Pirates of Catan

[Capn Antonio Malasses]

Ahoy!

I am a Huge fan of board games. My favorite being Settlers of Catan. I own many copies of the game but they all have one major flaw; Durability. The tiles and cards are all made out of cardboard which tends to bend or warp over time. I am working on making a copy of the game out of sealed wood this way they are stronger and more resistant to water damage. I've decided that while I'm at it I'm going to tailor the game to my interests and make a Pirates of Catan.

The issue I'm having is with the actual game pieces. In Settlers of Catan the players work with 2 types of pieces: Settlements and Cities. I'd like to do something along the lines of Ship and Hideouts or 2 different size ships. Maybe Sloops and Frigates.

Although Carving the pieces out of wood would look nice it would be too time consuming. I'd LOVE to have metal pieces but I have no way to cast them. My latest idea is to use a 2 part resin and make Plastic duplicates of other pieces that I like. The ships from Dread pirate will work GREAT and I happen to have that game. That just leaves me with making the 2nd type of piece. I can't seem to find other game pieces or pirate knick knacks that I could make a mold of for game pieces. Any ideas would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!

I did find this game online: Pirates Demise I tried to contact the manufacturer about buying some pieces from them but have gotten no response.

I would Really Appreciate some help

Thank Ye

Capn Antonio Malasses

[Guest]

Depending on how intricate the pieces are… That would influence what you could use for a mold…

But you can get “Lead Free Silver Bearing Solder” at most Hardware Stores (about $16 to $20 for about a 2 pound roll/spool)(Lead Free Silver Bearing Solder is real close to lead-free pewter…I just wouldn‘t make eating utensils outta it, but for buttons or game pieces it shouldn‘t be a problem)

Cut the solder into smaller chunks that will fit inside an old tablespoon (I hold the tablespoon’s handle with vice grips so I don’t burn myself) and melt the solder with a propane torch…then pour the melted solder into the mold.

I’ve cast “pewter” button in a soapstone mold this way…for simple game pieces it could work also.

[HBlackthorne]

A sand casting kit [from what I have seen] will only run like $60 and it works well for small items like buttons, pins, brooches,etc so a same piece maybe the size of a monopoly piece should work easily. You can get the lead free solder mentioned above works well for such items or you can but a softer pewter to use as well. I know a friend who made little space ships [for a ship based Warhammer style game] using a sand casting kit and they held up a full season of Faire [and are still going].

[Capn Antonio Malasses]

Thank you Guys! Some GREAT IDEAS!! I did some research and found that I can use silicone molds on low melting metals. this way the molds are reusable which means they won't have to be formed every time I want to cast like the Sand Casting Molds. I'm getting my piece Design together now then I will work on the molds and acquiring the metal.

Thanks Again Mateys

Capn Antonio Malasses

[jendobyns]

Very interesting. Are any of these low melting metals food safe? I think someone mentioned pewter?

Also, you could also do a soapstone mold. You'd need to carve the sides separately and make sure they matched up, but it would be pretty durable. Just a thought. I'm thinking about making molds for a project of my own so this is a timely discussion.

[Island Cutter]

I was just doing a search for something similar. I searched polymer clay push mold ship model decoration.

Try this link...http://modelshipwrights.wikispaces.com/Resin+Casting+for+Ship+Models

[Guest]

Polymer clay has some advantages (lot of colors, and it's easy to use)... but if you make a part to thin they will break...

[Capn Antonio Malasses]

I have been thinking of using pewter, lead, or zinc. I work for an automotive company so lead is easy to come by. Zinc is tougher but not impossible. I also remembered that one of my buddy has a bunch of metal miniatures from back in our gaming days. (most likely made of lead or white metal) I reached out to him about getting them to melt down and recast.

I can not speak to the food safety of any of these metals. Well except for lead which is obviously DON"T USE IT!. If I cast my pieces in lead they will get a good cleaning and solid coating of paints and sealers.

I acquired a few ships this week to use as templates for my casting. I'm not that great at carving so soapstone would be difficult. I got a BEAUTIFUL ship piece from the Pirate's Demise game over at ShipShape Games (http://shipshapegames.com). Also I got a few ships from the Pirates of the Caribbean Treasure Hunt DVD Game.

I plan to fill in the PotC pieces with some clay to make them sturdier and easier to cast. (The Ship Shape Games pieces are Awesome as they are.) Then I'll mold each piece in RTV Silicone before casting them in the metals that I decide on.

Wish Me Luck

Capn Antonio Malasses

[Grymm]

I look upon it as a crusade to buy and melt down any of the ropey glass bottomed and non period shaped pewter tankards (Which is pretty much any you can buy commercially) that I find in charity shops(thrift stores?) to stop them finding their way to re-enactment events and being dangled from someones belt just like they didn't do...

They get turned into summat more period correct be it secular and pilgrim badges,buttons and the like =o)

Edited February 9, 2013 by Grymm

[Capn Antonio Malasses]

That is an Amazing Idea! Might I ask how you determine if the cup is pewter? and how you go about removing the glass before melting the pewter?

Thank you for the idea.

Capn Antonio Malasses