Descent Game Board

This page will show how to use Mold #281

and Mold #282 to build a game board the the
Descent game produced by Fantasy Flight
Games.

Hirst Arts is not affiliated with or endorsed

by Fantasy Flight Games in any way.

To make this game board, you will need to

cast mold #281 34 times and mold #282 24
times. This is a lot of casting but there are a
lot of floor sections to this game board.

Following these instructions, you will have

board pieces identical to what comes in the
Descent game and will be able to build any
of the layouts used in their instructions.

What You Will Need.

Rubber Molds
If you are new to Hirst Arts and have never cast pieces using our molds,
then be sure you look at our Quick guide for the beginner page. This will
1. give you an overview of what casting is all about.

You will need molds #281 and #282. You can find these on our molds
available page.

Casting Material
For this project, I suggest using Dark gray Merlin's Magic dental plaster. You
can find out more about this product and where to buy it on our Dental Plaster
2. page.

You can use regular plaster of Paris if you like but since it is a softer material, the
pieces will be more prone to chipping and wear.

Basing Material
I am going to base the game board pieces onto cork. You can find cork
tiles at most office supply stores for around $15.00 for a package of four
12" square pieces.
3.
To find cork tiles near you, search the internet for "Frameless cork
panels" and you should find some. These are 1/8" thick.

I liked using cork the best because it's easy to cut, it glues easily and it
grips the table nicely so the piece don't slide around.
 House Paint
You will find detailed instructions on how to apply the paint on our painting
instructions page.

4. I also have the formula for the exact colors I used on the painting
instructions page, along with detailed instructions on how to brush the paint
on the pieces.

You will need a quart of dark green, a quart of medium tan and a small
bottle of white craft paint.

The Complete Set

This photo shows the

complete set that I'm
going to build.

This set has the same

number and type of
board sections found
on the original
Descent game. Once
you make this set, you
will be able to play
any game shown on
the Descent missions.

You will need to cast

mold #281 34 times
and mold #282 24
times to have enough
tiles to build it.

Building The Board Sections

The package of cork includes four 12" square pieces, which is just enought to get all of the board sections out
of. What we will do is cut the cork pieces up first, then glue the tiles on them. Below is the plan for how the
game board pieces will come out of the four square pieces of cork. Each square on the white grid is 1".

1.
 I am going to base the game board pieces onto cork. You can find cork tiles at most office supply stores for
around $15.00 for a package of four 12" square pieces. To find cork tiles near you, search the internet for
"Frameless cork panels" and you should find some. These are 1/8" thick. I liked using cork the best because it's
easy to cut, it glues easily and it grips the table nicely so the piece don't slide around on the table.
Take each square and cut it in half.
2. The easiest way is to mark it with a
ruler and use a hobby knife to cut
them in half.

When you have finished cutting the

pieces in half you will have eight
pieces that measure 12" x 6" each.

Notice that the pieces 1-8 match up to the diagram at the top of
this article.

Take the first piece and cut it in half to make two 6" square
pieces.

3.

Take white glue (I like Aleen's Tacky glue) and squeeze out a generous
amount on the surface. Then take your finger and spread it out evenly.

You'll need quite a bit of glue because the cork soaks it up.
4.
You will also notice when cutting the cork that the 12" pieces can be
slightly short sometimes. When you run into a short piece, just try to get
as close as you can to the right measurement.
 Set the tiles shown on top of the glue. The
tiles shown in red are odd shaped pieces
from mold #282.

The tiles shown in purple are the 2 small

1" x 1/2" tiles set together to fill a 1"
square.

I have these tiles counted exactly, so if

you do not want to run out of certain floor
5. tiles then put down the exact tiles that I
show. Once the glue is dry, cut off the
excess cork from the corners.

Two wooden planks will go across the

hole after the piece is painted. For
complete painting instructions, look at our
Painting Instructions page.

Make 2 of these.
Cut the next
piece of cork
into the 6
pieces shown
and spread glue
on them.

The tiles shown

6. in red are odd
shaped pieces from mold #282.

The tiles shown in purple are the 2 small 1" x 1/2" tiles set
together to fill a 1" square.

7.
Make 3 of
each.
 Here is group 3 and 4.

Cut the next 2 pieces of

cork as shown and spread
glue on them.

The tiles shown in red are

odd shaped pieces from
8. mold #282.

The tiles shown in purple

are the 2 small 1" x 1/2"
tiles set together to fill a
1" square.

Make 4 of each.

Draw the lines on the cork

tiles as shown, then cut
9. them apart. To see how to
make the bridge visit our
Tips & Tricks 20 page.

10.

