Medieval Settlements & Cities

What are Medieval Settlements & Cities?
Medieval Settlements & Cities (MS&C) are improved, custom designed game pieces compatible with the popular board game Settlers of Catan by Klaus Teuber.

Where can I get them?
The game pieces are currently discontinued for reasons outlined in the 'conclusion'. When a new version becomes available they can be purchased through my blog here.

How are they made?
MS&C are made with two-part, urethane, plastic resins cast into silicon, rubber molds.

Development Timeline

Prior to MS&C I had been working on another project that I considered quite ambition and decided that I needed something a bit more toned down to gain some experience with the "concept-to-reality" process. 

June 2011 - Design Concepts
I pitched, to some friends and family, the idea of redesigning the game pieces to Settlers of Catan. After some preliminary brainstorming, I drew up some concept sketches. As the details came into focus dozens of sketches followed.

June 2011 - Sept. 2011 - 3D Modeled
From those sketches I used Blender, an open-source 3D modeling software, to model the first designs of the MS&C.

Sept. 2011 - 3D Printed
From the evergrowing selection of 3D printing service providers I depended on a company that was able to reproduce the small scale details of my pieces. I then fabricated a mold of the 3D printed model. From the mold I cast copies of the original model using two-part mixed, urethane, plastic resins.

The resulting casts for the first version of the Medieval Settlement were riddled with bubbles, plagued with decapitated trees, and had very little semblance to a desolate country side with a up and coming town.


Oct 2011 - Revised art direction
The initial design concept behind the Medieval Settlement was of scaling the scenery, within the piece, to that of the game board scale to give players the impression of being a governing figure or 'god-like' entity. This good-intended choice resulted in details that were too small to appreciate from an arms-length, the distance players would sit from the board, so a new art direction was taken.

This new design took on a magnified look. Instead of viewing the landscape and its accompanying buildings in its entirety, a 'snippet' of the details were presented at larger scale. As a result, the details were better appreciated not only under close examination, but at a distance as they inhabited the island game board. The new artistic concept was immediately applied to the Medieval City.

Jan. 2012 - March 2012 - Crowdfunding through KickStarter
Through Crowdfunding I was able to gauge the interest level in MS&C and raise the funds needed to solve the bubble issue. In addition, the second version of the Medieval City was printed (first version was never printed).

April 2012 - Supporter funded equipment
With the pledged funds I was able to purchase the vacuum and pressure chamber assemblies that I needed to reduce the problematic bubbles and improve the overall quality of the pieces. A big thank you goes out to all those that showed their support financially through KickStarter.

May 2012 - Reselected materials
Production was slow and painful as I was having great difficulty separating the cities from their molds. After consulting with Danielle Hurley at http://www.danielle-hurley.com/ I selected a different product that made a world of difference. The new material not only released the casts easier, but was also faster to fabricate molds with.



Sept. 2012 - KickStarter pledges fulfilled
The last of the pledges were fulfilled. I sent out over 3500 pieces to eight different countries. I was overjoyed to see each and every package go out the door... not in relief, but in excitement for the awaiting recipient.

Conclusion

Medieval Settlements & Cities was a thrilling and eye-opening project. The joy of making a product from concept-to-reality and distributing them into the hands of others that share the same interest was a wonderful experience. The skills and techniques learned along the way are invaluable toward my pursuit of producing new products.

Despite all the trials that were overcome the cost of production took its toll. The technique used to fabricate the pieces was timely and in turn unforgiving of mistakes. From early on I had my sights on an alternative technique that involved more specialized equipment. Though it was outside of the scope of the initial project it is still a goal of mine. As the future of Nathaniel Custom unfolds, the acquisition of new equipment will make it possible to re-position Medieval Settlements & Cities to where they can be available to more eager fans.