Topic: Building a game table, need advice

[Acrux]

I decided to upgrade from the green sheet over a table that isn't anywhere near the correct size, so I built a couple of 4x4 folding tables.  I'm having a lot of trouble deciding how I'm going to texture the tables though.  My original plan was to do it like I've been doing all the bases in my armies, covered in ballast and then adding some patches of static grass.  I'm also considering doing it like I used to base my earlier armies before I started using static grass, covered in ballast that was painted in greens like the knight in this picture

 
(just a quick picture there, sorry the lighting is horrible) 

Obviously the technique with the static grass will look a lot better but I'm really worried about the durability of this method.  I would give it a shot of spray varnish just like my models but I don't think it will keep the grass down after its been played on. 

I'd like to know what you guys think I should do here.  How do you guys build your tables?  Do you have any experience with how well the static grass will hold up to gameplay?  If this is the case do you feel that a table that looks more appealing is worth its lesser durability?

Any input is greatly appreciated,
Acrux

[Midaski]

Well I am in the durability camp.
In the early days I experimented with the gaming mats, and you wil get wear - and therefore have to recover/replace the surface
 Sliding unit trays is the big factor - and with an infantry army you can have lots of units and lots of sliding trays around.

I went the easy way - painted my board to match the sides of my model's bases.
My terrain pieces are all flocked and varied, but the main 8x5 table is painted one solid colour.
Though I have wondered about splodging on a few more browns and greens?

Others take a different view of course, and there is a thread (or 2?) somewhere in the last 3-4 months about a home made modular table with 'undulating' surfaces.

My only worry with preformed terrain pieces is there has to be some advantage at some stage to regular users of 'distance perception'.
 

[Phydox]

I haven't built a gaming table yet, but I can tell you what you should definitely NOT do.

Do not base your game table in sand, because once it drys its like sandpaper and hell on models, elbows, knuckles, nails...you name it. 

[The Cosmic Serpent]

My personal experience in building gaming tables was with a flocked table. 

I took a 4x6 piece of plywood - with 2x2 bracing around the edges and middle - painted it a nice medium green, then just used some blended flocking to cover the whole thing.   Worked nice, and because the flocking was a blended earth color - looked really pretty nice because it had a bunch of different greens in it.

Now, the one caveat for this is that I wasn't pushing movement trays around on it.  I would imaging this to be a little bit harsher than normal use - so it may/may not take the flocking off after a while. 

I can agree with Phydox - definately don't try to use a sandy/gritty substance over the whole table - then try to drybrush or something to get a lighter shade.  I've played on tables like that and it isn't too kind to minis (or elbows, gaming books, or anything else you put on there). Personally, I'd try the flocking and see what results you get, and see how it holds up?

[Marcus Leitdorf]

Hey Acrux,

As the others have said, avoid sand or ballast like the plague! It is not user friendly.

To me a table should be balanced between looking good and the ease of moving troops. What I did was simply go down to the hobby store and purchase some paper backed flocked material and glued it down to the boards I use. The boards are cut into 2'x2' sections for ease of storage. I add variety with more elaborate individual terrain features that are textured, painted, and flocked in a number of different ways.

Marcus

[Acrux]

Well, thank you guys for your replies.  I had already started the table, before posting, with the sand/ballast meathod as you all advised against !  I guess I will just have to reconsider that.  I've only got the first layer of glue/sand down so it shouldn't be too hard to turn back now. 

I stopped at a gw a couple weeks ago ( my local store is never stocked, quite frustrating )  and they used the grass mat stuff that the model railroaders use like you suggested Marcus.  It looked absolutely horrible, not that my table would be getting nearly as much use as theirs do, nearly all the flocking had come off.

Thanks again for the replies, back to the drawing board for me.

Acrux

[Gargoyle]

I bought a variety of TSS 2x2 squares. They come pre-flocked by electrostatic means and they are perfectly flat. They also come with rivers and roads built on to them and they match up. They are polystyrene so they dont like their edges getting whacked and I store them in a cardboard box for this reason to protect them.
In future I will be adding a piece of 4x1 timber on edge at the table sides that the squares can butt up to.
The downside is that these squares are not cheap, $$$,  but for sheer looks there is nothing to touch a TSS battlefield and thats why I paid the money.

