3D printable Roads for RPGs, Dioramas, and Wargames

3D printable roads are a great addition to any battlefield or diorama. Many wargames like Bolt Action have special rules for moving units on roads, boosting their movement across the board. A canny general must use the roads if they are to get the most out of the other terrain on the table.

When printing with PLA, you can heat and bend the road sections to fit the rises of your table. Just like with 3D printable tree branches, it’s a simple but effective way of adding a little bit extra to your scene. dioramas and model railways benefit greatly from this, conforming the roads to the displays’ contours.

There are 3 major ‘styles’ of roading available, each useful for portraying different periods or themes.

Cobblestone Roads

Used from antiquity through to modern times, cobblestones are commonly used in medieval and fantasy cities. Because of this, they are perfect for paving the lanes of famous towns like Mordheim or Felstadt.

There are several styles of cobblestone available to print. The Hagglethorn Hollow Town Square Tiles and Pathways are as irregular as the set’s buildings. These are great for high-fantasy settings like Age of Sigmar or the towns in D&D’s Fey realm. comparatively, the evenly-paved stones of the Streets and foundations better reflect more serious locations like the city of Waterdeep. The Roads of Ruin are perfect for games like Mordheim, representing damaged or badly maintained cobblestone slabs. Finally, a printable Cobblestone Texture Roller is available for those wishing to create larger paved areas. The roller works great pressed into polystyrene or clay, creating a texture akin to the streets and foundations.

Modern Roads

Paved and asphalt roads are relatively modern inventions, commonly found on battlefields from WW2 into the post-apocalypse. The paved streets of the roads & Telegraph poles are great for games like Bolt Action. Telegraph poles are provided for those creating dioramas, and can be glued to a coin for use on the tabletop. For those playing Malifaux or The Other Side, paving with bricks and concrete date back to the victorian period, perfect for these mage-punk games.

Asphalt roads are a very modern creation, best used in games like Team Yankee, Black Ops, or Fireteam. On the tabletop, you would more commonly find these roads in post-apocalypse settings like Fallout or Gamma World. The cracked asphalt of the desert roads is perfect for these settings, especially for the high-octane races in the Gaslands. There are even additional ramps, barriers, and Loops that combine with the roads to create amazing race tracks.

Dirt Roads

Not every road is paved. many roads in the countryside were mere dirt tracks until recently, often rutted from continuous use. The Forest Cart Tracks are great for representing these muddy roads. From games of Ancients to Saga right through to WW2, dirt roads have a place in almost every game style. The ruts in the tracks fit 28mm-scale cartwheels, though can be scaled in your slicer to fit any vehicle.

Roads are great for adding that extra level of realism to your dioramas or wargaming tables. Each style of road serves a purpose, pairing with their respective terrain sets. From gothic to fantasy, or modern to the apocalypse, there is a road and terrain to fill the table for your favorite games.