(Bonus points for Topic Description Musical Reference...)

It's been something i keep meaning to get around too; building a gaming table and terrrain for Epic; my one true wargaming love and the best i can manage is a brown sheet thrown over some books, scrappy Titan Legions buildings and some rock...wowee!

This project will include
-a 6'x4' gaming table
-roads
-hills
-area terrain templates (bits of randomly shaped 'roughland' which bases of trees, ruins, rubble etc, can be placed upon) also good as difficult terrain.
-Trees and rocks
-a city block
-ruins
-a slimy river (maybe!)
-some sort of set piece (maybe; I'm open to ideas!)

Well, it's nice and sunny here in Bristol and I had a few things lying around and so today i started work on the board itself...in fact in a few hours and it's almost finished!

The Gaming Table

Step 1

A while ago a mate of mine gave me several laminate 'easy click' wooden floorboard...conviniently enough 9 of these put together measure 6'x4' First step was put them together in two seperate pieces (for ease of storage), put slats made from 1"x2" underneath, and drill some holes in for the screws

Said holes are also deepened on the top so as to allow the screws to fit snugly.
Result:


Step 2
I sanded the tops so as the filler that I am about to apply sticks easier.

Step 3

A mixture of budgie grit (for texture), wood filler, black cement dye powder (saves painting it) added to a degree for GREY, and a bit of PVA to make the mixture stickier.


Step 4 and 5

Firstly a thin later of the mixture is painted on in thin strokes; it dries quickly, provides a darker base layer (don't ask me why!) and -again- gives extra adhesion.
The top layer is then painted on and then'flogged' on with a large paintbrush in order to give it texture.  Allow to dry.
In the picture above the first layer can be seen the the rear, the top layer before flogging at the front left and the effects of texturing on the right.

Step 6
Sit back, drink a couple of mugs of Lapsang Choulung to pass the time and wait until tommorow or thursday to go and buy some static grass!

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Roads

Part 1

I also found a bit of plywood sitting around; my landlord leaves random bits of frightful all over the house and he doesn't live here anymore; i'm the one that has to live with it and so i see this as...recycling!

I mixed the remnants of the above mixture to a darker shade and applied it in one direction to the plywoods 'rough' side.  Once it's dry i'll cut it into strips, crossroad and other junctions before lining and defining the sides with static grass.

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Looking good MoK!  

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-Malakai

"You'll never understand how much watching other people's pain gets me off, hearing their screams and knowing that I have the power of a god." -Velvet Acid Christ

Nice start. I wish it was warm enough here for me to do things like that outside.  

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"I don't believe in destiny or the guiding hand of fate." N. Peart

No doubt. is difficult when you have 10 inches of snow on the ground

And the temperature doesn't get above freezing.

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"I don't believe in destiny or the guiding hand of fate." N. Peart

Patience is a virtue i guess! Move to the UK and then you can take part in the tourney's too!

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Very nice!
I wish I had room enough to do a board like that...
Eyal.

Good job MOK!

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http://hordesofthings.blogspot.co.nz/

Yup, good work MoK. Another interesting terrain thread.

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My head is full of War...

[img]http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/Warhead40k/Tyranid%20Swarm/DSC02262.jpg[/img]

did you find that the laminated flooring buckled, bubbled or warped from getting wet with the glue? Usually whenever water gets in the seams it goes all to hell. Would the 1x2 strapping solve that problem?

By the way, looking great mate. We have a bunch of that kicking around the shop and i may give it a try myself.

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*Lack of pictures means that words are all i can use to describe the disasters going on my end*

Sorry for the delay...i've not had any problems with warpage, but -just when i thought i was finished today - i discovered that i hadn't braced it sufficiently on the outside edges, the result being that one of the 'joints' came undone and i had to rip it off, and go over it again with a batch of filler i had randomly mixed for my tyranids.

Additionally i'm finding that the filler doesn't stick at all to the floorboard; so i can see these being very short lived; if you've got some of yr own then i suggest using the side that would be attached to the floor; why i didn't to begin with i've not idea.
MORE problems ensued when i discovered that the flock/rough shrubbery that i bought doesn't really want to stick to it, i tried daming it down with a 50/50 mix of water and pva; that didn't really work and just made it soggier and started to 'float' off instead.
On TOP of all of that when i attempted to make a 'wash' to shade the matt grey that it was BEFOREHAND it all ran out and made things mottled; so i ended up having coat the whole thing in emulsion and drybrush highlights on; which worked really well (at least something went right...)...until i found that the black was GLOSS!!!!          
Bad weekend.

EDIT: once i've drunk enough tea and spent enough time away from all this lark i'll bring 'sorted' pictures.

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Man that sounds like a nightmare!! Hope there is a workaround...

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Oh dear, nightmare weekend mate. Can you not just reverse the floorboards and re-do?..    ...I'll just get me coat...  

But, look on the brighter side... we all learned the lesson with you... Ok, ok I'm just going...  

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My head is full of War...

[img]http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/Warhead40k/Tyranid%20Swarm/DSC02262.jpg[/img]

Nightmare weekend, I wonder if we should start a nightmare thread  

The possible problem in turning the boards over is as they will have no coating they may warp and twist a bit with a lot of liquid application, I would suggest a heavy grade sandpaper and a light sand should roughen up enough to 'take'
Other than use another glue, perhaps a more 'oil' based one for the flock, I've no idea on that one.

I'm sorry, bit late for you MoK, unless you are to start again (double ouch)

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