Wheggi's Game Table Blog, Hey, at least it's not my dwai, right?

The time has finally come to begin the construction of my home table, and I thought it would be pretty cool to blog it here. We’ve been playing on the dining room table with an assortment of terrain pieces (both legitimate and assorted junk) and it’s high time to have something a little more, um, professional (ha!).

Right out the gate I had to make some big decisions: the type (climate and terrain type) and style (modular, sculpted, etc.) of table I’m constructing. I know that I want a table that both matches my primary army’s bases but is versatile enough to accommodate a wide range of style, yet I do NOT want the standard “golf course” type table. So, to make it personal as well as keep with some of my existing terrain, I am using my own home state of Southern California - and the arid terrain around Los Angeles in particular - as a model for the topography. For those not familiar with the area around here, it is a high desert, covered with sage, a couple varieties of cacti and sparse pockets of trees, mainly oak. It can be pretty rocky as well. Here are some inspirational pics:







This will allow me a wide range of terrain options while still capturing the regional feel. (for purposes of Warhammer fluff, I’m saying that my table represents the foothills east of the Khemri Desert).

As for style, I’m a sucker for sculpted tables: they just look so much better. However, I understand this can limit the variety of gameplay (as well as remove the tactical element of terrain deployment), so modular terrain it is . . . but with a twist. Through the middle of my table I am putting a dry riverbed. This river sits a ¼” lower than the main surface of the table: high enough to make the distinction yet not so severe that a tray of models couldn’t easily span across it. This way I have a number of options: it can be a dry riverbed with no in-game effect, it can be called a “river” and be treated as such for purposes of movement (I’ll make some modular bridges), or the banks can even be ruled as “high ground” as compared to those in the wash (but not as hills).

The terrain pieces themselves will be designed with an eye towards the local plant species and topography. Here’s an example of a yucca plant which I’ve already made. It (along with many others) will be incorporated into the terrain:



So, I went to Home Depot (an American DIY, in case you hadn’t heard of it) with credit card in hand and bought a bunch of supplies: MDF ( ½” and ¼”), Liquid Nails, wood screws, extra sandpaper for my Corner Cat, spackling paste, etc. I cross-cut the big board to 6’, but still need to rip it down to a true 4’ wide. As it is now it is around 1” too wide. My ¼” MDF only came in 2’X4’ sheets, so I had to purchase a few of them. I lined them up on the big board, marked the path of the river, and then used my router to cut off the excess. I then sanded down the inside bank edges and attached the pieces to the big board with Liquid Nails and wood screws. Here are the results so far.





After the glue dries I will fill in the seams (will probably tape/mud/sand it like it were a wall) and then start contemplating how to texture the table. One of my primary opponents is adamant about not using sand on the table so I’m debating alternate materials.

Comments and suggestions are very welcome!

- Wheggi

Looks promising, can't wait to see this project advancing .

A great start Wheggi. I can't wait to see how it comes along.


Mugruk

Having just built a foam standard table, I'm interested in this blog!

Good luck with it.

Nice looking table mate, *Bidiot wishes he had to room for this type of thing*

Good to see you have picked the best forum on the net to hold your blog.. Very wise..

What does your mate have against using sand, is it the scratchy feel you get to the surface? I'm guessing its quite difficult to give a table texture without it being harsh to the touch.

Looking forward to seeing more, this has the potential to be the best table project I've seen.

Bidiot.

PS. I still wish I could fit a table at home.

Yeah, I wish I had more room for the table as well. My garage is a mess right now, filled with the assorted 'junk' my wife holds onto. But someday - and someday soon! - my garage will be transformed into the Domain of Dudeness! That's right: we're talking a Kegerator tapped into my beloved Newcastle, rock posters and pictures of scantly clad women covering the walls, my heavy bag, speed bag and weights, workbench, and of course my full-blown gaming table! My wife and daughters will fear and dispise my lair and will dare not venture within. It will rule. Weezer put it best:

I've got the Dungeon Master's Guide.
I've got a 12-sided die.
I've got Kitty Pryde
And Nightcrawler too
Waiting there for me.
Yes I do, I do.

I've got posters on the wall,
My favorite rock group, KISS.
I've got Ace Frehley.
I've got Peter Criss
Waiting there for me.
Yes I do, I do

[chorus]
In the garage, I feel safe.
No one cares about my ways.
In the garage where I belong.
No one hears me sing this song.
In the garage.


I've got an electric guitar.
I play my stupid songs.
I write these stupid words
And I love every one
Waiting there for me.
Yes I do, I do.

[chorus]

In the garage. Neaarrah!

[chorus]

In the garage, I feel safe.
No one laughs about my ways.
In the garage where I belong.
No one hears me (x4)

No one hears me sing this song.

So as of now I'm working on the table top, and will haul it out and put it on my dining room table until the real table is constructed.

Anyway, its the morning after and I'm checking the table out. Seems to be holding together pretty well. HOWEVER, many of my screws didn't sink as well as I'd like (like a dumb@**s I didn't countersink the holes) and even worse I used my 'bad' #2 bit and stripped out a number of them. Should have grabbed a good one from my shop. I think I'm most likely going to take the screws out now that the Liquid Nails has set, but I'll do it in stages and see if the top layer begins to lift. If all goes well I'll sand down the irregularities, fill the holes and sand, and it should be a flat surface once again.

My friend doesn't like sand texture tables because he says it chips the paint when the models hit them. Since my bases are magnetic I don't have as much a problem with models falling and I don't really see the problem, but I'm still contemplating some other options.

Another decision coming up is how exactly to texture the riverbed as compared to the rest of the table. I'm taking a little drive north of my house today to Vasquez Rocks:



which you may know better from this:



and as Bedrock in the live action Flintstones movie:



There is a pretty good dry river wash there, and between hiking around and collecting mistletoe I'm going to harvest some ideas for the table.

- Wheggi

Yeah, your potential new garage setup sounds ace mate.

I remember Vasquez Rocks from both Star Trek and Flintstones, is this also the place where Bill and Ted have there run in with death?

Bidiot.

Indeed it is. Most excellent! It is located about a half hour from where I live now (Northridge in the Valley of Valley Girl fame . . . made famous by our earthquake 14 years ago) and easy to get to.

Texture is still an issue. I'm thinking many more larger rocks in the riverbed as compared to the simple sand texture of the rest of the table. Should sand texture the riverbed as well?

- Wheggi

Okay, had a chance to work on the table today, should have some WIP pictures tomorrow. I took out all of the screws sans one, which is preventing a little lift near on of the shores. Patched it all (ended up not taping the seams and it shows a little, but I'm hoping that will be lost as the table is textured) and sanded it. Then, like a kid who can't wait to open his Christmas presents, I started adding rocks to the riverbed, using a combination of pea gravel and aquarium rock. This may have been sort of a 'tarded thing to do, since I've only partially (and rather randomly) added the fill material. Tomorrow morning I'll go out and tip the board, letting all the lose stone fall, allowing me a chance to see how the board really looks. If all goes according to plan it should look okay and I can add much smaller filler (sand, real small rocks) to the spaces between.

We'll see tomorrow, huh.

- Wheggi

Hello Mate,

Nice suspense mate. Now I'm wondering if pics will be up before I go out!! Oh well will take a look tonight when I get back, good luck with the rocks.

Bidiot.

PS. I've done you a nicer painty blogs badge (its very shiny now) will be posting it up in a seperate topic later on.