Geo-hex
Bill Provick
Hey, Everybody
I'm thinking about shelling out for some Geo-hex, but the stuff is
bloody expensive.
Could those who own it tell me what is good and what is bad.
Is it worth the money. I play HG, is it high enough to block line of
sight without having to built huge mountains of it. I have their
Catalogue, and I've been to their Webpage. (E-mail Geo...@aol.com, Web
site WWW.geohex.com)
I would like a second opinion. It sure looks nice
Thanks in Advance
Tokig
Anime ain't anime unless it's animated
Hugh H Browne Jr.
In article <59kg41$8...@news.intranet.ca> bpro...@intranet.ca (Bill Provick) writes:
>From: bpro...@intranet.ca (Bill Provick)
>Subject: Geo-hex
>Date: Sun, 22 Dec 1996 22:18:02 GMT
>Hey, Everybody
>Thanks in Advance
Well we use it for HG to and no its not big enough to block LOS but then again
it tact. hex in HG is 50 meters by 50 meters so you can still use the stuff. I
have a big collection of the stuff and it really makes both HG and BTech come
alive. For the money I'd say its worth it. :)
Mark Reindl
On Mon, 23 Dec 1996, Hugh H Browne Jr. wrote:
> Well we use it for HG to and no its not big enough to block LOS but then again
> it tact. hex in HG is 50 meters by 50 meters so you can still use the stuff. I
> have a big collection of the stuff and it really makes both HG and BTech come
> alive. For the money I'd say its worth it. :)
>
>
>
>
Buy the Mountainscape stuff, that'll block LOS for any game :).
Mark
Hugh H Browne Jr.
In article <Pine.BSI.3.95.961224...@mammoth.psnw.com> Mark Reindl <mre...@mammoth.psnw.com> writes:
>From: Mark Reindl <mre...@mammoth.psnw.com>
>Subject: Re: Geo-hex
>Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 10:10:15 -0800
>Mark
Yea. got some of that to, and your right it dose block LOS, But we don't
always fight in the mountians, so if you get a simple thing like the size of
the hex in mind, Geo-Hex works real well. Besides seeing your painted minis on
the board, makes for great pictures. :)
Hugh
Gryphon
>Yea. got some of that to, and your right it dose block LOS, But we don't
>always fight in the mountians, so if you get a simple thing like the size of
>the hex in mind, Geo-Hex works real well. Besides seeing your painted minis on
>the board, makes for great pictures. :)
What's Geo-Hex made out of? I've only seen photos of it and
the gaming shops I frequent don't carry it.
Hugh H Browne Jr.
In article <32c20c5a...@news.io.org> gry...@neocom.net (Gryphon) writes:
>From: gry...@neocom.net (Gryphon)
>Subject: Re: Geo-hex
>Date: Thu, 26 Dec 1996 05:51:05 GMT
Made out of sterofom, and them painted with either green or yellow paint (I
have the Green batlescape stuff, which has hexs also painted on them, so you
can any hex based game on them) Geo-hex comes in either Gamescape which has no
hexs and battlescape which has hexs (and is a little more pricy). But still
over all I love the stuff, so dose my gaming group, nothing like setting up a
mountain ambush and actually being able to see the mountain and and not be
able to see the emeny. If your a store order, its worth carring one set, and
you can buy indiviual pieces of the stuff to.
Ironman5
There is a creaper way. Get some of the Battletech flat playing sheets.
Photo copy the back white side. Go to an arts and craft store and buy some
green styro foam.Lay the hex sheets on top of the styro foam and cut out
what ever pattern you want. Then glue the sheet to the top of the foam and
now you can build mountains of any shapes. To make trees get some fender
washers and some nails. Glue the nails to the washers and since it is
after Christams buy some garland and glue that to the nails.
Archbishop Munchkin
In article <59kg41$8...@news.intranet.ca>, bpro...@intranet.ca says...
>
>Hey, Everybody
>
>
>I'm thinking about shelling out for some Geo-hex, but the stuff is
>bloody expensive.
>Could those who own it tell me what is good and what is bad.
>Is it worth the money. I play HG, is it high enough to block line of
>sight without having to built huge mountains of it. I have their
>Catalogue, and I've been to their Webpage. (E-mail Geo...@aol.com, Web
>site WWW.geohex.com)
>I would like a second opinion. It sure looks nice
>
>Thanks in Advance
Geo-Hex is great stuff! I heartily recommend it to anyone with a small
fortune to burn. I like it because it saves me the trouble of doing the
ruler-running all the time, and it's much more versatile than static, flat
maps. But, as you say, it's not for those who don't got the green. A base
sheet and small hills set, set (pardon the pun) me back $130!
