Prepainted Modular Terrain Tiles From Pedion On Kickstarter
May 28, 2015 by stvitusdancern
Pedion Modular Battlefields has an amazing project on Kickstarter right now that solves numerous gaming dilemmas in one swoop!
The Pedion Modular Prepainted Terrain System for RPGs and Wargames has put together sets of 1' x 1' terrain tiles that are ready to use the moment they arrive. Not only do these tiles provide a quick and easy way to get gaming, but they provide the ability to mix and match, and create new game boards and dioramas.
With this flexibility comes another really awesome feature, which is that many of the boards are also magnetized, so you can change out all kinds of little details like trees, hedgerows, crates, and other scatter terrain.
The last aspect of this project, which just may be the most important, is the fact that it is so thin, light weight and durable, that it can easily be stacked and stowed away - and if you're gaming room looks anything like mine, that's REALLY important!
Will you be backing this versatile terrain project?
"Not only do these tiles provide a quick and easy way to get gaming, but they provide the ability to mix and match, and create new game boards and dioramas..."
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seems nice! i’ve got a foldable warboard gaming table wich is cool for storage, but these look reaaaally good!
I am liking this stuff. So I like it, but not enough to stop making my own, but if you do not have the skill then this nice stuff. Sorry if I sound down on this product, it is not far enough different and not far away from the other stuff out there already, I suppose it then depends upon price. The magnetic if your making it is easily used in fact we have lots of times trench length gantry etc. Sorry but I have to pass and make my own more fun and what ever the price much cheaper.
Like the concept a lot, but there is something that I am not to sure on, one of those hind brain things
Same, I like the idea, just seems expensive to me for 6×4 table….
Well it does come pre-painted and everything.
Not sure its cost, just a nagging doubt
Here’s what I think. We’re very used to seeing well produced, good looking videos by some of the companies covered on kickstarter. This video is obviously shot in his house and his first language is clearly not English.
I wish this guy all the best, it’s obviously a passion for him that he wants to turn into a business.
@onepinman think you helped me figure it, its not exactly what you said but looking at the finish looks very much a case of each will be hand finished and for a stackable solution I would have questions as to how well the finish will take punishment. I also have doubts about the odd colouration/markings on the edging – if that’s a pre-production thing or not I don’t understand.
I wish the guy luck but not something I could back
looks amazing.
$432 buy-in for 6’x4′ plus the typical problems that come with any kickstarter (including the possibility of non-delivery). Are people really too busy to buy some pink insulation, static grass, pva, realistic water (or mod podge from the dollar store) and a hot-knife or soldering gun with a wire attachment?
All that stuff I just mentioned would be maybe $100 and you’d get to make it exactly the way you want… and you could finish it in a weekend.
@4tonmantis I don’t disagree with what you saying but you have 3 factors that make this appealing – 1) time and space – I don’t get an entire weekend to make a board and to get a decent finish would take me longer than that anyway, plus I no longer have the tolls, so that ups the time. Also not sure on US costs but throw i the finishes and tool and you would be well over £100 stirling 2) This is from my understanding a magnetised system, not something your going to put together in the above manor 3) Not everyone has the confidence or time to build the ability to achieve that finish, or it maybe something that just does not interest them.
Not an option I will go for but can understand the appeal – Although I think there available alternative that do make the price point a factor.
tools not tolls
Pre-made terrain is a handy option for people that don’t have the time to throw full boards together from scratch. Or (like myself) have an interest in several game systems that play on very different battlefields. I’m in the process of painting an 8’x4′ city for 40K, and coupled with the time involved in painting the minis themselves, large projects like boards for other games get put on the back burner.
I hope this KS goes well for them. Green fields and rivers aren’t something I want myself but if they decided to try new landscapes or structures in the future I’d definitely give it a proper look.
I can vouch for that. Making your own terrain needs both skill and time. I have some skill but struggle for time. Sure, I could flock a board green, but I want something more. I put a lot of effort into painting, so why would I not put a similar level of effort into my gaming table? Pre painted terrain is a godsend for people who don’t have the skill, time or both.
Is the stuff shown on the project what you actually get?
It looks to me like those are all pics of his hand-made stuff, but now he’s raising funds to get them mass-produced instead, with moulds and stuff…
This is very like another modular terrain system by TSS: http://totalsystemscenic.com/
I can think of others – Kallistra go for hexes: https://www.kallistra.co.uk/?page=8
@dorthonion – sorry, but I do not thing the proposed offer the same advantages as Pedion does. I know, because I was a step away for ordering Kallistra’s Hexxon myself (I say so in my first blog post in http://www.pedionterrain.com) before deciding that it was still costly and did not cover my needs completely.
I do not want to antagonize any other producer, not do I want to say something that may be considered derogatory (and it is not because I have the outmost respect for these companies).
