Arena Rex Forums

Thanks! So pre-made bricks? That's a good idea, then they would also be the same size. Because everything in this is hand-cut and hand-measured, not everything is as symmetric or as straight/even as I would like. However, the styrofoam is free, and I kinda like the DIY feel even though it takes a while.

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My Arena Rex painting log

What did you use/make for the gate (way in back of latest pic). Or even a closeup would be fantastic.

Closeup is not a problem. I just made the gate using wooden coffee stirrers, toothpicks, and glue. I had some different ideas to begin with, but settled on this one as a simple solution.

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My Arena Rex painting log

Some more current shots. First the arena floor (and walls) without hazards.



Then with some hazards stuck to the magnetic spots, and my duel zone in the center. I like the extra flexibility added by spots 8 and 9.



Finally, the one pit I have built so far. As I mentioned before, I was thinking of putting some gravel in the middle and painting it like hot coals, since I cannot make a pit with real depth, and just a black square or 2D image might look weird.



Or maybe a black square would look ok. I might start with that and see how it looks.

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My Arena Rex painting log

Hmm, I think an idea appears... I could paint the pits to look like the surface of a liquid. That could give the illusion of depth. Dark red might be appropriately gruesome, or dark brown-green for murky algae-filled pools. Hmm.

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My Arena Rex painting log

Damn, I am struggling. The outer wall is almost done, and I started texturing the non-tiled arena floor with sand. But I find it to not be easy to cover such a large flat area with sand. I'm spreading glue down and then pouring sand on, standard basing technique, but it's very uneven because I am trying to do reasonably large areas at a time. A lot of the time, the glue has dried just enough before I get the sand on that the sand won't stick. So it is patchy and bare in some places and too thick and clumpy in other places.

So I went out and bought some proper textured paint today, to see if that might work better. The problem is that I have already done half the arena in the ugly clumpy fashion. And I obviously want the sand to look approximately the same all over.

So I have two options as I see it. One is to continue with my current process until all of the arena is patchy and uneven. And then go back and dry and fix it up all over in a consistent way with the textured paint. The other is to try and scrape off the currently applied sand, and start over. I don't know if that is possible without destroying the floor though.

I think just textured paint with no sand would look smoothest and prettiest. So I will just have to give it a go in a small area and see if it works. If not, then the rough patch alternative is always there.

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My Arena Rex painting log

Another idea: scrape/start over and thin your glue with water so you can do multiple "coats" of sand. That should even out the clumpiness.

I did try and thin the glue down originally, but it didn't take so well to being thinned. I ran out though, so I got a new one today. Maybe a fresh one is better.

But how do you mean about multiple coats? Like glue, sand, then more glue on top of the sand, and more sand? That's kinda what I want to do now, just with a more controllable kind of medium.

Looking at the board, I don't think scraping off is possible. It's pretty damn stuck on there. I think I have to add on top of what is already there and even it out with the texture. But I'm optimistic that this is possible.

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My Arena Rex painting log

When I did my arenas, I used a spray on adhesive, and I did two coats. With your tiles already being down, I don't think this would be an option for you. It'd be really laborious to do the floor in sections, but you might need to take that route if the glue is drying too quickly on you. Textured paint is a great idea too.

Also, if you used PVA glue on your first attempt, get the sand wet and the glue should come off pretty easily after a minute or two.

Exactly. It's how I end up doing some of my bases when they get a little lumpy.

Interested in seeing your progress too BTW, once you figure out your solution.