How I made my rock TV frame (Patreon)
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So I received some questions about my TV case, which isn't really a full case, but a removable frame made of styrofoam, toothpicks and toilet paper. And I decided to make a post about it in case somebody wants to make something similar.
First of all I spent some time to find a 40" FULL HD TV with flat back surface that has all the openings for ventilation and wires on the side.
Then I made basic frame using foam board and glue, I also cut holes in it (shaped like cave openings and gates) for ventilation and wires. Then I roughly cut stone shapes from styrofoam (XPS foam), glued them to the frame and pinned them down with toothpicks to make it more sturdy:
There's also some bricks cut out of foam board and toothpicks glued together to form a portcullis:
With the glue thoroughly dried, I cut off those parts of toothpicks that stick out. Then it's time for papier-mache - it's better to find the cheapest hardest toilet paper for this, because the softer ones dissolve too much. So I ripped it in small pieces and added water to let it soak for about an hour or so, then squeezed the water out of it and added white glue to get a not too watery substance. Then I applied it to those rocky shapes to smoothen them and shape them to my liking.
I left it to dry for a couple of days (there was quite a lot of papier-mache so it needed some time), then painted it in grey and green... And voila! The rock frame is ready for action!
Speaking about protecting the TV screen itself, I tried to use plexiglass first - you can see it in the first pics. I also tried to give it matte effect to reduce light reflexions by sanding it with emery paper. The result was not that great, I didn't get an even matte look, then plexiglass bended and didn't protect the screen well enough from dice rolls - when dice hit the surface it responded with some chromatic abberations in that place.
So instead I got a cheap 2mm thick glass (normal glass, nothing fancy) from some "glass cutting" company and covered it with self-adhesive matte film. Now the TV doesn't feel any dice rolls at all, though I wouldn't use metallic dice...
Let me know if you have any questions and happy gaming!