Styrodur Bricks and Floor Tiles: A Simple Dungeon Terrain Tutorial

This quick terrain-building tutorial grew out of an online discussion about dungeon bricks and floor tiles. In tabletop scenery, bricks and floor tiles are a classic staple and you’ll find them in all kinds of sizes, colours, and styles, perfect for creating that gloomy, ancestral feel in your dungeon terrain.

It also acts as a follow-up to my old “building interior” post from many moons ago, this time focusing on how to make bricks and floor tiles from styrodur. Whether you’re building ruined walls, dungeon corridors, or detailed flagstone floors, styrodur bricks are an easy and versatile option for your tabletop projects.

Materials used 

• Thermocutter or a very sharp knife (remember your safety training)

• PVA -glue

• Styrodur/Styrofoam ; for a project like this, I tend to use leftover pieces

• a tin with stones 🙂

• a selection of colours and other painting implements

Get Your Bricks Together!

(Fig.1-5)

Tiles

Start by cutting rectangular, elongated lumps of styrodur foam. Then slice them into individual tiles… much like cutting salami. For projects like this, I tend to use leftover material from previous builds.
I use a guiding tool for speed and consistency, but you can cut them freehand for a more irregular, dungeon-like appearance. A sharp knife works too, though it’s slower… and bloody.
For most tabletop terrain, I aim for 2×2 cm or 3×3 cm squares. If you don’t have styrodur on hand, sturdy cardboard from leftover boxes (and let’s face it, every hobbyist has a stash in the cellar) works as a cheap alternative.

Bricks

Bricks are made the same way as tiles, using leftover styrodur. For this example, I cut 1×1 cm strips, varying the brick lengths to break up uniformity. Yes, these bricks are oversized compared to true scale, but wargaming terrain doesn’t have to be a perfect replica of reality. Sometimes bold details look better on the table.

Adding Texture

To texture the bricks and tiles, place them in a tin with a few small rocks and give them a good shake. The bumps and nicks create a natural, weathered look. If some edges break off, think of them as extra character and terrain detail rather than flaws.

Bricklaying and Flooring

In this tutorial, we’re not building a realistic structure but creating an abstract representation of an interior space. I repurposed a small wooden cheese plate (we recently had a housewarming party) as the base framework for this terrain interior and filled it with styrodur bricks and floor tiles. That said, the basic process applies to any styrodur brick and tile terrain build.

I usually use PVA glue to lay my bricks because it won’t dissolve the styrodur foam. The order in which you add bricks and floor tiles depends on the terrain piece you’re creating for your wargame. For this project, I started by laying down the floor tiles and then added the dungeon walls built from bricks. (Fig.7-8)
Keep in mind, I only did two rows of bricks, due to the nature of my project. But you can go as crazy as you wish.

Quick tipp: I like to mix a bit of colour into the PVA glue. This way, even the hard-to-reach areas get some base colour before the later painting stages.

For neatness, I drew guidelines on the floor (Fig6) to keep the tiles aligned, but this step is optional depending on your desired look.You may need to cut some tiles and bricks to size as you go. If you feel inspired, you can also add extra cracks and holes for realism, but I kept it simple this time and skipped those details.

In this example piece, the floor warped due to the drying process of the PVA glue. To counter this, I also covered the bottom of my cheese-plate–turned terrain, hoping it would warp in the opposite direction. (Fig.9)

Painting process:

For most wargaming terrain projects that you’ll want to replicate or expand over time, I recommend a simple, reliable painting process. This is especially true if you’re working on a growing dungeon set.

1. Prime the styrodur bricks and tiles using a mix of Mod Podge and black paint (PVA glue works as an alternative). The black primer creates natural (aka free) shadows, helping to hide any missed spots later. (Fig.10)
2. Basecoat with a dark grey paint. Try to avoid covering the gaps between tiles or bricks to preserve depth. At this stage, I also painted several bricks in various brown shades to add colour variation and realism. (Fig.11-12)
3. Drybrush progressively lighter shades of grey to bring out the texture and surface details. The final highlight should be applied carefully to emphasize edges and worn spots. (Fig.13)

Optional: Applying a dark wash over the painted bricks and tiles can unify the colours and add dramatic shading in crevices and corners. I cover it entirely, dipp of the excess with some tissue. Once all is dry, apply a final drybrush. (Fig.14-16)

Eric did a similar project for his portable brawl arcane board. I highly recommend to check it out, since he used a more sophisticated way to paint the floortiles.

This was my first blog post and wargaming terrain project since moving into my new place. It felt refreshing to dive back into working with styrodur foam. Although it was a small project, it marked a great new beginning for my hobby activities.

happy crafting

D.