The Book of Shipping Containers Terrain Tutorial

[A3n]

TThe Book of Shipping Containers Terrain Tutorial

Download the PDF

-Supplies Needed-

• PDF of desired size container/s
• Foam Core
• Cardstock (gloss will give the best results)
• Sharp Knife
• Elmers School Glue Stick
• Elmers School Glue
• Sharpie (coloured the same as the container you have printed or black if colour isn't available)
• Ruler (steel works the best)
• Pencil
• 2x Matchsticks 3.2mm long
• 2x Matchsticks cut in half
• Good cutting surface

-Tutorial-

1. Download one of the above PDFs & open it.
2. From the Layers palette choose the desired colour for your container by clicking in the small square to the left of the colour name. Turn on/off the desired C3G logo and if you wish turn on the "Weathered Effect" layer.
   
3. Print on cardstock.
4. Trim the edges leaving about a 5mm border.
   
5. Cover the back of the printed cardstock with the glue stick & stick onto the foamcore.
   
6. Cut all the pieces out with a sharp knife (always ensure the knife is sharp & be careful) using the ruler as a guide. The ruler should be placed on the printed part to protect it from any mis-cuts.
   
7. To ensure the container is square & the side of the foamcore is showing we need to notch the 2 sides & both ends. (The top has the HS hex pattern, the bottom has the white centre, one end has the door handles, the other end is the same size, & the remaining 2 pieces are the sides.)

   • At both ends of the side & ends, make a mark the width of the foamcore in from the bottom & the top.
     
   • Rule a line along top & bottoms joining the 2 marks.
   • Cut down to the cardboard part of the foamcore without going through it.
   • There are 3 methods for removing the notch:
     1. Slice carefully between the foam & cardboard of the foamcore (neat finish that adds an extra layer of strength over option 3).
        
     2. Using the knife kind of just flick the notch outwards a bit at a time (my prefered method).
        
     3. As per Grishnakh's GCT buildings instructions, peal back the cardstock & cut all the way through the foamcore (less room for error but does give the neatest finish).
   • Notch the sides of both ends also (the ends should be notched on all 4 sides.

   
8. Using the point of the knife cut out the 4 white squares on the top & bottom pieces. You only have to cut through the cardstock & the top cardboard layer of the foamcore.
9. Run your Sharpie along all the edges of all the pieces. Do this from the under side of the piece to avoid any slips marking the finished product. (This step, although not necessary for the build gives the piece a more finished appearance.)
   
10. Using the School Glue, put glue on the bottom notches of both sides & stick them to the bottom piece.
    
11. Without gluing it, place the top piece on & put some elastic bands around the container to hold it all in place for about 5 minutes.
    
12. Carefully remove the elastic bands glue the top piece on & re-apply the elastic bands.
13. After allowing at least 5 more minutes for the glue to start setting, glue the ends on. (I then turn the container up on its end & put a weight on it to help it dry in place.)
14. Colour one end (about 5 mm) of each of the half sized matchsticks using your Sharpie.
15. When the glue has dried. Push one matchstick half-way down into each of the 4 holes on the top of the container & remove the matchstick afterwards.
16. Squeeze a bit of the School glue into each of the holes on the top.
17. Push the half-sized matchsticks into the holes (non coloured ends in first) so that only 3-4mm is left showing.
18. Glue the 3.2mm matchsticks to the bottom as indicated with the School Glue.
19. Wait for the glue to dry then add them to your maps. Have Fun!

NOTES:

1. A big thanks to Good Pig who assisted with the weathered look & the "tagged" C3G logos.

[A3n]

More pics still to come (I have an issue with my memory card at the moment which I was waiting to fix & get ya all the photos at once, but I had a bit of time now & you never know how far away that next time is). Plus 30ft & 8ft containers PDF.

[Hahma]

Well look at you mister man and your badass shipping containers. Nicely done sir

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to A3n again.

[tcglkn]

Looks good. I wanna make some now.

[Griffin]

The C3G logo is a nice touch. Good work.

[SirGalahad]

[Good Pig]

Looks awesome A3n Can't wait to build a map with these incorporated into them.

Now are you going to make them destructible objects?

[Griffin]

I see them as non-destructible terrain myself.

[Hahma]

Originally Posted by Griffin

I see them as non-destructible terrain myself.

I agree with Griff, geez I seem to be doing that a lot lately These look to be huge and would be a pain to figure for throwing/placing by Storm/Magneto II. I think they could be good LOS blockers and also give height advantage to figures on top of them.

[tcglkn]

Well just because we make them DOs doesn't make them throwable, we just don't give them a size designation. I think it'd be cool to have them be DOs that placed one random Equipment Glyph when they were destroyed.

[Hahma]

Hmmm... I didn't think about that Tickle. Good idea!

[Griffin]

Originally Posted by tcglkn

Well just because we make them DOs doesn't make them throwable, we just don't give them a size designation. I think it'd be cool to have them be DOs that placed one random Equipment Glyph when they were destroyed.

I have a treasure chest for my underwater set that does that. I feel that that theme works best there rather than here to be honest.

I must say, the designer in me wants to create cool powers for everything, however, the veteran in me recognizes that simplicity and what is considered to be "boring" at times, is occasionally a good idea. In this case, having some simple terrain that gives flavor to the map and is interactable with figures for line of sight and climbing, offers us something we haven't even attempted to do yet. Think of the RotV ruins or the RttFF bridge walls. They are some of the best and commonly used terrain, and that says a lot IMO.

However, I am flexible on this issue, I thought it was just good to express my thoughts a bit more.

Is A3n subscribed to this thread?

Hahma, it is nice to have a like-minded ally, even if it is likely temporary.