Friday, July 15, 2016

Asphalt Roads from Linoleum Tiles

These asphalt roads made from Linoleum Tiles aren't actually my idea. I believe I saw this over on the Lead Adventure forums, it just isn't something you would think of. They have good flexibility and will conform to most gentle slopes, are durable, and look very realistic in 28mm.

The process is very straightforward. I bought several 1' square seal-stick linoleum tiles at Menard's for about $0.60 each. They were a plain glossy black, with a slight undulating texture, and a removable adhesive backing. I made my roads 4" wide - this will allow the road to be divided into two lanes of 2" each, wide enough to accommodate most 28mm civilian cars. First, I cut everything to size - seven 12" long straights, four 6" long straights, three four-way intersections, one three-way intersection, four curves, one roundabout, and two damaged sections (not pictured!). I didn't remove the backing. Then I gave them all a rough sanding to remove some of the glossy surface, but not enough to remove the undulating texture. After that, I sprayed them with a light spray of clear flay varnish and drybrushed them with some dark greys (as well as painting the edges to blend in better). Lastly, I marked the dividing lines with a white paint marker.

Quick, easy, and highly effective!







2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wicked!Just wicked.

ItsyBitsyMinis said...

Excellent idea! My local dollar store has boxes of this stuff super cheap... I am goong to give it a try!