How to Make a Miniature BOAT for Tabletop Gaming

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#BlackMagicCraft #Episode175 #EASYMODE
A tiny boat full of adventurers getting attacked on the open sea or a monster infested river makes for one hell of a fun encounter. Make yourself a little foam boat and your players will have a blast using it. Great for many tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons.
Water Mat Source: kck.st/2QQntpv
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[@scarcreations5619]

As my father says, never judge a craftsman by their mistakes but by how well they cover them up. Good work!

[@sinisterthoughts2896]

That is probably the most low key honest thing I have ever heard, and as someone with years in the trades can say is pretty accurate.

[@tbonbrad]

I'd be more proud about a good cover up then perfect execution. As a wise meme once said "Improvise, adapt, overcome".

[@Csrumk]

If every video from now on doesn't consist of you playing with the pieces beforehand I'll be disappointed in the extreme.

[@THE_MR_MAN]

Yeah

[@THE_MR_MAN]

Thar not sadly but it would be cool

[@alexanderlicentia5265]

I appreciate that intro on too many levels.

[@alphasharp]

I would love to see a thespian (or circus) cart or wagon!

[@mszoomy]

Like a gypsy wagon? That would be cool

[@ezekielellis7471]

DUDE! ABSOLUTELY!!

[@Harry-ju8yw]

great idea

[@auluadenbartolli6755]

@@mszoomy They probably avoided calling it that because "Gypsy" is a racial slur against the Romani people, and a circus or caravan wagon is the proper term. "Gypsy" basically means "Trash that is less than human". It originated from the German word Zigeuner, that means "Filth, Untouchable".

[@mszoomy]

@@auluadenbartolli6755 I never thought about that. I always thought of gypsies as magical people, but I can see what you mean considering the historical legacy of the gypsy. I certainly meant no insult in the use of the word.

[@rumbeard8688]

"1 inch is a nice size." I've been saying that for years, but usually not about foam.

[@zakkbrentlinger2165]

Shut up and take my like

[@mszoomy]

It's not about length, it's about girth! 😉

[@RokuroCarisu]

You are a very naughty Hobbit Jerkins.

[@felix9100]

1:38

[@TheDrewjameson]

Hey-o!

[@AdamBucceri]

As someone who made an ENORMOUS boat last year, my favorite wood grain method is to use a cheap comb. Snip off the big tines that bookend it, and you have a nice flexible plastic rake that you can use to texture huge pieces of foam in no time! Deeper and cleaner than using a metal brush too!

[@ForrTheXP]

Jeremy: "Ill have to engrave the slats of the wood with the walls attached so it will be a little harder" *Proceeds to draw wood slats and grain better than I could on just a flat piece of foam*

[@mszoomy]

"I think you're gonna need a bigger boat" 🦈

[@euansmith3699]

"Never get off the boat!"

[@stinkyham9050]

That's a 20 footer

[@tbonbrad]

God I love that fucking movie. Also... Boomer: Oh my god these special effects have not aged well. Can you believe we thought this looked good?😂 Millennials and Gen Z: *silence..... Ate the fucking ship. 😳

[@PheonixKnght]

i would love to see a full sized ship with layers to do a pirate game on.

[@stevenakins]

I would love to see a rope/wood bridge. Keep up the good work. I love supporting you on patreon. Your amazing by keeping everything simple but also showing pride in your work.

[@tbonbrad]

I would too but my god that sounds like it would be pure agony on his end. Nothing short of nails and wood could make that survive a light breeze

[@Joesbadatlife]

I busted out three of these in two hours, sans paint, this afternoon. I'm excited to have boats that are a little more user friendly than the viking ones you did early on.

[@Hepabytes]

Please do more man child intros. They make me smile. :-P

[@noodlesgamebox5903]

It's a skateboarding Chicken or duck. Whichever it is, it's pretty cute.

[@tbonbrad]

It's in the spirit of the hobby when you get down to it so really it's only appropriate.

[@FrankyDCrafter]

This is also a project I have been putting off for the longest time as well. Maybe now I will actually get to craft it. Maybe....

[@adriannaranjo4397]

You are always obligated to go _Pbbbbbbbbbt_ when moving the boat on your water battlemat whenever possible

[@jackfallows1893]

Here in Newcastle, UK we definitely say "aboot" - all the "ow" sounds get changed into "oo". Town = toon, Down = doon. That's what happens when you're descended from Vikings though.

[@serenityquinn9110]

Oh hey, fellow geordie :)

[@christhomas5881]

You mean scottish lol

[@codyrobbins7135]

It's really nice to see Jeremy using the tips and techniques again from Gerard. That wood grain looks FANTASTIC. 11:33

[@andymckenzie8031]

"The furniture maker works to the nearest sixteenth, the carpenter to the nearest quarter, and the boat builder to the nearest boat." I have no idea where I ran across that, but it looks like it's just as accurate in miniature!