So I’ll just say that I did not go for Kallistra because a) the hex shape does not allow for 90deg turns or roads or rivers crossing completely opposite table edges b) the extra features like hills have to be placed over the terrain and they look unrealistic c) no magnetic ability for terrain to snap onto d) they cannot be used in Warhammer/40K because the small hexes allow for distance “measuring” so both players can easily estimate ranges.
As for TSS, they were even worst solution for my home: big tiles, both in thickness and size, I could not fir them anywhere in the living room, very plain looking, and no way to keep them from sliding.
These may not matter to other people, but they constituted failings for creating my gaming table. Thus I decided a system which was better for my requirements.
So please, do not compare Pedion to this. And again, I have the outmost respect, and probably would have gone to Kallistra if was only gonna play with my Napoleonics and Bolt action.
Hello all I’m George, the guy that Kickstarts Pedion, and I think it is time to provide some answers in some questions and comments I read above. Sorry for not doing so sooner, but was showcasing Pedion at UKGamesExpo and things were frantic. In the meantime the campaign funded, in just 55hours, so we fully into Stretch Goals. So, let me get into some of the issues you are raising.
@onlyonepinman, @dags – thanks for taking the time to check the project out. Yes I am not a native English speaker, I such at video editing, I lack the funds for proper video production, and I usually do not watch the videos for projects I’m backing (all 162 of them). All these conspired to an amateurish video, which actually needs re-encoding to remove some loud music. But I think Kickstarter is for new businesses to grow, and not for business with lots of resources to use it as a cheap investment platform. So I beg you, do see beyond the video to the actual product and effort, and my business planning. As for what this project really brings, please continue reading.
@oathsworn – Yes the final tiles of your sets will be as shown in the photographs, or even better. The business plan, and the reason of the KS, is to create tile molds to cast parts of them in resin. This will allow to mass-produce quickly difficult sculptures like the hills and the river tiles. But afterwards, we are going hand-painting and hand-flocking. You cannot reach this kind of detail with machine (or “send it to China”) painting – thus the increased cost unfortunately.
@irredeemable SciFi/Urban/Modern terrain types are in Stretch Goals, and with the current momentum will probably unlock. Of course pledging helps to unlock them for sure 😉 There are actually variations on coloring and detailing of current tile-types, so I will try to introduce them in the future even we do not manage it now. You may want to keep an eye out to the KS campaign and updates.
@dags Your questions on quality/finish/stacking are very viable, so let me give some data: The tiles in the video are the ones I have been gaming on for 2-3 months now. The remain in pristine condition, they traveled in my suitcase to the UK and back (!), not to mention that they were may a time tilted off the table by enthusiastic children visiting the booth, with taking a beating (the tiles not the children 🙂 ). They are designed to stack vertically, but their packing will include bubblewrap sheets between each and every tile. So, yes they can take punishment (I actually encouraged the booth visitors to punch the tile they were holding to experience this). As for the off coloring on the sides, yes this is pre-production, quick hand painting, and it won’t be present (check the river tiles for what the sides will look like).
@4tonmantis – I beg to differ. The quality of materials we use on a 6×4 ULTRA table wouldn’t cost only $100; the 6 different paints for the river would get you back $30-35 alone. And I do no think you could do such a table in a weekend, unless you got no sleep (an ULTRA table requires 16 man-hours and to this you should add the time to let the paints to get dry). Finally, time is money – you are paid when you work, so all we ask is to get paid for our time as well.
@all and dorthonion – we get to the alternatives, and the pricing. I’ll reply to dorthonion’s post for the solutions he refers to, but I must say that:
a) these will be high detail and high practicality tiles, hand-painted and flocked; unfortunately this does not keep the prices as low as I wished for
b) I searched extensively for modular terrain that covered my requirements before deciding to design Pedion myself. So, no, I do not think there are other modular solutions which are the same as Pedion. There are “better”, by which I mean the custom commission jobs one can get for his/her own needs and pay accordingly and there are less efficient, and I stand by that based on my personal research as a gamer
Thank you for reading this wall of text!
Happy to discuss and clarify in anything you wish for
Regards,
George
*suck, not such 🙂
I have backed this project as I am always looking for modular gaming boards and this seems to have a high build quality, durability and flexibility and I love the use of Magnets and magnetic paint such that when you add your own terrain pieces you can use magnets and have them lock onto the boards. Although I should point out that’s only for some of the boards (Tree, hill and road tiles I think).
Check out George’s blog – makes interesting reading even if your not interesting in buying the tiles/boards 🙂
http://pedionterrain.blogspot.gr/2015/01/journal-1-or-what-i-need-from-modular.html
and if you are then check out the KS
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/georgepanopoulos/pedion-modular-prepainted-terrain-system-for-rpgs/description
also the next Stretch Goal is an option to have either desert or snow themed boards/tiles and I for one would love the snow themed for some Bulge Bolt Action action 🙂