Mines of Moria

For the NWA Inc. Club open day in August 2003 I decided to do a series of terrain modules which could be played separately or would combine to form the journey through the Mines of Moria.

The Mines of Moria terrain consists of 6 modules -

    Watcher in the Water

    Winding Passages

    Balin's Tomb

    Treacherous Stairs

    Bridge of Khazad-dûm

    Flight from Moria.

The original inspiration was the Watcher in the Water scenario from White Dwarf as well as a lucky stroke at work. The company received 16 pieces of equipment which were protected by rectangular modules of polystyrene. These were 28" by 24" with a round cut-out already in them. This closely resembled the pool area for the Watcher in the Water as well as being able to be used as round chambers through Moria.

Making the Modules

The terrain was based around rectangles of expanded polystyrene. Some of the taller modules consisted of several of these rectangles glued together with PVA. Other tall walls were made of additional polystyrene.

Spray on expanding foam used for filling cavities was used to add texture and strength. You can use chunks of expanded polystyrene to build up areas first. You don't even have to glue it together as long as even a thin coat of the expanding material will cover the chunks. The result is lightweight but very strong.

Stairways and platforms were made from 5.5mm foam board. All these were held together with PVA glue. These were glued in place first, before using the spray on expanding foam. Remember that the foam has an initial rapid expansion, but then keeps on expanding slowly for a number of hours. I found that the next day when it had hardened, I had to cut away some of the expanded foam from stairways. Done carefully, this can give the right appearance of the Dwarves having carved the stairway walls out of the rock.

Painting

The terrain was given two coats of matt black acrylic paint to start with. I bought 4 litres from the hardware store, but only needed just over half of this as I watered the paint down slightly for the first coat so that it would flow into all the nooks and crannies. Of course, you need a lot less if you are only doing 1 or 2 terrain boards.

I found that the expanding foam did not take the liquid acrylic paint too well. I covered these areas using cheap tubes of paste type student acrylic paint. I did not think of it until afterwards, but if the problem is due to chemicals on the surface of the expanding foam rather than just the shiny surface, it might be worth trying a clean with some water and detergent (then let it dry) before painting.