). I'm sure we've lost some 1 hex also, but I haven't kept track of those.

If any of you are in the Indianapolis area and would like to spend a few days with WD40 and tubs of terrain, let me know.

[chas]

Uh-oh! Someone on BGG says that WD-40 makes the terrain brittle over time, and is not safe to use. He says there are special lubricants for plastic.

Has anyone else used WD40 on their stuff years ago and found it safe over time?

[Bonesaw]

I have what I would describe as an immense collection of Heroscape figs and terrain, including some custom stuff. I have about ten large boxes filled with the stuff. It was all out and had been played with almost continuously for ten years prior. At that time, I was noticing the brittleness setting in, especially as mentioned here with the sparkly water tiles more than anything.

That was about four years ago. I had to pack everything up and move due to a divorce into a home that does not accommodate the large-scale battles that I was running in the past. So my HS collection has been in boxes under some stairs ever since. The plan has always been to get a larger place and make a glorious return to the epic, large scale battles, this time with my three young boys.

Now though I am becoming increasingly worried about the durability and am starting to wonder if it would make sense to sell off the whole thing while the product is not synonymous with brittleness and is still selling well on eBay. I am pretty sure I could probably get between six and 8 thousand dollars based on what I am seeing on eBay. It really stings because I love the game and would love to play with my kids someday, but this durability concern isn't going to get better- only worse.

[Tai-Pan]

Originally Posted by GaryLASQ

This is exactly what I've been doing for stubborn wall sections. Works great if done carefully.

For Christmas, I received a wooden mechanical card case that used wax to lubricate moving parts. As I was building a castle over Christmas, I thought I would try it out, and it worked great!

Just take a candle and rub down the "female" grooves on the walls before putting them together - 1-2 passes is enough.

[Sir Dendrik]

Am I the only one who snaps the castle walls off sideways? Never had a problem getting them apart that way, and they have never broken.

[Hogg]

I use sewing machine oil for the joints on my action figures, it would probably be fine for HS terrain.