[Clarkarias]

I bought a green flocked mat.  But before that it was a green blanket.  I love the blanket idea.  It's durable and books can be placed under the blanket to represent hills.

However, the mat just looks so much better.  So I'm going to stick to the mat.

[wisenheimer]

For mats I really like this:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=MDPU0172

I have two generic problems with mats.

The first is gluing it onto the board so that it lays flat without bubbles or creases. Spray adhesive works very well to hold it down, but keeping a 4x8 sheet straight and even while you unroll it is a pain.

The second is finishing the edges. Corner molding works well and looks very nice, but adds to the cost.



Lately, I've been flocking boards using two different methods.

The first involves water-based polyurethane. I buy it in quarts from the home improvement store. I use a small roller to cover the board and spread my flock over it. When the urethane dries, the flock is going nowhere.

The second is all woodland scenics. This is the same method I used when model railroading and it holds up pretty well. I use there premixed glue in a spray bottle. I spray a section and use blended turf flock in a shaker bottle to cover the area. Then I move onto the next. Once the board is covered, I go back and spray the whole thing again.

There's not a lot of difference between the two. The polyurethane is a satin finish, which means it may have some shine to it. Hitting the shiny parts with the Woodlands Scenic glue gets rid of the shine though.



The basic method I use for making a board is:

2" insulation foam cut to size.

Cover foam with cheapest self-adhesive 12"x12" vinyl floor tiles I can find.

Roll on polyurethane.

Apply a few ovals of fine sand randomly.

Apply flock.

Once dry, drybrush sand to resemble dirt or rocky areas.

Apply 2" black duct tape around edges.

[General Helstrom]

You know you're not supposed to rub minis across the table?

Our gaming table is built from MDF, covered in green paint which was mixed with texture powder (ground quartz) for a durable finish with a finer grain than sand. It has stood up to years of gaming, mostly between my infantry-heavy Empire and Dennis' infantry-heavy Greenskins. We haven't had any trouble with damage to models due to the table, although the texture does discourage excessive leaning by players - which is a good thing!

I'll join the choir in recommending against static grass, as I've seen mats as well as tables using static grass looking quite mangy after a few battles. In fact it might be a good idea to use a completely uniform coat of texture (whether you decide to go with flock or sand), as movement trays will "snag" and chip away at the edges of different areas due to height difference. For variety, you could either use the same type of flock in different colours, or sand/powder mixed with different kinds of paint.

[jlutin]

If I were wanting to flock a table, I would not flock the whole thing.

Just "texture" it, base color it, then flock some areas of it.  Then if the flock starts to part, the underlying texture/base would show through and it wouldn't look awful.

OH, after putting down the flock, it hit with a couple good coats of Matte Spray.   I use that on all my flocked terrain pieces.  It helps "glue" it down completely and provides additional durability.

[Melkor]

The tables at my local store take a hell of a lot of bashing, and they still look nearly new. I'll ask the guy who made them what he used. I know he started with pink foam, but I'm not sure what textureing he used.

[jlutin]

When I texture large areas is a mix of sand, small gravel, white glue (elmers in the gallon jug), water and paint (might as well get some color in).

Then paint it all with Latex house paint.  (cheap, durable and kind of rubbery (well sorta)).

[jagavahn]

I textured my boards with joint compound and then used an old(large) paint brush to give it a rough finish(lightly stabbing the bristles into the compound). I then dry brushed with several shades of greens and browns. Turned out really well and takes a lot of abuse.

[jlutin]

I textured my boards with joint compound and then used an old(large) paint brush to give it a rough finish(lightly stabbing the bristles into the compound). I then dry brushed with several shades of greens and browns. Turned out really well and takes a lot of abuse.

Good point.  A big buckets of joint compound is truly invaluable in building terrain.  It's cheap, sands well, dries hard and you don't have to mix it when you need some like plaster or other products.