Archbishop Munchie.
New and improved on Lose95!
Gryphon
>Made out of sterofom, and them painted with either green or yellow paint (I
>have the Green batlescape stuff, which has hexs also painted on them, so you
>can any hex based game on them) Geo-hex comes in either Gamescape which has no
>hexs and battlescape which has hexs (and is a little more pricy).
What's the thickness of a "level" of Geo-Hex? 1"? 0.5"?
Is the Geo-Hex surface simply smooth with the appropriate
colours and hexes painted on? Or is the surface actually covered with
some sort of fibrous scenic material? The photos I've seen give me
the impression the surface is finished with very very fine scenic
material (synthetic fibre or foam a la Woodlands Scenic "turf"
products)--- of course, I've never seen the stuff "live" so I'm
probably wrong...
I'm actually thinking of making my own Geo-Hex style gaming
scenery. Styrofoam is fairly cheap and plentiful--- or for a more
modelling-friendly foam material, Styrofoam-SM works beautifully but
is a more expensive. I was thinking of painting the surface with
textured latex paint available at any well stocked hardware store or
home decorating store, painting it green with the appropriate washing
and dry brushing, then airbrushing the hex lines on the surface with a
resuable hex stencil in a slightly darker green shade than the
surface. For probably under $60 (Canadian :-), I could have a
comparable Geo-Hex style terrain. Since the materials are sold in
bulk volumes (gallons/litres of paint, styrofoam sold by the square
foot), I would have enough material to create a virtual gaming world
for a fraction of the cost of purchasing a full Geo-Hex set!
Well, the main problem is finding a place to store the stuff after
I've made it AND finding the time to invest in manufacturing the
stuff. :-)
>But still over all I love the stuff, so dose my gaming group, nothing like setting up a
>mountain ambush and actually being able to see the mountain and and not be
>able to see the emeny.
There is a Games Workshop outlet that I visit once in a while
that uses terrain made in the method I described above. AWESOME
terrain. They had this one mining quarry set-up which was simply
inspiring. They even had tracks for mining cards to ride on, tunnels
and shafts and so on. VERY nicely done. It literally adds a whole
new dimension to the gaming environment!
I just wish Geo-Hex wasn't so expensive... I know I'd definitely by a
set. But since they basically have little to no competition in this
particular area, I don't think we'll see prices dropping any time
soon.
Mike Nuke
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Thomas J. Mahaney II
> On Thu, 26 Dec 1996 06:36:50 GMT, sund...@sundance.ultranet.com (Hugh
> H Browne Jr.) wrote:
>
> >Made out of sterofom, and them painted with either green or yellow paint (I
> >have the Green batlescape stuff, which has hexs also painted on them, so you
> >can any hex based game on them) Geo-hex comes in either Gamescape which
has no
> >hexs and battlescape which has hexs (and is a little more pricy).
>
> What's the thickness of a "level" of Geo-Hex? 1"? 0.5"?
Standard is 1" but mountains will have cliffs that are higher. In terms
of height it works very well with the Ral Partha miniatures - two levels
block line of sight.
>
> Is the Geo-Hex surface simply smooth with the appropriate
> colours and hexes painted on? Or is the surface actually covered with
> some sort of fibrous scenic material? The photos I've seen give me
> the impression the surface is finished with very very fine scenic
> material (synthetic fibre or foam a la Woodlands Scenic "turf"
> products)--- of course, I've never seen the stuff "live" so I'm
> probably wrong...
You are absolutely right! When you buy a set, Geo-Hex gives you a small
bag of the stuff to touch up any injuries your set may incur. You can
also order the flocking separately.
>
> I'm actually thinking of making my own Geo-Hex style gaming
> scenery. Styrofoam is fairly cheap and plentiful--- or for a more
> modelling-friendly foam material, Styrofoam-SM works beautifully but
> is a more expensive. I was thinking of painting the surface with
> textured latex paint available at any well stocked hardware store or
> home decorating store, painting it green with the appropriate washing
> and dry brushing, then airbrushing the hex lines on the surface with a
> resuable hex stencil in a slightly darker green shade than the
> surface. For probably under $60 (Canadian :-), I could have a
> comparable Geo-Hex style terrain. Since the materials are sold in
> bulk volumes (gallons/litres of paint, styrofoam sold by the square
> foot), I would have enough material to create a virtual gaming world
> for a fraction of the cost of purchasing a full Geo-Hex set!
In terms of material cost, you are right. But if you factor in all the
time and effort (in terms of $/hr) you will be putting into it, its
probably costing you more. But if you enjoy putting the terrain together,
its definitely better.