The tiles shown in

red are odd shaped
pieces from mold
#282.
11.
The tiles shown in
purple are the 2
small 1" x 1/2" tiles
set together to fill a
1" square.
 The tiles shown in red are odd
shaped pieces from mold #282.
12.
The tiles shown in purple are the
2 small 1" x 1/2" tiles set
together to fill a 1" square.

13.

The tiles shown in red

are odd shaped pieces
from mold #282.

The tiles shown in

14.
purple are the 2 small 1"
x 1/2" tiles set together to
fill a 1" square.

This will finish group 6.

Here is group
7.
15.
The small
pieces measure
1" x 2".

For the 1" x 2" pieces we're using the 1 x 2 solid tiles (ten of each).
16.
Once the glue is dry, cut the corners out of the "cross" floor sections.
 Here is group
8.
17.
The measuring
here is a little
more difficult.

Be careful when cutting out the "T"

sections.
18.
The small pieces with the "X" are
not used.

The tiles shown in red

are odd shaped pieces
from mold #282.

This concludes all of the

19. board sections you will
need for the game. The
next section will show
how to build doors and
other accessories.

After all the pieces are glued down and dry, you'll want to
paint them.
20.
For complete painting instructions, look at our Painting
Instructions page. To see how to make the bridges and other
special painting instructions, see our Tips & Tricks 20 page.

Building The Accessories

 We will need to make
doorways for the game.

Start by gluing together 10

arches and 10 doors back to
back.
1.
Sometimes the back or
scraped side of the door will
be a little concave. If you sand the back of the doors they will glue together
a little better.

You will also need 20 door posts. The pieces will need to be painted before gluing them around the door. For
complete painting instructions, look at our Painting Instructions page. To see how to paint the wooden doors,
see our Tips & Tricks 20 page.

Once painted, one door post will go on each side of the door with the flat scraped side facing the door. The
colored diamond on each of the three doors is used for colored rune doors in the Descent game.

2.

3.
 We're going to make two stair
pieces to show where figures can
move from level to level.

4. For my plans shown here I have only

made two of them. If you have extra
blocks or castings from mold #282,
you can make more stair pieces if
you like.

Make 4 of
these
temporary wall
sections.

5. These are used

to separate
large floor sections that have a
doorway between them.

Paint the chests and coin piles

as shown.
6.
To see how to paint the chests
and coin piles, see our Tips &
Tricks 20 page.

The round well is made by placing the 8 irregular tiles from

mold #282 in the pattern shown. I am gluing these to thin
cardboard or cereal box.
7.
Then glue 2 doorway arches on top to form a ring. After
painting the stone color on it, paint the hole black.

The square pit is made by placing the rectangular and

square tiles from mold #282 in the pattern shown. I am
gluing these to thin cardboard or cereal box.
8.
Then glue second layer on top using all rectangular blocks.
After painting the stone color on it, paint the hole black.
 Now
for the
9.
giant's
throne.

Break 2 pieces.
Glue the halves
onto the back of
10.
another piece.
Make 2 of
these.

Make 2 pieces from above.

Glue these two pieces onto the
back of the throne. Use lots of
glue because these pieces do not
11. have flat edges and will fit very
loosely.

Add pillar halves onto the front

of the throne.

Glue these irregular tiles (and one square tile)

to a piece of thin cardboard or cereal box.

Glue the throne on top of it. For painting

12.
instructions, see our painting instructions
page.

Make 1 of these.
 To make the barricade, glue
the four tiles shown down to a
piece of thin cardboard or
cereal box.

Glue the three 1" long flat

tiles down to the center and
13. on edge.

Add a pillar on each end and

then evenly space out 5 small
bricks on top.

Add the wooden planks after

the piece has been painted.

The bridge has two ends that we

are making here. Arrange the
irregular shaped tiles in a circle
on each side and glue them down to
14. thin cardboard.

Since there are not enough irregular

pieces for both ends, we're using
different tiles for each end.

We will need 4 posts. Start with

the tile shown and glue two 3/4"
long tiles back to back on it.
15.
Then glue a larger tile upside
down on top of it. Cap it off with a
square block and the smallest
stone.

Glue the posts on top of the bases. After it's dry, cut the excess
cardboard off from around them.

16. For painting instructions, see our painting instructions page. To see
how to make the bridges and other special painting instructions, see our
Tips & Tricks 20 page. This completes the accessories for the Descent
game.
 The Descent Models

You can find examples of how the

Descent models can be painted on
our Tips & Tricks 20 page.

There I have detailed photos of each

model painted along with the name
of each artist who painted them.

Finished Photos
Here are some finished photos of the figures in action. Click on a photo to view a larger version of it.
http://www.hirstarts.com. All photos, articles and plans are copyrighted by Bruce Hirst and may not be used without permission.
"Castlemolds(R)" is a trademark of Hirst Arts Fantasy Architecture Inc.
For more information contact bruce@hirstarts.com. Page last updated 11/18/06