How to make 3D land tiles for Catan with a vacuum former

While vacuum formers can be used to design packaging or rapid prototyping, sometimes you just want to have fun! You can use your vacuum former to make your own 3D board game assets, like these hex tiles for Catan. They will add a unique touch to your game and they are also a lot of fun to make and decorate.

Our FORMART machines allow you to quickly make multiple copies of each tile, which you can decorate with your friends and family.

Watch the video below to see how to make these 3D tiles for Catan.

Files

• Catan dragon settler
• Magnetic Catan tiles
• Catan longest road trophy

Machines

• 3D printer
• MY YARD FORMART 2

Materials

• HIPS sheets, 1.0 mm
• white glue (please dilute with water appropriately)
• Grass powder and tree material package
• White water-based cement paint
• Toning masterbatch
• Mr.BASE WHITE spray painting

Instructions

• Download the STL files from the links above and print them with your 3D printer. You will need to set a 1.5 mm shell with 20% infill.
• Put the moulds for the tiles on your vacuum former and use a HIPS sheet to form the shapes. You can repeat this step if you need many tiles.
• Cut the formed tiles out of the HIPS sheet
• Clean the tiles to remove any residue or dust before you begin painting the tiles.
• First, put down a thin layer of white base paint to make it easier for the cement paint to adhere.
• Paint the tiles to make their landscape look really great!
• If you want to go a step further, you can also add grass powder or brush material used for model building:
  • After the painted tiles have dried, apply white glue to spots where you want to add grass or brush.
  • Sprinkle the grass or brush material over those areas and wait for the glue to dry.
  • Remove any excess grass or brush material from your tiles