I Am the Very Model of a Modern... Hex?!

Over the past few days, I've been working on building the 3D Models for my Papercraft parts for the game. I've started with the board hexes. I've completed the models for the Brick Pits and the Desert so far.

Have a look see...

The Desert:


The Brick Pit:


Note the hex shaped depression at the top of the brick pit's berm. This is the spot for the number tile. I decided to go to a hex shape for the number counters for no other reasons than to be different. The number tiles will themselves actually be hex shaped cylinders about 3/8" or 1/2" thick.

The hex bases are 3" wide from edge to edge and are 1/2" thick. The desert is at most 1/2" tall above the top of the hex base, with the central flat area (the robber's starting point) being about 3/8" above the top of the hex base. The brick pit's berm extends 1/2" above the top of the hex base, and the pit's lowest level cuts about 7/16" down into the hex base.

My process for constructing these models, so far, has been to draw up a 2D and 3D wireframe in AutoCAD, then also in AutoCAD skin the model with regions and 3D faces. Once that's done, I import the model into Google SketchUp. This two step process helps me build very clean 3D models that should work much more effectively for creating the papercraft patterns.

Once my 3D models are built, my next step will be to pull the SketchUp models into a papercraft unfolding application, most likely Pepakura, to unfold the models and develop the 2D papercraft patterns. In reality, I'll probably take one of the recent models I built and run through the unfolding step soon, before I do a whole lot more on the 3D models; that way I can see how the model will unfold and adjust the current and future models appropriately if there are any quirks.

From there, the plan is to take the patterns into Inkscape for 'skinning' with color and imagery to create the end product papercraft patterns.

Lots of work ahead, but it's progressing well and I'm having fun doing it.