I want to make a modern Military map for a large dio that I am doing and do not know if I can buy one or do I have to scratch one out . So how do I go about doing it? can you just print one out on the comp. or what ? scratchbuilding is kinda new to me for some things but I am learninng fast and I am doing more and more scratchbuilding as I go. So I want to do a map now but I want the detail.

Try CaptainJack. Here's a news item from him:
http://armorama.com/news/64&mode=thread&order=1

Are you talking about a map for the figures in the dio to use? If so, I usually use one of the small maps in the margin of a normal 1:50,000 map. We normally cut the margins off when we tape umpteen of these things together. Just cut out the small map in the corner that shows the series # and adjoining maps and use that for your figures.

Okay, really screwed up idea, but here it goes...
Go on the internet and find examples of topographic maps (a good source is the University of Texas Austin's Library website) and save some of the images as jpgs. Then what I've done is placed the image as a picture in a Word document, which allows me to resze the image to my liking. The print the document on a color printer ( laser works best).
Here's the UT library link:
Perry-Castaneda Library

That's not a screwed up idea at all - it's brilliant!! Now this is why I love this site !!! :-)

Mike

Very usefull idea, I loved it!
Thanks

I agree, great idea! :-)

You also have my humble vote for excellence in creativity Bob! That idea could be used in a number of ways, good thinking for an Armour guy...

But, Sgt. Busche, if you're looking for an already manufactured, authentic 'war room' style wall map in 1/35th scale, contact the people at a company called Dream Catcher. They are located in Belgium. Their address is:

Dream Catcher
SPRI,4,Rue de la Saboterie,B-6810
IZEL, Belgium.
(telephone/fax) 00-352-620861

They make military style wall maps in 1/35th scale for just about every military conflict. They come in sets of eight (8), look excellent, are printed on high quality paper, and packed in factory sealed clear plastic. The cost for each set is only around $5 or 6$, so that should be an affordable option for you.

Hope that helps... :-)

Tread.

That was my reference to CaptainJack. :-)
DreamCatcher

......oops. Sorry, didn't know CaptainJack was affiliated with Dream Catcher. My failure, sorry.

Good catch M1!!

Tread...

Whoa !

I'd be the first to support the Belgian economy (... ! ), but I like a good scratchbuilding idea when I see one. My vote goes to Bob's link to the UT library.
What else could we want ? There's even detailed maps of Tora Bora in Russian on that site !
The execution of printing these maps (through MS Word or another program) sounds good, if :
1) quality of colour printer is good enough to leave some detail
2) you make sure the paper is as thin as your printer can support. Normal weight of printer paper looks a bit awkward in 1/35. In the real world, such maps would be over one millimeter thick... but I don't want to nag about details. Great site, Bob !

Sarge - "GIS" has become the global lingua franca for mapping, maps and map images.

www.gis.com

Also - the geography network, @

http://www.geographynetwork.com/

hth,
Flange

While scratch building is well and fine, there are several considerations to be taken into account. When we produce maps the equivalency factor of size and scale are taken into account. We use a professional high quality printer and print on specoal galzed and acid treated paper. If I thought that the down loading and copying of images straight off the web would suffice, I'd have never started doing these. However, I have enhanced colours, diminished errors and tried to provide people with a good quality product for their use. Thanks to you guys who, stand behind us we really do try to do our best, and even offer a reduction of 10% to Armorama.Com members. We also, had to pay for and purchase the rights to produce several of these items so, the call is yours. Contact me, if you wish, for a list of what's available. By the way, we don't get rich on these things, theres more involved than making a buck, it's just part of the big scheme of things. :-)

Jack, just back from sipping martinis in Tahiti (ha=ha);

Welcome back Jack!!!

I thought where have you been lately... I didn't know DreamCatcher produces maps too... I'm off to see it on your website right now.

Mario M.

