So, you have drawn your CCD masterpiece, or simply opened one of the example drawings and wish to construct the model described therein. What now? How do you make sure the printed model suits the miniatures you are using? What should the model be printed on to make sure it does not collapse the first time an ogre steps onto it? Take heart - these questions are about to be answered.
There are several standard scales used for role-playing and wargaming miniatures, which determine two characteristics: the rough height of a miniature depicting a normal human being; and the ground scale used when utilizing such miniatures in play.
The rough height of a standard miniature is directly determined by that miniature’s scale, in that (for example) a 25mm scale figure depicting a normal human being will roughly stand 25mm tall. Although there is a difference between individual companies as to the calculation of a miniature’s height (some take it as the overall standard figure height; some measure to the miniature’s eye-level, etc.), the "scale = height" provides a reasonable rule of thumb.
The relationship between miniature scale and ground scale is largely down to the specific game being played. For most role-playing games, where an individual miniature represents a single character, the scale of the miniature determines a ground distance of 5 feet Imperial, or two meters metric. It is often the case that the nearest manageable Imperial unit to the miniature’s scale is used as representing 5 feet ground distance, such that (for example) a 25mm miniature scale heralds a 1 inch to 5 feet ground scale. Certain games condense ground scales for miniature use in outdoor settings - Traveller®, for instance, suggests a 2 meter grid for indoor play, and a 10 meter grid for outdoor play. Similarly, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® suggests a 5’ grid for indoor play, and a 5 yard (15’) grid for outdoor play. Basically, this condensing allows the depiction of the larger fields of combat available within outdoor settings, without requiring huge amounts of floor or table space, whilst retaining the tactical picture miniature use provides. To provide an example, a 4’×2’ table, using a scale of 1"=5’, could depict an area up to 240’×120’. At 1"=5 yards, the available ground area that may be depicted on the same table becomes 720’×360’
Wargames offer slightly different ground scaling options. Since most wargames make use of men-to-miniature ratios (usually one miniature is representative of ten individuals, but this scale may be different depending on game system used, and the total number of combatants involved), ground scale can likewise be adjusted to suit. Drawing example from TSR’s BattleSystem™ wargame, at 25mm miniature scale one inch is taken to represent 10 yards - our 4’×2’ table can thus show an area equal to 1,400’×720’. At 15mm miniature scale, where 9/16" represent 10 yards under this system, our table can show an area of 2,560’×1,280’. By adjusting men-to-miniature ratios, selecting a reasonable miniature scale, and deriving a logical ground scale, any battlefield may be represented by the space available for play. To give a rough idea of the import of such selections, the battle of Agincourt took place over an area of roughly 1,700×2,050 yards, and involved around 40,000 individual combatants. To show this battle using a scale of 1"=10 yards, at a men-to-miniature ratio of 10:1, you would require 4,000 miniatures, and a playing area 14’×17’. By adjusting the miniature and ground scales, and men-to-miniature ratio, the battle would become much easier to represent, and a lot more manageable for game play.
The following summarizes common miniature scales, ground scales for 1:1 men-to-miniature ratios, and CC3 print scale options to achieve correctly scaled counters, CC-Dioramas output, and elevation view character representations. In all cases, miniature scale is representative of 6’ in elevation.
|
Miniature Scale |
Ground Scale (5’ distances) |
Counter/CC-Dioramas |
Character Elevations | ||
|
Paper Distance |
Drawing Distance |
Paper Distance |
Drawing Distance | ||
|
3mm* |
1/8" |
1 |
480 |
1 |
576 |
|
6mm* |
1/4" |
1 |
240 |
1 |
288 |
|
15mm |
9/16" |
1 |
106.667 |
1 |
128 |
|
20mm |
13/16" |
1 |
73.846 |
1 |
88.615 |
|
25mm |
1" |
1 |
60 |
1 |
72 |
|
28mm |
11/16" |
1 |
56.47 |
1 |
67.765 |
|
30mm |
13/16" |
1 |
50.526 |
1 |
60.632 |
* These scales are usually only used when depicting large scale battles on small play areas. Although CC3 possesses the capability to print counters, characters, and diorama pieces at these scales, you may find resultant outputs difficult to use effectively.