[@slickrickard]

Holy ghost of Bob Vila Batman, was not expecting the easy listening foam montages. Aces my friend.

[@frog8220]

4:45 is such an important part. Scaling/Designing things with the use in mind. Makes for a wide boat but if it's good to play with that's wonderful!

[@MadMeeper]

Love the simpler build, its nice to see approachable builds for beginners!

[@JadeJoules]

if you wanted to add weight so it's less likely to shift around during play, putting some coins under the seat slats would be an easy way to do that.

[@AFarmerCalledChicken]

What about washers? Or flattened bottle caps?

[@JadeJoules]

Washers could work,as long as they're steel or heavier, but bottle caps won't add enough to the mass

[@jacobb.9181]

When you’re so broke you can’t even afford to waste 5 cents

[@patrickjames9643]

Thank you. This is one of my favorite builds yet. So simple yet so cool. Takes me back to your early ship build.

[@thoi412]

I really like the music on this one along with describing what you're doing as you run into issues.

[@zealman18]

Back to basics, I like it. Super versatile, and a very approachable build to the novice crafter such as myself. Solid video!

[@Jaikweer01]

That background tune is awesome. It gave me the same vibe as heartbeats did back in the day. Great video as always. Keep the creative juices flowing.

[@charllandsberg]

These simple build 'how to's' are so valuable because they show simple skills that you wind up using in practically everything. Definitely going to try this

[@staggartz8400]

You could've totally add a little arch at that front bit with a small lantern to add some flare and potentially add more depth to stories. Especially like a eerie boat trip across a foggy dense lake. Love the work as always!

[@xilicks]

I enjoy builds that the minis can really interact with. The players at the table can actually move this boat around or you as the DM can have a boat of oncoming enemies breaching the shore, it's good stuff.

[@AzraelThanatos]

Since you're going for a seaside thing, you ought to take a look at some of the soft plastic pirate sets in the toy isle of places like walmart. While you already have boats (I'd spent $10 on a bucket that had 4 of them of almost exactly the size of the one you made), there are a lot of terrain pieces that are in them and quite easy to paint up for scatter and general use. You can also easily grab some of the cheaper shark and sea creature toys and waterline them for some rather good looking end results on the table.

[@jackhelm9852]

Outstanding. I 110% love that you chose function over form on this. So often I have to figure out how to tone down some builds of things I see on videos because they too often do not take into account actual play-ability like how will figures fit, what else might need to go into it, etc. Great work on a nice simple project. I will post more about it and questions over on the FB channel (an overt plug for joining the fellowship by supporting Jeremy on Patreon...totally unsolicited by him) but for here I will just say this is an excellent simple video that I will be back to soon for performing. Thank you!!

[@martinthewarrior5016]

Honestly I'm really enjoying the new music choices you used on this video (the track at 8:30 is especially good imo), its always interesting to see how much music choice affects the overall tone of a video!

[@libbyannbest1723]

Thanks so much for this wonderful video. I wanted to know how to make my own gesso for priming, and I had no idea that you could just mix Mod Podge matte with black paint. Awesome!

[@WadeColwill]

I am making an island/pirate campaign and this video is perfect!

[@mszoomy]

First time I ever attempted to D.M. it was with a bunch of newbs. 1/2 the dungeon was underwater and no one had any water breathing spells or abilities, it was a disaster. Don't ask me which one, this was 30+ years ago

[@RokuroCarisu]

@@mszoomy Should've seen that comming. Nobody likes underwater dungeons in any kind of game.

[@mszoomy]

@@RokuroCarisu it was the first one I'd ever played that had so much water. My fault was that I simply hadn't put any prep into it. Totally rests on me. Live & learn. We just played ignoring all aspects of water, it didn't matter really, I was doing it mainly for my bff's little brothers and 2 if their friends, they were just excited to be playing d&d. Keep in mind this was back in the early 80's,

[@kalleendo7577]

Nice! Those textures are awesome

[@Rafael-qt8cf]

Great video! Your editing has really come along since you started, I love the soundtracks and I would love to see you make an attempt at a thatched roof!

[@SecretRedBeard]

Jeremy, I started using a flea comb to engrave grain into planks! Its working really good.

[@FedralBI]

Love this. I've made few of a similar nature for my players. I also have a few canoes which are extremely underrated for players as a man portable craft that players can buy.

[@martintaylor570]

Literally building a dock for Necromunda right now and had left a space for a boat about this size - perfect timing, thanks!

[@TheBaldOgre]

Found your channel a little while ago and I must say you've inspired me to get into this full swing! Still in the process of getting my materials but I am super excited to get started! Great work on the builds and videos!

