Using Kickstarter to launch a terrain company

[tabletop]

http://www.advancedterrain.com/

Shit?! Why didn't we think of that? Reckon we could get Kickstarted funding for a Flames of War product line?

[Dustan]

This had crossed my mind some many moons ago, being that I am of the right Ethnic makeup to get all sorts of grants and loans. The only two problems were time and production of quality masters.

Whilst there is a niche for 15mm terrain I feel there is probably a bigger market for 28-32mm. FoW asside I dare say most 15mm gamers having been doing it for years and have already amased a huge collection of appropriately scaled terrain.

[tabletop]

This is evidently the case! So, what should we sculpt and how should we cast it?

[Dustan]

Well the what is certainly open for more discussion as is I guess the how.

With what in mind getting a base line of system non specific terrain is the best idea, boring old walls, ruins emplacements and the like. finding a way to make nice trees would be a winner as well. Everyone needs the basics and most of them can be made to suit a range of scales.

That yellow mould they had was quite interesting, it looked like a mould for making moulds =D For the how, I reckon a winner would be using the expanded foam like what your affrica table houses are made of. I am pretty sure topmark have it or something like it.

RFoam100  Rigid Polyfoam
http://www.topmark.co.nz/articlelive/articles/24/1/Urethane-Foam/Full-View.html

U-F-RFOAM100-VT Urethane-Foam Rigid 100 500gm $ 42.00
U-F-RFOAM100-T Urethane-Foam Rigid100 1kg $ 63.00
U-F-RFOAM100-S Urethane-Foam Rigid100 2kg $ 105.00

Mostly as it reduces postage costs (always an atractive thing) plus it is tack free in and ready to demound in about 5 minutes.

It expands 8-10 times it size and certainly looks the part. What I dont know though is how much presure it will excert on a flexable mould and if it would cause deformation because of said pressure. Which could likely be sorted with thicker moulds or more ridgid RTV which means more cost or shallower detail respectively

[tabletop]

Interesting find. I've never grubbed around TopMark's entire product line myself but that is intriguing.

I've often wondered how those 28mm scale houses were molded to be honest. They look like a one sided pit mold but the pit would be hugely deep so you'd have to pack the centre with something so you didn't use all your molding material up...but then how do you pour the mold?!

[Dustan]

The material expands 8-10 times its volume so a building that is 10cm cubed should have a volume of approx 1 litre which only requires approx 100 - 120ml of material. Assuming its is as dense as water the 2kg bag would yeld 16 to 20 such buildings which means the cost of materials for casting each on is between $5 and $7.5 plus say 5 minutes work at $60 an hour means at worst a cost of $12.50 to make each building. Sell them for $25 a pop minimum.

You could make moulds and suspend a non reactive filler in it but then you got cost of filler added to it and it has to cost less than a $1 to $3 to be worth it.

[tabletop]

Yeah see that's the thing I find depressing about today's war gamer. They don't WANT to BUILD anything, they just want to unbox the painted terrain and dice. I mean there's obviously a market there but where's the love? I guess we're dinosaurs Dustan, actually MAKING and painting terrain (albeit sporadically) and war gaming tables.

Man I'd love to try that expanding foam. Might have to pick up a cheap kit just to play with. I imagine it would exert reasonable pressure on the mold but only if it didn't have an escape point surely? You could just build a rigid box and make your molds in that so they're all a standard size?

[Dustan]

I'd say your pit mould will be less susceptable to the presure from the expansion. I do wonder though, how well it will expand down. I guess if you make sure all the surfaces are coated you will be right but the quick work time will take some getting used to I would imagine

[tabletop]

Might try mastering a little 15mm bunker or something with a lid, just to try casting something similar in shape to those 28mm scale houses with removable roofs.