The punchline of this is that I'm going to recommend you have a go at following what the guys at WWG intended with the Terrainlinx stuff - it pays off in the long run. There are some shortcuts you can follow, though, so you don't stray too far off the reservation.

The idea behind Terrainlinx (TLX) is that it's modular, so it stores nice and flat, and you can rearrange the pieces into all sorts of designs. The foamcore is used not only as the base of the tiles, but also as the "tabs" that connect the tiles together. Without this, things aren't nearly as sturdy. Even if it were just laying tiles side-by-side without the tabs, the foamcore bases sure keep the tile positions from getting skewed during use.

You can go the "speed mount" route, and take a large foamcore base and glue the tops of multiple tiles to it. You lose some modularity, but you save time in initial construction. Search the forum - people have good tips on how they've done this. Here's a good post with pictures:



I think in the long run, the results of not having a sturdy base of some kind will make the product feel disappointing. If you only want to ever have a single building, the non-TLX Thoumont's might be more suitable. But what you can do with the TLX system is really, really fun.



My first set was the Dwarven dungeon set, and I started small - built a couple tiles and walls, and got the hang of cutting things. It doesn't take much to be able to put together encounters, then you can add a tile or two, or some walls, and just extend what you're capable of building.

I hope you have fun experimenting, and be aware that everyone in the forum loves pictures. Lots of pictures.

Gaa! Where are my manners... I almost forgot...


WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!

Welcome to the forums and I hope you enjoy your stay. I would suggest looking at the speed-building option. It leaves you with the much of the same options and cuts down on build time. Whatever you decide, I hope you post pics for us to see. That is we best part.

Sweet, thanks for such a quick response. Going to have a good look at the links posted and then prob have to go and buy foamcore

Whatever i manage to do, I'll post pics!

Welcome to the forums!

I don't know where you live, but if you live in the USA and are near a "Dollar Tree" (one of those "everything's just a buck" stores) they sell foam core for...you guessed it...a buck. I'm sure its not top o' the line, or anything, and I'm going to keep a close eye out for warping, but its a pretty cheap way to get into the hobby.

I will add (as someone fairly new to the hobby myself) that its really easy to feel overwhelmed when purusing the files. I felt like I had to build absolutely everything, and didn't know where to begin. Not to mention some stuff looked a litle tricky. That said, I offer the following nuggets of advice:

1. Work towards a specific, tiny goal. For example, make a small one-story house first. That's a floor tile, 8 anchors, 4 posts, 4 walls, and the roof (which consists of another 6X6 tile, 2 end trusses (print two of either page 4, 5, or 6 in the "end trusses" pdf file) and 2 roof panels to slot into the trusses (I believe I used the "High Big Roofs", one of each page in that pdf).

This is only an example, of course. You can make your first project even less intimidating, if you wish. Say, making a 3 X 3 big square composed of nine 6" tiles, and using the foam connectors to get a feel for how it all goes together. The sense of accomplishment you feel from actually FINISHING something, as opposed to having just assembled a bunch of random elements, will give you the motivation to plow through an intimidating-looking stack of cardstock.

2. Don't worry about feeling "thick". A lot of this stuff (like trusses, for example) seem really difficult when you're looking at them on the page. Its hard to wrap your brain around the geometry that is going to transform this flat piece of paper into the thing you saw in the pictures. It is OFTEN much simpler than it appears, and I have stressed myself out over certain things (like balconies) only to smack myself on the forhead when I realized it was actually really simple, and I was just trying to make it more complicated that it really was. Trust the designers, they know what they're doing, and have really tried to make these things easy to build.

3. Edge your models. No, seriously. Do it. Its a small thing that makes a really big difference. A basic black sharpie marker works fine (though its a bit smelly!) but for most of my wooden floors in Thoumont's, I use a brown "Bic Mark-It" permanent marker I got at Staples, 5 for $5. But really, even black is fine and makes a huge impact on your finished work.

4. Finally, keep asking questions here on the forums. There are lots of really great people here that love to help out people new to the hobby. Its probably just the perverse sense of satisfaction of knowing we did our evil best to help yet another person become addicted to the hobby. Wait, was that too honest? Perhaps it was too soon....