With some time and effort, you can create unique pieces for your own custom games or use as add-ons to existing games. How to Make Plastic Game Pieces? The process can broken down into two steps: mold making and production.
1. Mold Making
Mold making involves creating a negative mold of the shape you want to create. Which filled with a special type of plastic called thermoplastic. Thermoplastics come in a variety of colors and textures, so you can customize the look of your piece. Once the shape is complete, it needs to cured before it is ready for production.
2. Production of the Piece
During the production process, the thermoplastic heated until it softens and then pressed into a mold. Once this process is complete, the piece cooled and removed from the mold. Then inspected for any defects that may have occurred during production.
The detailed steps are as follows:
(1) Start by gathering the materials and tools you will need to make your plastic game piece. You will need sheets of plastic that are the appropriate thickness for the type of game piece you are making. An Exacto knife, a ruler, a cutting mat, a marker or paint for custom pieces, and clear drying craft glue.
(2) Next, spread the plastic on the cutting mat and use a ruler to measure and mark where to cut. This will ensure that it will look symmetrical when you are finished.
(3) Then take your Exacto knife and slowly cut along these lines to create your game pieces. Remember to take your time with your precise cuts, otherwise you may end up with some jagged edges that don’t look sharp or polished. Also, start with a corner edge so that if there are any slight mistakes in one direction, they can cut away without affecting another area of the piece.
(4) Once you have cut out all of the pieces you want to complete for your particular board game, it’s time to decorate! Use different colors of paint or markers to breathe life into each individual piece and give them their uniqueness when compared side by side on the game board layout. Alternatively, you can also use stickers or patterns, but make sure anything you use is photo safe in case you want to take further photos of your project!
(5) Finally use clear drying craft glue to assemble all of the individual pieces together (ie: one body piece plus four legs/arms, etc.) and let them dry overnight before handling them again. This will give you longer lasting, durable components that won’t fall apart easily at any point during play!
