Page: Guide.PlastifyPage7 - Last Modified : Tue, 14 Jul 09 - 5648 Visits

I decide to make a page on how to plastify hex board since I have plastified a lot of them (settlers + expansion, 2 version of twilight imperium and battlemist). With time, I developed more optimal techniques to do the job. You will need the following material:

• Cutting mat
• Exacto Knife
• Scisors
• Book Plastic
• Cloth
• Bone folder

1. Measure your plastic: The first thing to do is to measure your plastic. Place your hexagon side by side so that the hex points toward the end of the plastic. Make sure that there is around 1/4" between each hex so that you have some space to move them a bit. Cut any left over plastic on the side. Now to know approximately how long of plastic you need to cut, you can set a line of hex and see how much plastic you need. Remember that even rows of hex require 1 hex less and than the odd rows. DO NOT cut a sheet of plastic, leave the plastic you will use attached to the roll.
2. Place the hex: Peel the side of the plastic and start placing your hexagon on the plastic. If you wish, you can start with the top and bottom hex and move in to the center to be sure you don't get short in space on one side or the other. Place the second hex row between the other hex so that the hex are placed in an hexagonal pattern. It will leave an half hex space at the top and the bottom of each even rows that you can fill up with other tokens of your choice.
3. Cut unused plastic: When all your hex are placed you can cut unused plastic and fill up the holes with tokens. If you don't have enough hex to complete a row, set them aside and use them for the next plastification.
4. Press the tiles: First, flip the plastic around and press on all the tiles with the cloth and make sure there is no bubbles. Then you can use the bone folder to press the surface.
5. Let it rest: Let the tiles rest for a few hours.
6. Cut around the hex: There are 2 ways to cut out the hex, it depends on what you feel more comfortable with. Method A: Separate the hex by slicing the plastic with an exacto knife in the middle of the space between each hex. Then use a pair of scissors to cut the plastic around each hex. Method B: Use an exacto knife and cut the plastic directly on the side of the hex so that you don't need to cut around the hex with a pair of scissors afterward.
7. Leftovers and the back: Now it's time to do the back of the tiles. Repeat steps 2 to 6 by starting with the leftover tiles and then sticking the plastic on the back of the tiles. It's possible that you end up with leftovers again. In this case, set them aside and the 3rd time, you will place your leftovers and the first left overs who does not have their back covered yet. If you end up with free space on the plastic, stick tokens or cut the plastic shorter.

This is it, you should now have plastified hexagon tiles.

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