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Modular Terrain Tiles March 2026

·507 words·3 mins
Blender Heavy Gear Blitz

Modular Road Tiles
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Last year I released the initial version of my modular road tiles . I finally (a few months ago) got a test set printed and learned several things:

  1. I should probably consider getting my own printer at some point, even for limited usage like this.
  2. The initial tests fit together well and loo to be a ‘generous’ size for 12mm/1:144 layouts. A basic ’tile’ can easily hold a couple small buildings now!
  3. The initial tiles had limited vertical differentiation.

So I’ve revised these primarily looking at the last bullet point above. I added a small (.5mm) elevation to the ‘curbs’ and ‘sidewalk’ aspects. I’m hopeful this will help make them look a bit better.

I’ve also changed my version numbering to the YEARMONTHDATE format, so 20260314 is it for now.

License
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These 3d object files are distributed with no warranty or expressed use. They are not licensed for commercial use including AI training.

Tile Inventory
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The current tiles are listed below:

Tile Ver Description Size Files
Tile 20260314 Basic tile acting as a base for buildings and similar. 150mm x 150mm Tiles20260314Tile,_Square_(150mx150m).stl (101k)
Road 20260314 Standard Road segment. 110mm x 50mm Tiles20260314Road_(110m_x_50m).stl (44k)
Corner 20260314 Simple corner. 70mm x 70mm Tiles20260314Corner_(70mx70m).stl (39k)
Four Way 20260314 Four Way Intersection. 90mm x 90mm Tiles20260314Four_Way_(90mx90m).stl (48k)
Tee 20260314 Three Way 'T' intersection. 90mm x 70mm Tiles20260314Tee_(90mx70m).stl (32k)

Please note the 20260314 release has a two part extra wide tile that is not currently in this release. I pulled this as it is exporting oddly for some reason and I don’t currently have time to troubleshoot the issue.

Future Projects
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I have some ideas for additional expansions:

  • “Short” road: Right now the ‘Double Wide Tile’ is somewhat dependent on the ‘T’ intersection which limits its usage. Adding a short road (90mm x 50mm) would help bridge this and allow long streets consisting of two normal roads and a short road.
  • Traffic Circle: This would likely need to be another multi-part but essentially make a 2x2 arrangement of Tiles with Roads between them and a Four Way in the center… Then modify it to more closely resemble a traffic circle formation, cutting into the Tiles to give the road time to breath. Traffic circles can have interesting line-of-sight breaking ornaments in the center ranging from small hills and fountains to entire buildings (See historic Annapolis!) and beyond.
  • Connection to Overpass: I was working on an overpass design to add terrain with the rare overhanging detail. I’d like to add in a piece that ramps up 2-3 inches to the height of an elevated roadway.
  • Tiles with added details like water features, construction sites, etc.
  • May move the files to a 3d model hosting service, although currently it’s a pretty minimal set of files.
  • Get several sets printed and detailed. Add a gallery to this page.

My Blender Skills are…
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Slightly improved, but Blender is of a complexity where I feel like I forget a lot when I’m not actively able to use it regularly.

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