New Gaming Table: The Popular Wisdom?

[Smokeyrone]

My old table, a nice, 4x8 wooden table, which had a desert base, on which I could put a cave system, and a Darkest Africa (general non desert gaming)  4x8 foam top on, has run its course.

Even in 15mm, I wanted it wider than 4'.   So, I used it as the frame for a hinged lid for my live bait pool (I built a concrete pool, 4x8, in back yard, that is full of water, and holds....bait, ie mojara, sand perch, finger mullet, crustaceans, anchovies, et al for fishing)  The eagles, great blue herons, raccoons, bobcats, and such were  killing my bait, and the heat (it was 101 today) kills bait as well, so oit needed a strong lid.

Anyway, I am ready for a new, better table!

What is the newest technology?

My system, a 5x10 wooden frame, holding 4x8 styrofoam panels, obviously spliced, is, well, the system I know.   

I really still dont like modular sections (2x2, 2x4, etc) as I hate the seams between panels.  Especially in 15mm, they are like trenches, and I have never come up with a good way to protect the sides of each pink foam section.

 Mats?   Big mats?

Is that the new thing?   I have seen some tutorials here with the acrylic caulk/sand/paint mix on canvas.  Does that really work?

I saw some foam carpeting under layer at Home Depot.  Very dense, yet light rubber foam (ie, it will hold paint, its not porous) and it has the weight to lay flat, even conforming over objects like  my shoe (yes, I tried this at HD with my Crocs).   Yes, it could warp with paint, I will have to test it, but even then, cant I design some way to screw down the ends (a screw with washer, and just put some foilage or a tree over it, in each corner?)

A Mat system would be easy, then I could design a lightweight table, using shelves/drawers as table ends, as I want storage too.

So....what do y'all do?  I'[ve been kinda out of current gaming tech for a couple years. 

Whats the go to system now?

[Johnno]

I too have been thinking about building a game table but am unsure if I actually would ever finish it and how much time would it cut into my already limited hobby time.

I tend to check the websites of custom gaming tables to look at designs but also google things like "DIY", "custom", "wargames/wargaming", "table", "plans" in various combinations to gather more ideas.

It looks like most tables have some type of felt or mat bottom for board/card games. There is then space to "drop" in terrain tiles and such.

I'd say go with what you know. Maybe some flat Styrofoam on top, larger sheets to avoid the gaps...might be difficult to source sheets that are larger that 4'x8', so you might have to have at least one seam

Some interesting sites are:

https://www.carolinagametables.com/

https://www.rathskellers.com/

I would have included GeekChic as well but apparently they have gone under https://www.polygon.com/2017/6/19/15812486/geek-chic-out-of-business-game-tables

Good luck with whatever you decide on and keep us updated.

[AndrewBeasley]

I've played on the caulk style mat and had no real problem except the odd little bit of flock lifting.

I now use 'mouse mat' pre-printed maps generically painted as snow or rough grass with odd small rocks that work fine for 15 and 28mm figures (even the 2mm do not look that much out of size).  This is mainly due to storage space.  The are a few drawbacks:

a) I cannot use trenches / rivers etc without them sticking up above the surface.
b) I cannot get flock in the same green so both figure bases and scatter terrain / hills do not match.

Neither of these are a show stopper for me but may bother you.

One video I have just seen is is from Viv at RubbishInRubbishOut (Knights of Dice in Australia).  He has a deep frame around it and puts wooden frames / blocks inside that he can top over or invert and dig into to give the 3D effect we often crave.  For me this would be perfect as you can move the blocks around and have multiple options as per classic modular boards with the added depth advantage but I just do not have the room ongoing.

Note he does have a laser cutter or two handy due to the range of bits KofD sell but I cannot see these boxes on the site.  The closest I know of in the UK (sorry not a great help for you) is https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/179272384/terra-formers-the-foundations-of-great-wargames-te?ref=city so you can see the idea.