I like to use my geo-hex to create spur of the moment, neat terrains.
However, you need quite a bit of room to set it up. (At least I do, with
all the stuff I've got). For smaller battles (or at least smaller setup
space), I bought styrofoam and "extruded" several paper fasa map sets.
This works really well when playing stock fasa battles. The maps are the
same as the scenarios, but they're 3D (removing stupid arguments about
where levels begin and end). You just need to watch out for some of the
extra-wide Ral Partha 'Mechs (Those stupid Behemoths are always getting
stuck in narrow valleys!)
>
> Well, the main problem is finding a place to store the stuff after
> I've made it AND finding the time to invest in manufacturing the
> stuff. :-)
>
That is one of the great things about Geo-Hex. It all breaks down into
nice hexagons. That's not to say that it still doesn't take up a lot of
room.
>
> >But still over all I love the stuff, so dose my gaming group, nothing
like setting up a
> >mountain ambush and actually being able to see the mountain and and not be
> >able to see the emeny.
>
> There is a Games Workshop outlet that I visit once in a while
> that uses terrain made in the method I described above. AWESOME
> terrain. They had this one mining quarry set-up which was simply
> inspiring. They even had tracks for mining cards to ride on, tunnels
> and shafts and so on. VERY nicely done. It literally adds a whole
> new dimension to the gaming environment!
Those types of custom setups are real nice. But usually, you will have to
give up on hexes and go to the rulers. I prefer hexes, so I stick with
the Battlescape products.
>
> I just wish Geo-Hex wasn't so expensive... I know I'd definitely by a
> set. But since they basically have little to no competition in this
> particular area, I don't think we'll see prices dropping any time
> soon.
>
>
> Mike Nuke
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
If you want a really good look at everything they offer, take a look at
their web page: http://www.geohex.com/index.htm. I always order my stuff
directly from them.
--
Thomas Mahaney
Bill Provick
<cut>
> I'm actually thinking of making my own Geo-Hex style gaming
>scenery. Styrofoam is fairly cheap and plentiful--- or for a more
>modelling-friendly foam material, Styrofoam-SM works beautifully but
>is a more expensive. I was thinking of painting the surface with
>textured latex paint available at any well stocked hardware store or
>home decorating store, painting it green with the appropriate washing
>and dry brushing, then airbrushing the hex lines on the surface with a
>resuable hex stencil in a slightly darker green shade than the
>surface. For probably under $60 (Canadian :-), I could have a
>comparable Geo-Hex style terrain. Since the materials are sold in
>bulk volumes (gallons/litres of paint, styrofoam sold by the square
>foot), I would have enough material to create a virtual gaming world
>for a fraction of the cost of purchasing a full Geo-Hex set!
I do hope you know that they've patented their design, so if you sell
your "Wannabe Geohex" you might have found it cheaper to buy Geo-Hex.
Now, for your own use, I guess it would be okay (Ain't a lawyer)
But let's look at cost. I bought some white primer for my room, $20.
How much does an airbrush cost, a pretty penny I'll imagine.
Paint for the airbrush, I'd say about $5, that would be for a rather
large bottle I would guess.
Styrofoam. No idea how much is costs, but since my school buys foam
core for around $80 we'll say about $30 for it.
Reusable hex stencil. I was looking at stencils for my room, around
$20.
Foam cutter, $10
That's about $80, not including airbrush. Now, we have the time it
takes to make the stuff. Geohex has corner locks, so you'll need
those. $5 for a bunch from Geo-Hex. You have to find a way to cut the
Foam straight, as well as figure out a system that allows you to make
hills any shape you want. Unless you buy geo-hex and copy that.
Actually, you would be best to go to the US patent office and ask for
their technical plans.
That's my advice to anyone who has time, live in the states, near a
local patent office, and is not sure about shelling out for Geo-Hex.
Go look at how Geo-hex works, and decide how it works for you
If my figures are off, please tell me. I'm guessing here, so I may be
totally wrong.
>Well, the main problem is finding a place to store the stuff after
>I've made it AND finding the time to invest in manufacturing the
>stuff. :-)
<SNIP>
>I just wish Geo-Hex wasn't so expensive... I know I'd definitely by a
>set. But since they basically have little to no competition in this
>particular area, I don't think we'll see prices dropping any time
>soon.
Not for the next 50 years. Geo-hex is patented, so no one can make
their own version of the stuff using the same shapes. Good news is in
50 years everybody will be making it.
