Making even better River and Swamp tiles!

It has been a long time between blog posts, but it is for a good cause: fulfilling orders! In this update I wanted to share our beautiful Swamp add-on, as well as our improved method on River tiles.

New 6'x4' Sets avaialble for preorder in the eshop

While you are visiting the eshop, check out the new, more affordable 6'x4' Sets we introduced!

The new, impressive 6'x4' River Crossing table! 

All you need in a 6'x4' table: 5 Hills, 2 forests, 2 crops, a long road -
and at what a price! The new Standard 6x4 set

Swamp Power!

Check a finished version Pedion's resin Swamp add-on for the Pond tile, although it can easily be used as stand alone! I'm really happy with the liquid mud result.

The resin prepainted Swamp add-on for the full pond tile

Changing the look of your Pond

Production Improvements

It took some time, and some delay on river tile sets, but I think we nailed it in greatly improving the production method of river tiles. We designed precision molds where we cast only the river side parts of the river in resin. Then the rest of the tile is composed by regular tile parts, ie polystyrene, and it is based on PVC bases. The challenge was on creating 0.5mm  precise resin parts and also deciding on a valid compound material to attach resin and polystyrene while preserving elasticity. After much trial and error, our first v2.0 river tiles are on their way :) The new method requires less resin, allowing for 3x faster casting time, and as a side effect it produces more lightweight and less fragile tiles. So, we will now be producing sets even faster!

the new, multi-part method for river tiles

It allows for a huge number of river tiles produces in 3 or 4 castings

The final product is identical to our resin tiles

This was not our only improvement; I was not 100% happy with the behavior of PVC glue and the grass mat covering of tiles in the face of extreme humidity. People were noticing a wrapping effect on tile edges (although it was easily mended by putting on some weight). After trying and rejecting a myriad of solutions, we finally nailed it by selecting a gluing agent devoid of water: low expansion polyurethane. This is a demanding procedure, which does not "forgive" misplacement like regular glues do, but now you will be getting even better Green Spring tiles.

E-shop open for business - take advantage of the low British Pound rates!

Although we are very close on creating a stock of basic 3x3 and 4x4 core sets to sell on retail, we will also take preorders as usual with a 2-month waiting time to deliver.

This is a great chance for everyone of you interested in expanding your collection in our regular prices. And, for non-UK residents, it is a great time to take advantage of the extremely low GBP conversion rates and save 20% or more.

It has been an ...interesting June.

Good gaming all!

George

Last Four Days to get your PEDION Modular Terrain!

It seems that after hitting the infamous "mid-campaign" sluggishness, the Pedion Kickstarter campaign managed to reach the £25000 pledge sum, unlocking the Pond/OxbowLake/Marsh Tiles.
Now, it is the last four (4) days of the campaign - for Pedion's to become even better and for you to get an even greater variety of battlefields. So, if you were planing on pledging, now is the time!
While Pedion will be available through our e-shop after the Kickstarter is fulfilled (this is the project's aim after all), backers will

1. pay less that the retail prices, both for tile sets and for the subscription service
2. get free stuff like trees, walls etc
3. receive their sets much sooner
4. help Pedion become even better.

Even if you think about getting lots of terrain afterwards, a pledge now can mean wonders for Pedion's future. And speaking of future, let's take a look at those Stretch Goals!

Pond and Widening River Tile, with Marsh Upgrade

The £25000 Stretch Goal unlocked a series of tiles and upgrades, which actually are based on the same base design, and their production will use the same mold. The two tile types are the Pond (small lake) Tile and the Widening River Tile; both tiles can be converted to include marshland!

The River Widening is a special river tile (a river Turn, joining to the rest of your river tiles) which meanders and the water is in the process of creating an oxbow lake.

Widening turn river tile (forming an Oxbow lake), painted version

The Pond tile is actually a stand-alone small lake, using exactly the same design without the river connections (thus saving some £ on mold design)

Pond Tile, painted version

What really makes the difference though, is that you can at anytime convert those two tiles into marshland! With the corresponding add-on, you can clip on and off swamp surface, creating either a partial marshland on a river side, or a full marsh on top of your lake:

Widening turn with prototype* Marshland add-on clipped on, turning the tile into a riverside marshland**

Pont tile with a Marshland prototype* add-on, turned into a full Swamp

Close view on the riverside marshland

*Expect the final Marshland add-ons to be made from much thinner resin, in order to fit more seamlessly on the river/lake sides, to reduce slopes and to keep the whole marsh on a lower elevation.
**The marshland motif has been drawn from Luisiana marshland images. The riverside marshland is formed at the wider side of the river. This is not common, since water flows faster outside, but it made for a bigger marsh; so let's assume that the outer curve would be the place with lots of alluvial which would help to create a marsh if the water would again erode the closer turn...

Next Stretch Goal: SciFi Themes and Crater Tile types

Although we are nearing the end, there is a number of Stretch Goals that we may unlock yet! 

The closest one, on terms of pledge total, is the availability of two new ground variations when we reach £28000, both more suitable to a Science Fiction setting: the "Red Planet" and the "Grey Wastes". These new variations will also unlock a new type of Tile: the Crater tile.

Actually, there are going to be two different kinds of crater tiles. The first is going to show a big, regular crater, usually the result of planetary Impact. The other will depict overlapping smaller craters, with ground devastated from artillery. Take a first glimpse of both the new themes and the crater tiles on the photos below:

Impact Crater Tile, Red Planet Theme

Impact Crater Tile, Red Planet Theme with 15mm SciFi minis

Artillery Crater Tile, Grey Wastes Theme

Artillery Crater Tile, Grey Wastes Theme, 15mm SciFi minis

Next Social Stretch Goal: FREE Walls for everyone if we reach 165 Backers

Since the number of 180 backers may seem a bit far-fetched, I do not want to end without another freebie :) So, let us reach 165 Backers first, and everyone with a physical reward will also receive some free walls! Specifically:

• For every backer who gets 1 to 6 tiles (through Sets and add-ons), he or she will receive 1 Hedge Fences Set (that's 2x 12cm or 4x 5.2cm Hedge walls, see add-ons)
• For every backer who gets 7 to 16 tiles (through Sets and add-ons), he or she will receive 1 Stone Walls Set (that's 2x 12cm or 4x 5.2cm Stone walls, see add-ons)
• For every backer who gets 17 or more tiles (through Sets and add-ons), he or she will receive 1 Magnetic Columns Set (that's 2x single connectors and 1 T-connector columns, see add-ons)
• All Wall System Starter Sets get ONE MORE Stone Wall piece

Future stuff...

We may never reach it, at least on this Kickstarter, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of what I had in stock for the SciFi/Urban Stretch Goal: a road tile upgrade with luminated roadsides... Check the early prototype - LED lighting on 12V Battery

So what are you waiting for? The time is now - pledge, spread the word, bring your friends in and get the last terrain you will ever need!

Good gaming,

George