Andrew

[snitcythedog]

I did several canvas mats using this tutorial.    As Andrew said you loose the 3d rivers etc but it is cheap and easy.  My suggestion would be to test it out using a small canvas picture frame or sheet from a fabric store and some latex caulking to see if you get the effect you are looking for.  If it works for you at that scale then you can easily go bigger and make a table mat using a full size canvas drop cloth.  The biggest problem doing it this way is having space to lay the whole mat out.  I did mine on the front porch, but that was in Arizona and I could guarantee that it would not rain and it was nice and warm to set the caulking.  My two cents.  Hope that helps.
Snitchy sends.

[Smokeyrone]

Thanks guys!

Experimented with this neat, carpet base (the foam stuff you lay on concrete under carpert).  Its dense foam, 1/4" thick, not very porous, and relatively heavy, not real heavy, a 6x12 foot piece weighs about two pounds (that good, it's weight makes it lie flat) and no memory (roll it up, unroll it, and it doesnt try to retain the roll).

I used a 1x2' strip.  Slopped acrylic paint on it, poured sand, brushed off loose sand, and painted over again.   

It wanted to curl up a bit, (cheap acrylic paint is like rubber, basically)   But, when the corners were pinned down, the center didnt curl up.  Pretty sure a large peice will even do better.


Now, the genius part!  I painted the same size strip with Lexan paint!  (Lexan paint is made to paint the inside of clear lexan RC car bodies.  Only paint you can use, as it flexes when dry, and doesnt chip ever.  You can spray paint a piece of saran wrap, wad it up, then unfold it, and the paint doesnt chip!    Worked GREAT!  ZERO warping at all, and I rolled it up into a tight roll, unrolled it, and it layed flat!

The only problem?  Lexan paint comes in high gloss, and the colors are all, well, bright (they are made for RC cars!)   When I paint a RC car body and want a dull finish, I spray the outside of the body with dull coat.  (You paint rc bodies from the inside)

So I must experiment about how to get a earthlike color, and dull coat the mat.  I did find colors like "Plymouth Sahara Tan" and "Ford Mustard" that will look great, if flat. 

[white knight]

Sounds intriguing. Do you have any pics of your experiments? 

[jmilesr01]

I use sectional terrain pieces and have 90% solved to seem issue by a combination of three things

1) using magnets to ensure the sections stick together
2) flocking with static grass -it hangs over the edges and helps cover the seem
3) adding a 1/2 lip around my table so I can use small wedges to force everything in place - the key to finding seems is limiting panel movement.

One last point is my sectional panels are based on 1/2 frames with a 1/4 inch plywood bottom.  It's important to plan of the side to 90 degree angles and add interior braces to prevent twist.

No solution is perfect but I like the ability to have trenches, depressions and such and can tolerate the occasional seam.

[AndrewBeasley]

Have a look at Absima products as they have a matte spray for Lexan bodies that may solve the gloss.  I've never tried it as the last time I used an RC car it was fibreglass bodies

[Charlie_]

3) adding a 1/2 lip around my table so I can use small wedges to force everything in place - the key to finding seems is limiting panel movement.

Ah yes, i do the same! Helps prevent horrible slipping accidents.

It's important to plan of the side to 90 degree angles

Brief thread hijack - Would you have some tips on this subject for an amateur? I've made my boards with 9mm MDF with 20mm frames. Most of them so far are just flat boards, with the MDF as the top and the frames underneath. However for the few I've done with relief features (ditches etc), I've used the MDF as the bottom and filled the frame with a sheet of blue foam for the top - in these cases the frame forms the edge of the board.
I've struggled to get the edges perfectly square at 90 degree angles, so these boards always have a more obvious seam when put together than the flat ones do.
(On the flat ones I have the underneath frame set in 10mm from the edge of the MDF top, so assuming the hardware store has cut my MDF into perfect squares I can rely on them to line up more or less perfectly with minimal seams).
I'd love some woodworking tips for getting those edges perfect 90 degree angles, perhaps something obvious I've missed considering I'm learning as I go!