>Mike Nuke
>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Hey, I could be wrong on any of this stuff, so look it up yourself. :)
I'm still not sure about Geo-hex, so keep responding, especially all
you lurkers. I want to know how it works with HG, how easy it is to
store, how long it lasts, which are the best sets. etc etc
Matthew Joseph Tyler Provick
Archbishop Munchkin
>>I just wish Geo-Hex wasn't so expensive... I know I'd definitely by a
>>set. But since they basically have little to no competition in this
>>particular area, I don't think we'll see prices dropping any time
>>soon.
>Not for the next 50 years. Geo-hex is patented, so no one can make
>their own version of the stuff using the same shapes. Good news is in
>50 years everybody will be making it.
>>Mike Nuke
Actually you are wrong on this part Mike. Extruded foam terrain has been
around for years (those darn clever model railroaders!). There are several
companies in competition with Geo-Hex on a somewhat more local level
(MurfTurf actually springs to mind). The only thing they don't sell is the
actual hexed (has hexagons on it, though I'm sure some people are convinced
that their sets ARE hexed!) turf. That, I believe is the sole property of
Geo-Hex for the next 40-odd years (they've been around since '90 if my
memory serves me correctly, though it rarely does!).
Jagerwolf
Hugh H Browne Jr. <sund...@sundance.ultranet.com> wrote in article
<sundance.6...@sundance.ultranet.com>...
---------- SNIP ------------
>
> Made out of sterofom, and them painted with either green or yellow paint
(I
> have the Green batlescape stuff, which has hexs also painted on them, so
you
> can any hex based game on them) Geo-hex comes in either Gamescape which
has no
> hexs and battlescape which has hexs (and is a little more pricy). But
still
> over all I love the stuff, so dose my gaming group, nothing like setting
up a
> mountain ambush and actually being able to see the mountain and and not
be
> able to see the emeny. If your a store order, its worth carring one set,
and
> you can buy indiviual pieces of the stuff to.
>
>
>
Not only that .. but you can have nifty trees and buildings and rivers and
roads and well .. all kinds of fun stuff on your geo hex in 3D...... Most
of mine is
on semi permant loan to Hugh and his gaming group till I find time to play
again.... gotta hate that .... it does definately add to the game though ..
having a nice area to play on instead of those silly maps. looks great too
... if I ever get around to it I will have some pics of our geohex set up
at the web site that is wayyyyy behind schedual.. you would think I was a
capellan or something with all the delays I am having with that ..
Dave Johnson
Robert Feehan
>Geo-Hex is great stuff! I heartily recommend it to anyone with a small
>fortune to burn. I like it because it saves me the trouble of doing the
>ruler-running all the time, and it's much more versatile than static, flat
>maps. But, as you say, it's not for those who don't got the green. A base
>sheet and small hills set, set (pardon the pun) me back $130!
>Archbishop Munchie.
>New and improved on Lose95!
Well, I have two things to say on this for those who care to listen:
1. I used to do a lot of 1/285 WWII and Modern microarmor and there
was a series of 4" hex based terrain that was very expensive (12 hexes
unfinished was about 12.95 or so Canadian). It used pipe cleaners for
trees (works, trust me) and had to be assembled(carved) and painted.
It took about 300 to make up a table since you stacked flat ones to
build up terrain levels.
Some friends and I built a jig, bought some styrofoam in 4x8 foot
sheets (1" thick) and made our own boards, it was a lot of work and
looked great when finished. One small problem the hexes were so small
at 4" that it took ages to setup a table. Also we spent about a year
off and on and we still were short certain hex types.
Geo-hex is definitely better although it is not as pretty when setup.
It used to take us 1 hour to setup a 4x8 table with our hexes and with
geo-hex that time is reduced to less than 1/2 hour.
2. I game in Hugh's group and when we do the geo-hex battles it adds a
lot of atmosphere to our games. Nothing like hiding behind a real hill
or in a group of trees. It may be expensive but in the long run it is
worth it and it seems pretty durable.
Anybody remember the name of the system I mentioned above using the 4"
hexes?
Rob
Gryphon
On Sat, 28 Dec 1996 22:10:16 GMT, bpro...@intranet.ca (Bill Provick)
wrote:
>I do hope you know that they've patented their design, so if you sell
>your "Wannabe Geohex" you might have found it cheaper to buy Geo-Hex.
>Now, for your own use, I guess it would be okay (Ain't a lawyer)
What gave you the impression that I was going to sell my
makeshift Geo-Hex? I just want a custom surface that's sufficiently
modular and flexible for my gaming group's use...
>But let's look at cost. I bought some white primer for my room, $20.
You don't need to prime it...
>How much does an airbrush cost, a pretty penny I'll imagine.
I already have one...