[@saralang4197]

Love this vid! Gave me a great idea for a game prop. My game has us using these big riding beetles to get through a bog. Can build beetle shaped "boat" markers to show which minis are on which beetles, since 1 beetle can support 2 peeps. Thanks my dude!

[@madmadame1508]

Your videos are so helpful, and your workspace is goals!

[@TheGameSmithsTable]

Thanks for the link to the water mat... I've been looking for something just like it. Much appreciated.

[@TheseusTitan]

I live in the metropolitan area of Detroit. We go to Canada often for lunch, dinner or to visit friends. There are people there who do say “aboot”. We love it though just the same.

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

They don't though. You're just hearing it like that because we have some vowel sounds (dipthongs, called the Canadian Raising in this case) that your brain isn't used to interpreting so you interpret it incorrectly. This has been well studied by linguists, and it's a little confusing to be fair: www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/how-canadians-really-pronounce-about

[@kevinstrom9410]

Your videos bring me so much joy. Seriously, I love them. I'll be making a boat soon!

[@kristoff7049]

This was way useful... I’ve been wanting to make a river patrol boat for 28mm minis... and this is useful inspiration thanks

[@JarlSeamus]

This is serendipitous timing. The campaign I'm running now has a ship (which I already built) and the ship needs 2 whale-boats, which I was still figuring out. I was over engineering it, I like your design a lot better. Thanks again, mate.

[@MM-rg9vv]

I just finished my first attempt at crafting a boat and sent you a message a few days ago! What a coincidence!!

[@jonathaningersoll6213]

Great touch-up with the prow! I think it really adds to the boat!

[@rking1106]

Awesome boat, gives me so many ideas!

[@MastertheGamerpg]

I love this piece. Great work.

[@Frostbitten25]

Oh man! Killing it with the music! Awesome video man, thanks so much

[@AnHourOfWolves]

Excellent. Thanks for posting.

[@RonelynValor]

I think it'd be really neat to see you do a build off the same pattern multiple times with different materials to show off the ups and downs of each. Your vids, by the way, are super-instructive, even when I'm just using 'em for inspiration and ideas. :)

[@rickl9462]

Great video Jeremy! Can't wait to try this out.

[@TabletopWitchCRAFT]

The beat to the first song you have playing... all I kept singing in my head was "Building a boat, building a boat" on repeat...:) Nice build.

[@Chattycrafter2580]

I need to get one of those foam cutting tools, it’s so satisfying to watch you cut the foam. The boat is amazing.👍👍

[@johnkennedy3403]

Lovely work as always and the finished product looks fantastic. Tempting to try all this with foamcore as I am too cheap to buy a hot wire table. I reckon I could get it to work.

[@deadcuty21]

I love this! I’m new to playing tabletop games and I’ve been watching a lot of DIY videos 😂thank you!

[@cityonahillterrain]

Love the new music mate

[@FrankyDCrafter]

cityonahillterrain same, makes it easy to watch the video again.

[@WakkasLove]

I enjoy these kinds of builds so much more than 3D printed stuff. I really do. Now if you wanted to Jazz up this piece without impeding playing with it, just do some printed paper decorations. You could print the coil of rope. You could print fishing lines or nets to drape over the sides, etc and then just glue them on flat. It won't impede anything but you would definitely improve the look and feel of the boat. Taking that idea further, instead of gluing the pieces on the boat directly, you could glue them to thin cardstock, and then attach with magnetic tape. Then you could change the look of the ship any time you needed to. (Hang nets with fish over the sides to make a fishing boat one time, then swap with shields another time for a war boat, etc.)

[@toniolagrenouille6263]

It always looks so easy when you craft it! Nice job!

[@tzimiable]

My god. Your gaming room/shelves/stuff/talent. The envy is real. Thanks for sharing your work

[@theQiwiMan]

Man, I love your videos so freaking much! Looks beautiful! ❤️

[@Anthony-bs5ov]

Thank you for preaching the virtues of dollar store foam core. not only for terrain building, but Ive started using it for utility projects. For instance I just made some custom sized containers for storing and transporting my terrain for wargaming, its been a game changer. And most importantly... ITS SO CHEAP!

[@Overvoice]

Amazing video! Thank you!

[@mikenrad3507]

Hey dude! loved the build, super simple and functional, ive been looking for this exact kind of build but for a horse drawn wagon/carriage/cart that can is to scale with the battle map. Would love to see a video tackling that kind of build at some point! keep up the great work man!

[@grouperman941]

Good project, and great music.

[@tacticalgamer7777]

Awesome video man great job I've always found it hard to make transport items for my toys when I was little or now for my minis, either they were to big or just didn't look right but the way you made that boat looks perfect! Great job man!