For those wishing the ability to produce inexpensive, customized cardboard counters and miniatures, ProFantasy provide Character Artist - an add-on for CC3 consisting of over 7,000 symbols allowing quick and easy production of an almost infinite variety of character portraits and gaming counters
Before you begin to assemble your CCD models, you will need certain tools in order to facilitate your efforts. A wise adage to heed states that the ease of a task is directly related to the tools used: loosen a bolt with a hammer, and expect the worst!
A steel rule
A sharp scalpel
A thick, sturdy piece of card, or a cutting board
Paperclips
The "right kind" of glue
For those poised with scissors and that Perspex rule left over from your school days, some explanation may be necessary:
Simply because scalpels find it harder to cut through steel than they do through wood or Perspex. Using a steel rule as a cutting guide will ensure your cuts are straight and accurate, rather than irregular and embedded with ruler-shavings.
The two most common cutting devices - guillotines and scissors - possess two blades, off-set from each other. They cut via a combination of their sharp edges, and the interaction between the two blades. Thus, the cuts they make are not as accurate as would be desired, and they tend to bend the paper as they cut.
By using a scalpel, you can ensure accuracy by cutting in one, smooth motion along the edge of your steel rule. Because scalpels have but one blade, and the manner in which they cut is entirely down to their sharp edge, the inherent problems shown with scissors and guillotines are negated.
Warning: Scalpels that are capable of cutting through card are also quite capable of cutting through you, too. Always take care when using scalpels, and never cut towards any part of your body. If you are the slightest bit unsure as to your ability to use a scalpel, swallow your pride and ask a parent, guardian, or responsible friend to do the cutting for you, or to supervise your own cutting activities.
Always place your scalpel in a safe place, with the blade’s guard in place, when not using the tool.
Scalpels are not toys. They can be dangerous if used irresponsibly.
Basically, because your partner or parent would not thank you for leaving scalpel cut marks on their dining table. Remember, when you are cutting things, the scalpel must cut through the paper. It is also desirable to use a cutting board because they are designed to possess a certain amount of give - your cuts will be more accurate if you can cut into whatever you are resting your CCD print-out upon.
Fairly thick card works well as a substitute cutting board. All you need to remember is that the cutting surface needs to be as flat as possible - if you are disassembling a box to produce a cutting board, use a single panel of the box. Do not create your cutting board across a corner fold-line.
Virtually anything you find use for them. They can be used to hold your drawing still whilst cutting it, to "peg up" cut-out parts to avoid losing them, and to hold glued parts together while the glue dries.
When using paperclips on your model, try and use as large a clip as possible, and open the clip out a little before use. Basically, you need to engineer the clip to provide as loose a grip as is necessary to effectively meet its purpose. Too tight, and the clip may bend, distort, or otherwise mar your model.
The "right kind" of glue varies, depending on the purpose you wish to set your model to. Some glues provide stronger bonds than others. Some glues provide bonds that last longer than others. Other glues simply do not stick cardboard at all.
So what is best? Well, through trial, tribulation, and decades of research, here are some glue-related pros and cons:
Stick glue (the solid stuff that comes in a wind-up, wind-down "lipstick" holder) provides one of the quickest bonding times. However, you do need to make sure it is dry before applying weight to your model (about an hour should do). Stick glue also becomes brittle over time, so it should not be used if you wish some kind of permanence to your models.
Mounting glue (the stuff that comes in spray-cans) provides a very quick fix. It also has the advantage of allowing you to re-position glued panels several times, with a relatively low loss of sticking power. However, it does not provide much in the way of strength, nor does it provide permanent bonds.
