Gaming Tables

I spent a lot of time building a game table that had all the features I wanted.
- solid construction
- 8 x 4 battles possible
- modular enough that I could put a desert on it one day, a field or city on it the next and an ocean if needed
- under table storage shelves
- side shelves for holding killed models, dice, rulers, markers, books
It was an ideal table for a long time.  What I hadn't considered was how monolithic it was.  It was a huge piece of furniture that dominates my basement.

What I'm switching over to is something I saw Cyric make.  It's a game table set that still allows for larger battles & modularity but doesn't take up so much space.  Essentially it's an 8x4 sheet of 3/4" MDF that's been cut in half and table legs put on each section.  Legs fold down and they store in a closet.

Here's how you make them:
A)  One 4' x 8' x 3/4" sheet of mdf from Home Depot. They'll cut it in half for free if you ask. $15.
B)  Two packs of banquet table legs. (2 x $19.97)
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053
C) Get the materials back home (the largest trick).
D) Put legs on the two sheets. This may require a hand drill but I used my modelling dremel.

$55 makes two 4x4 tables that are great for gaming.  If you have a friend that does the same and enough space, you can make some HUGE battles. BTW, they're also great card tables for poker, bridge, family game night. With a tablecloth, they're also great extra tables for buffet/banquet servicing (a big plus with the Mrs.)

I spice them up by creating a 4x4 sheet of terrain (field, ocean, desert) that goes on top. Modular so the table can be used for many different games and still be used for the other items around the household.

Forests

This is how I prefer to make forests.  First I make some kidney shaped cutouts of mdf and flock them.  You can use a scroll saw for cutting out the kidneys or just a hack saw from the hardware store.  Sanding the edges is a nice touch but not mandatory.  I use MDF because it's sturdy and it doesn't bend when you glue things to it.  Practically speaking, corrugated cardboard or foamcore works well too.  The cutouts show the players the edge of the area terrain.  They're also a flat piece which is important for storage.

Next, I mount woodland scenics trees on poker chips and flock them with the same flock mix as the cutouts.  The trees are placed on top of the forest cutouts to show that this is a thick forest but the trees can be moved when the action on to table gets close to that forest.  For variety, use a mix of tree types.  Mounting bushes & rocks on poker chips also helps add variety.

For especially good looking trees, I mount the poker chip on a larger piece of plasticard, flock it and put bushes and rocks on that later too.  (The extra plasticard also helps stabilize trees if you have a wobbly table that allows them to fall over.)

Because the pieces are flat and medium sized, they store nicely in a shoe box or boot box with all the foliage on top. This box of forest…..

Covers this much of the board.

Ideal Terrain

Starting out, I made a lot of terrain that looked bad.  As my skills improved, I found I could make some really good looking terrain but it had very specialized uses.  And they were bulky -- filled out my shelf of gaming terrain.  After many mistakes, the terrain I build going forward will be:

- Interesting to play on.  It has to be something that people see and get excited to play long. 
- Modular - so you can play several times and ways.  Also, you can put together some huge terrain pieces if you make them fit together. 
- Tough - Terrain gets picked up and dropped much more carelessly than models.  People lean on it when they reach across the table.  If it's multi-story, it needs to hold up multiple heavy large based models without bowing.
- Storable  - It needs to fit in a storage container and be stackable if possible.  At this point, all my area terrain is all flat and I place the interesting points on top of it.  Forests for instance are flocked and stoned,  kidney shaped cutouts of 1/8" MDF.  The trees and bushes that are placed on top of the flocked cutouts are mounted on poker chips which get flocked like the cutouts.  Now the bush/tree can be moved out of the way when action occurs on the forest and also the 5-6 forests can store flat in a shoe/boot box with the trees on top.  I like playing on huge monolithic terrain pieces at the LGS but when it has to be stored in my basement, it has to fit cleanly and easily in a storage container.
- Obvious in terms of rules to use.  Nothing worse than a great piece of terrain you build causing all sorts of rules questions each time you pull it out.  I found the worst trouble with hills that had interesting rock faces where one player sees the terrain as having an impassable portion and the other player feels it's an ordinary hill.  Another annoyance is the building that has heavy battle damage.  Is it a structure (series of cover yielding obstacles)?  Or a ruin (area terrain)?  Each piece needs to be clear what the effect of the terrain is.

There is usually a continuum for a new terrain piece where something that's Interesting to play on sacrifices on the other dimensions (Obvious, Storable, Tough, Modular).  The trick is designing terrain pieces that are high on all the dimensions and still interesting to play on.

I know those letters spell out the acronym "moist" but your terrain should not be moist at all. :)

Rebasing Swamp

Here's some pictures of a work in progress.  A friend had a swamp piece that was curling up after the water effects were added.  I'm mounting the board to custom cutout mdf to see if that will fix the curl.  To hold the piece to the MDF, I had to use a bunch of clamps.  My father (wood shop teacher) always said "you can never have too many clamps" and at this point I'll agree completely.

Base Inserts Results

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to make the forms of the base inserts for 30mm, 40mm and 50mm bases.  After the models were made, I cast the molds and then used the molds to cast some initial copies.  Every time I've cast something, I've learned a little and this is nothing new. 

Here's what the pouring of the molds looks like.  You can see the form in the bottom of that lego structure.

Once the molds dried six hours later.  I pulled them out of the legos and poured the plastic into them -- both the base inserts and the full bases.  Here's how the base inserts look:

I'm pleased with the accent work on the 50mm base inserts but still think the lip reduces the available surface area of the material.  Hard to get my mind past that. 

In this pouring, I realized there were rivets on the plate metal bases that didn't show up.  It's looking like the surface tension of the mold is preventing the plastic from flowing into the rivet holes.  I remember Hirst talking about this with his molds and will use the trix he recommended to solve this problem with future casts.

The grain of the wood on the wood slats IS visible up close in case you can't see it in this photo.  These pics will be much improved by a paintjob to show you what they look like when finished.

Ok, here are the full bases that I poured tonight.

This is a generation older of a model than the base inserts.  Little character in these other than the mistakes I made when creating them which make them actually look a little authentic.

Here's the comparison of the insert vs. full base. 

I'm seeing uses for both types of textured base. 

Let me know if you like them -- interested in your opinion.

Driller Repose

This is a Rhulic Driller that I originally painted a flat gray and gave a lackluster pose.  This model can be very dynamic if needed.  Here's what he looked like after placing him on a rock jumping down (maybe during a charge?)

The Rock and the path he's crossing are both green stuff sculpting.  The driller's foot has a 1" pin in it that goes all the way through the rock and into the model's base.

Recent Model Conversions

This is a hunter that a I pulled apart, stripped and reposed to be climbing a rocky outcropping.

The axe on his back had to be sawed off his arm and the handle re-fabricated from a roofing nail.  All and all, I'm happy with how it turned out.  Not the best work I'll ever do but it's one of the first reposing attempts.

Welcome

Thanks for stopping by this Gaming Blog, written and maintained by the primary adjutant for his excellency, the Arch Inquisitor Magnus Scipio Drax.

This blog will detail my miniature painting progress as well as the work I complete on any interesting terrain pieces. 

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy posting,

Adrian Finklehelm
Administrative Adjutant III and
Steward of the Imperium