Cheap 28mm Caverns

I am sure this has been tried before, but I recently made some really, really cheap underground cavern terrain. It will initially be used for Song of Blades and Heroes, but will probably see service in sci-fi games, too. Bugs, anyone?

So, here we go....

Step 1:
Go to craft store and pick up 2 inch think high density foam from the upholstery section, a can of cheap black spray paint, and a can of "stone" type spray paint. In retrospect, you can probably get away with a cheap can of gray paint.


Step 2:
Cut out rock looking bits with scissors. The sloppier you cut the better, because it will look more like rock!

Step 3:
Sray paint it black! Just go nuts! You want to make sure that later none of the green (or whatever color of your foam) shows through. Unless your cavern is running through a uranium deposit. Which may actually be cool... I did two coats to make sure I had good coverage, hence the cheap paint. Do this step outside to avoid brain damage.


Step 4:
Spray paint it stone! There are several brands of this available in the United States. It really took a bit of paint as the foam naturally acted as a sponge. At about $9 a can, in retrospect it may have worked just as well to use cheap gray spray paint. But the effect is pretty neat. I did a coat and then went back and spot painted areas that were kind of thin.

Step 5:
Let it dry, slap it on some gray felt, and play! It does not look half bad, better in the flesh than in the pictures. Cheap and very, very durable.


Just how cheap? below, you can see how much I could squeeze out of a 2' x 2' piece of foam. I used One can of the stone and once can of black when it was all said and done.


This is going to be terrain for my next convention game. And worst case, can serve as a pillow. Enjoy!