[@AndrewSmith-wv2tp]

Love it, this is on my list of things to build once I’ve got my new hobby shed sorted to have all my stuff in so I can build and paint minis in peace lol

[@negotiableaffections]

A fantastic little build. I've been 'woodgraining' XPS since before the mists of time rolled in. Your 'lapping' was simply phenomenal, I'd have been trying to stick one plank over another. [And I didn't notice any 'in the zone' slipup of direction, honest!]. The post at the prow was subconsciously planned for, it was not a 'mess-up'. It had to be there and it brought the build together. Now I'd have been squirming not to leave a 1/4 inch of base protruding and build a little wave action with clay/paper-mache but; I know, Functionality...[maybe later?]

[@daniellogue8365]

Love your music selection

[@joelcaron8291]

I made a boat a couple weeks ago and I went tru the same issue of scale between the PCs and the boat. Now I think I should've did the same and build the overall a little larger... it's good for learning to make a mistake once in a while :) Finaly, I am canadian too and I say « à propos » !! ha ha ... Thanxx a milion times for your great vids. I love 'em :)

[@Dylfunkle]

I'm currently building a keelboat for D&D, I didn't know about this video when I started, but we've had almost identical ideas, I shaped my base the same way, but I used Styrofoam for the side rails and textured my deck with popsticks. This is awesome as heck.

[@tdougler]

That boat turned out awesome! Love the Dungeon Mat too!

[@deninenicole]

Loved the music in this episode.

[@Wallach_a]

I want to know if that guy comes back from his watery grave to collect his gold!🤔🤨😳

[@theladyamalthea]

I love how you play with the boat and figures after, complete with sound effects. 😆

[@MonkeyJedi99]

This will be a great use for some of my foamcore that is not quite big enough for buildings. Some day the place I am will have wiring that is not overloaded/ancient and I can get a foam cutter table.

[@jacobhope6164]

What a great little boat! Nice job Jeremy.

[@Recon3Y3z]

Nice work! I need that foam. 😍

[@randycox4861]

Nice music this week! keep up the great work.

[@pauljohnson3317]

Excellent! Thanks!

[@edwardgurney1694]

Very cool! Now you have to make a ship stuck in pack ice for your Frostgrave board! Things like this show how weird the 5ft square grid can look when applied to objects and furniture. That would be a very large row boat irl.

[@Demo-Pytlik]

Cool video, definitely gonna make one.

[@dkbibi]

Man, where do you find your music tracks? They're ALWAYS so spot on!

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

I license them from epidemicsound.com

[@nickrogers3111]

love the boat crafting montage music, sounded like Irish punk beat. 🤘

[@midworldcrafting4958]

I love this build! Ships are a lot of fun. I will say though, that from a viewing perspective, the Styrodur gives off more of a glare/it's harder to see the details going on than the pink stuff during the build. Love the channel though!

[@ldyjewell]

You could make a few decorative items for use on the boat or on a pier, like a small coil of rope (twine), an anchor, or nets.

[@niklasahlstrom]

Love your channel! You got me into crafting and your builds are always a big inspiration! Btw, I've heard some of my music in your videos before but this one was packed with it from start to finish. Super cool!

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

Hey that’s cool! You can thank epidemic sound for that! Cheers!

[@aecascais]

I enjoyed the music selection for this video, and as always great job with everything :)

[@paulgee1952]

Out on a Jolly, thats a term for your about, hehe.Good build.If were to add anything might be adding a boot in ,making futtocks , or that might invite a rollocking .

[@creatrixcorvusarts876]

Your solution for the front was a entirely appropriate, as most row boats have a keel, and that projects up at the front. Nicely done!

[@erikanderson7997]

That really is a beautiful mat.

[@RandallAndStrat]

I built something extremely similar to this just a couple weeks ago out of dollar store foam core! It came out as one of my best builds yet, though I did have a similar issue with the prow, but I just left mine crooked

[@chelseamullins7000]

Yaasssss i love this!!! I love your crafts 🖤✨

[@valasafantastic1055]

Thanks I wanted to make boats this is very helpful!

[@VHS_138]

Loving the new background music!

[@thatonecordelia]

you inspired me to start doing terrain for my fiancée's game. I'm not the greatest DM (my mind is too scattered for me to construct plots and quests and NPCs and do improv) but I very much enjoy making things for his campaign. and for our one-on-one campaign we're going to be making my character's very own airship, The Brass Rook! wouldn't know what to do without your helpful and fun videos. keep up the great work! excited for the next one

[@jeebsgold]

Nice!! The scale is a non-issue, it represents an archetypal sea vessel and your imagination fills in the rest.

[@jamesmilton8308]

If you don't like working foam, I knocked out a couple of paper and cardboard boats. If the sides are weak reinforce with vertical timbers on the inside. I used bamboo stirring rods for planking.