>Paint for the airbrush, I'd say about $5, that would be for a rather
>large bottle I would guess.
I wouldn't even attempt to airbrush the whole thing... I'd
just put on the textured paint in the required base colour, drybrush
and perhaps wash, then seal and leave it at that...
>Styrofoam. No idea how much is costs, but since my school buys foam
>core for around $80 we'll say about $30 for it.
I wouldn't DARE use foamcore... Foamcore is damn expensive!
As an art and design student, I should know... $30 of regular
styroam or even Styrofoam-SM will give you enough to insulate the
walls of a small room! Unless you're going to have a MASSIVE playing
area, I don't think you need THAT much styrofoam...
>Reusable hex stencil. I was looking at stencils for my room, around
>$20.
Geez, you don't have to BUY the damn stencil. Just cut one
yourself! :-)
>Foam cutter, $10
Sheesh... Disposable cardboard knife... $1.49 with
retractable blade. :-)
>That's about $80, not including airbrush. Now, we have the time it
>takes to make the stuff. Geohex has corner locks, so you'll need
>those. $5 for a bunch from Geo-Hex. You have to find a way to cut the
>Foam straight, as well as figure out a system that allows you to make
>hills any shape you want. Unless you buy geo-hex and copy that.
>Actually, you would be best to go to the US patent office and ask for
>their technical plans.
I don't know where you got this impression but I have no
intention or desire to copy Geo-Hex to a tee. I have no desire to
compete or improve Geo-Hex's design, I could care less about "locking
corners" and I certainly don't intend on trying to sell whatever I
make. :-)
You're right in regards to designing the pieces to enable you to make
hills any shape you want with the hex grid incorporated into the
design, but it makes to difference to me--- I could chuck the whole
grid system (and remove a whole step from the manufacturing process)
and simply make a plain modular, flexible terrain system...
Mike Nuke
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Denham Hardman
Ahhhhh...Geo-Hex. Good stuff there. Back before I had a girlfriend I
had the money to get a set with a friend of mine. We got the big basic
set and a few smaller ones. I love using that stuff but I really need
more to make it worth it all. At one of the GenCons, '95 I believe, my
friend and I would pull out our set while we were both between games and
set it all up in an empty booth. Of course, our set consisted of two big
boxes plus so it was not a subtle thing. It looked so cool with
everything we had that it out shone many of the actual "official" setups
there. We had many people asking if our 'event' was full and if they
could still join. After we told them that it was not an event and we
were just messing around we ended up with about a dozen people playing
with us and enjoying every minute. Well, except for that time that Dan
and I had our 'disagreement' about whether or not this particular tree
was in the way.
It was very cool though. Alot of our mechs are camo painted to go with
our terrain and so some poeple actually do not notice some of our mechs
on the board at first. Not until we move them anyway. If it were
cheaper I could honestly say I would use nothing else. If I had the
time I would probably build more on my own. But, lacking time and money
I have to deal with what I can. Unless anyone wants to make donations
to the Denham Hardman Battletech Stuff Foundation of course. ;)
Anyway, I guess I am done remeniscing<sp>. I will hopefully be at the
'97 or '98 GenCon with all my stuff again. I guess the point of all of
this is that I think Geo-Hex is cool. Yeah. That's it. Ummm...I guess
I will leave now then.
Denham (The)
Kelvin
In article <32ce9a94...@news.io.org>, gry...@neocom.net says...
I know it's a bit off topic, but where on the In-t i can get GeoHex products?
Gabby Davar
kel...@netvision.net.il
Gryphon
>It looked so cool with
>everything we had that it out shone many of the actual "official" setups
>there. We had many people asking if our 'event' was full and if they
>could still join. After we told them that it was not an event and we
>were just messing around we ended up with about a dozen people playing
>with us and enjoying every minute.
> Anyway, I guess I am done remeniscing<sp>. I will hopefully be at the
>'97 or '98 GenCon with all my stuff again. I guess the point of all of
>this is that I think Geo-Hex is cool. Yeah. That's it. Ummm...I guess
>I will leave now then.
Geo-Hex! A great hit at parties! :-)
pvtpr...@gmail.com
> Hey, Everybody
>
>
> I'm thinking about shelling out for some Geo-hex, but the stuff is
> bloody expensive.
> Could those who own it tell me what is good and what is bad.
> Is it worth the money. I play HG, is it high enough to block line of
> sight without having to built huge mountains of it. I have their
> Catalogue, and I've been to their Webpage. (E-mail Geo...@aol.com, Web
> site WWW.geohex.com)
> I would like a second opinion. It sure looks nice
>
> Thanks in Advance
>
> Anime ain't anime unless it's animated