[Rorrak]

Hi,

I would just like to say that I did use a mat of static grass with pretty good success but I did put int quite a bit of preparation. My boards are starting to wear a little but dont look bad at all yet. They are now 7 years old and have seen 683 Games. They also get transported and carried a lot that adds to the wear.

I used wallpaper glue and techniques to put the mat onto the board and let it dry completely. Then I mixed pva with a LOT of water and put it into a spray bottle and over a few days gave it light sprays. The grass retained its grass feel.

My boards are two 4 x 3.5 boards, that push togehter to form a 7 x 4 board
The board has a 1 foot Graveyard area marked completely differently. One of my favorite features. I hate cluttered boards tables.

The edges got a 1cm x 1 cm piece of wood around the 3 sides form a lip.
This helps the edges from pulling off AND goes a little way to prevent models falling off.

This topic is of special interest to me because we need to make new tables for the club. We dont want all the tables to look the same.

I will add that sand sucks. Its abrasive as crazy. Not only harsh on models, trays etc but also wear your dice down.

Lastly. Why did you go for a 4x4 table ?  6x4 is the correct size. I suppose space issues setting it up ?

[Acrux]

Lastly. Why did you go for a 4x4 table ?  6x4 is the correct size. I suppose space issues setting it up ?

I built 2 4x4 tables, not so much because of space issues, but more so because we usually end up playing smaller games here (500pt warbands, 1000pts)  So if we're just playing a smaller game I can set up just one table that is just the right size, or just like you did I can put the two back to back for a 4x8 with 2 feet of graveyard/rulebooks space.

[duckman]

I used a GW mat on a 7x5 sheet of MDF (helps to have a BIG games room!). I used wallpaper glue to stick the mat to the board, and clamped the ends and sides down using 2x1 battens all round. These were screwed down once the glue had dried, and then I put 1x1 timber all the way around the outside of the board, so I have a 6" area outside the playing surface as a graveyard etc. The whole thing sits on a base that is for all intents and purposes a 7x5 foot shelf unit, made of 4x4 hardwood with 7-ply shelves, on which I store all my terrain pieces, books and gaming stuff. The beauty of it is that it is all joined by big coach screws, so when I move I can simply disassemble it.
The actual table top is now about 2 years old, and shows little wear, even though it gets used a fair bit.
On the ends and sides of the base I knocked up some wire frames with neoprene stubby coolers in them (can holders for the non-Aussies), this eliminates the dreaded can/cup on the table scenario. All that it needs now is an espresso maker, it's a long walk to the kitchen
A friend has a similar set-up, he has also sanded the front of his trays so they have a slight upwards curve to them, he swears that this has reduced the wear on his surface significantly....dunno how true it is, but it seems like a good idea.

cheers
duckman

[Mystic Force]

I have a 4x8 just painted green, it contains a 4x4 and 2 2x4 section attached with hinges so i can easily have a 4x4, 4x6 or 4x8 depending on the size of battle, unfortunalty when I put it together I didnt check the size of my trunk, and it wont fit in my car......

[Grutch]

http://www.drunkdwarves.com/pages/artttgttcultimatetable.html

[wisenheimer]

i can easily have a 4x4, 4x6 or 4x8 depending on the size of battle

That sounds really good. How did you apply the hinges? and I'm assuming that you have to place it on top of another table to use it.?

I cut mine into 2'x2' sections. They stack nicely and are easier to move. But hinges sound like a pretty good idea. I've seen them on the Warzone tables, but that method wouldn't work for wood.

[Mystic Force]

The two hinged section are screwed in from the bottom of the board, where the screws points stuck out a little bit I filed them off, they are attached one each side of the 4x4 section, and fold underneath it when not needed.  I do have to put it on top of another table at the moment but I will make/buy a folding support for it at some point but is currently unnesserary as I dont have room to put up another table at the same time as the existing one I currently put it on

[Siamtiger]

http://www.drunkdwarves.com/pages/artttgttcultimatetable.html

i own one of that kind myself, absolut great.