Brown glue (such as Gloy) is quite effective for producing strong, permanent bonds. However, since such glues are usually water-based, glue should be applied conservatively to avoid turning your model into paper maché.
PVC, or white, glue provides the best bonds as far as strength and permanence. Since it is not water-based, it also avoids the problem of risking soggy models. On the down side, PVC glue does tend to take some time to dry properly - it is advisable to leave a model to dry for at least a day before using it.
Polystyrene and other "thin" glues are the ones normally used for quick household repairs, and those used to assemble plastic model kits. These glues should not be used for cardboard construction, since they tend to soak into the card itself (leaving very little on the surface of the card to actually stick anything to), and become quite brittle when dry (good for sticking rigid surfaces to each other, but not so good when gluing flexible surfaces such as card).
Stick-backed plastic tape also deserves a mention. You can get forms of this that are virtually invisible when applied to objects. Bonds using tape are both strong and reasonably permanent, so they are good for speedy assembling if you don’t mind having the taped bonds visible.
Warning: Some glues are toxic, and some give off toxic fumes. Always wash your hands thoroughly after using glue before eating or otherwise placing your hands near to your face. Always use glue in a well-ventilated room. Avoid getting glue in your eyes or mouth - if you do so by accident, wash the affected area thoroughly.
Always read instructions and warnings provided with the glue you are using prior to such use.
Once you have printed the sheets necessary to make your model, and primed them if necessary, you can begin construction.
Remember that patience is a virtue - the more patience you display during the construction of your model, the better that model will be.
Remember to avoid injuring yourself in the process of cutting your model out. Not only will the result be painful, big red splodges will also ruin the hard work you have achieved thus far.
1. Place your steel rule parallel to a cut line in your drawing, slightly below that line.
2. Holding the ruler firmly in place, draw the scalpel along the cut line in one smooth motion, applying just enough pressure to wholly pierce the drawing.
Avoid cutting into the drawing proper, but feel free to slice into the surrounding white space. In fact, by cutting into the white space surrounding a drawing, you can ensure an accurate meeting of cuts.
3. Repeat the process for all cut lines within the drawing.
Just because you are not applying pressure to the scalpel during this process, do not relax your vigilance to avoid being cut yourself. Scalpels are still sharp, and will still be quite capable of damaging you regardless of how much force is being applied.
1. Place your steel rule parallel to a fold line in your drawing, slightly below that line.
2. Holding the ruler firmly in place, draw the scalpel along the fold line in one smooth motion, applying only light pressure so as to avoid wholly piercing the drawing.
All you really need to do when scoring is to break the upper surface of the card. Usually, simply holding the scalpel steady, applying no pressure at all, will achieve this, since the weight of the scalpel itself will already be applying adequate pressure to the blade.
3. Repeat the process for all fold lines within the drawing.
4. Replace the guard for your scalpel’s blade, and place the scalpel in a safe place.
1. Fold the tab back along its fold line.
2. Apply glue to the tab, avoiding placing glue on any other part of the piece other than the fold line.
3. Attach the surface to which the tab marries to the tab.
4. Place the model on a flat surface such that the tab is vertically aligned to the surface, and place your ruler next to it.
5. Push the model lightly down to make sure the lower portion of the tab/corner join is aligned properly.
6. Push the model lightly into your ruler to make sure the vertical plane of the tab/corner joint is aligned properly
7. Once the joint is aligned properly, put a paperclip over it to hold the tab in place.
8. Leave the model to dry.
Note that it is always better to leave each individual joint made for a single piece to dry before moving on to the next one. While this does extend the time required to assemble the model somewhat, the final results will be better for it. Patience, remember. Also, for multi-part constructions, you can always move on to another section of the model whilst waiting for one section to dry.
9. Repeat as necessary until all joints have been glued, and your model is completed!
10. Take the completed model to your gaming session, and amaze your fellow players with the enhanced visualization it provides.
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