Thanx guys. We produce some 60 different sets. Some of my favourites are/ Vietcong posters, WWII OKW maps; Cuban posters; Modern Russian, Modern Chinese, Spanish Civil War, Afghanistan maps (in Afghani)Gaza strip posters 1 + 2, etc. I'm currently working on two sets Israeli Commercial, and Israeli Road sign sets. It's great to be back!

Captain Jack.

Jack,
Most of us scratchbuilders share secret dreams of quitting our day job one day and start a small company that markets modeling products. You did exactly that. You need not tell me that takes entrepreneurship and guts. Secretly, we envy you. You realized our dream. But we're sure that such job has rainy days as much as sunny days (even on the Bahamas ... ha=ha).

I certainly appreciate your perspective. One has to earn a living, and producing aftermarket modeling stuff happens to be the way you earn yours. Companies who produce good quality after market stuff earn our deepest respect. They allow us to make better and nicer dioramas and kits.

Hence, you will not read me advocate the idea of copying other peoples' work, like some do. I will not advice people against buiding aftermarket stuff. But there's nothing wrong with the idea of scratchbuilding.

Compared to buying stuff, scratchbuilding has only one enormous advantage.
Better quality ? Depends on what you try to achieve and how skilled you are. In general, aftermarket kits look at least as good as scratchbuilt stuff.
Lower price It's been discussed before. If you want the cheap solution, aftermarket products are often as cheap - if not cheaper - than scratchbuilding. Look at the cost of silicone, resin, and the material you need to do it properly.

Then why do we persist in scratchbuilding instead of buying ready-made kits ?
Because it's just more fun ! It challenges our imagination, our skills... Just to enjoy that splendid "look what I made" feeling when a good result is achieved.

I honestly don't think that scratchbuilding is the enemy of ready-made products, Jack.
It's an alternative. There's room enough for both.

It may be an interesting topic for a Friday-night chat session, but when I speak for myself, I can assure you that the many years of scratchbuilding did not divert my interest from aftermarket kits. On the contrary : I learned to better appreciate the skills that are involved in a fine product.

The purpose of this forum is to step away from our own workbench, to share our experience with others who may be newer. We only started this forum a few months ago, and I already learned a lot. Isn't it wonderful to share the imagination of hundreds of other poor souls who are haunted during nights and weekends by this passion of modeling ?!

It is certainly interesting ro read your side of the story, too. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this forum.

No Problem. I understand fully your position. Just defending my tiny corner of the gzlzxy. Everyone has the right, and obligation to choose the methods and products that work best for them.

Cheers,

Jack

I have usd the print out map technique before. Worked for me. Anyway, fold it a few times before you place it in the hands of a figure, as nobody carries around a fully opened map. the folds hide a lot of the detail... especially good when your WW2 german is reading a modern shrunk map of heathrow airport in london :-)

I just tried out wine bottle labels in 1/35 scale. The resolution of my standard inkjet printed wasn´t enough to make the text readable. The limit of readability is something like 2.5 points text size using that font. However, I tried very thin fine-grain paper with a laser printer @ 600 dpi. You can read the wine name AND the year (the year is 1.4 points text, font Old English). It´s black and white, but it´s not too difficult to add some colour in it.
I think the same technical solution works for any paper product in that scale.
Being a graphic designer, I´m very interested in ww2 era design. Propaganda posters to begin with! Any material you will see in my dioramas will be home-made. Unless I need road signs etc. Then I´ll contact our good CaptainJack

Toni

Toni,

Just an idea...
On fleemarkets, you sometimes find old WWII propaganda magazines the Germans produced all over Europe. "Signal" is a popular one. Some of the advertising in there can be used as propaganda (or advertising) posters. All you have to do is scan them or reduce them with a copier...


Jan

I'm with Sabot. Use the tiny versions on genuine 1/50,000 maps. Best quality around and.....100% real and accurate.

The only problem......getting the map of the desired area, but the www should cover that one.

You'll find your way !!

i suggest following way:
search from internet map which would look ok
copy to word
scale down heavily
print it out on color printer (ink works ok)
fold it together couple of times
place it where you want