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Author Topic: Gaming mats and gaming tables  (Read 10298 times)

Offline HerbyF

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Re: Gaming mats and gaming tables
« Reply #15 on: November 11, 2009, 07:14:21 PM »
I use a blanket, one of those fuzzy lap kind, with a dessert camaflage print. It works for old west with my cowtown buildings on it. Or for Northwest frontier or the Sudan for colonials.
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Offline Skrapwelder

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Re: Gaming mats and gaming tables
« Reply #16 on: November 11, 2009, 07:28:24 PM »
I use a canvas mat that originally had been painted with green latex paint and then covered in grass flock. Last year I had Alfrik resurface the whole thing and it came out very nice. He's got a breakdown of the process here:
http://armoredink.blogspot.com/2009/04/reviving-game-matt.html
It rolls up nicely and I have not had any appreciable loss of texture and it comes out at least once a month to be played on.

For my western town buildings I made built up araes for the buildings to sit on out of masonite. I put boardwalks down one or two sides and then gave the open areas a coating of artists gel medium to give it a smooth but dirty texture. Painted brown with some grassy areas defined by flocking it works really well.

Offline Hammers

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Re: Gaming mats and gaming tables
« Reply #17 on: November 12, 2009, 09:20:14 AM »

For these sorts of reasons, I really want a solid, safe, secure gaming table, preferably with some sort of foam padding in case I fall over! I don't mind telling people that my surgeries are the result of a fall playing tennis, or a kick-boxing injury, but I can't imagine trying to explain that it's an old wargaming wound!

Thanks again for all the ideas everybody!


Consider gaming in one of these:


Offline Hawkeye

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Re: Gaming mats and gaming tables
« Reply #18 on: November 12, 2009, 03:08:18 PM »
Excellent, Hammers! That should take care of things!
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Offline warrenpeace

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Re: Gaming mats and gaming tables
« Reply #19 on: November 13, 2009, 07:43:31 PM »
Hawkeye, I followed the same path as Supercollider.  I had the luxury of playing on other people's game tables for many years, so wasn't under any time constraints when making up my mind about my own playing surface.  Then I saw upholstery material that looked like suede leather in a fabric store named Joann's.  The store brand was frequently selling for 40% to 50% off.  I made several trips and ended up with enough medium green, tan, and blue-grey to cover a 6ft x 12ft table in each color, with patches of other shades of sand (for beaches), yellow and brown for croplands and roads.

The faux suede upholstery cloth that I bought came in about 54in width (4.5ft), and I had it cut to six foot lengths.  Even on sale the material was two to three times the cost of plain untreated and unflocked felt.  But I thought it worth the price for the following reasons:

1.  Unlike felt, it doesn't need to be treated or flocked to keep from threading out or snagging mini bases.
2.  It lays very flat, is very flexible, and drapes nicely over anything underneath.
3.  It doesn't smell like treated or painted or flocked felt.
4.  It is washable, and I've already been able to clean off a mark I accidentally made with blue ink.
5. The faux suede can have a two tone effect, as the material looked stlighty different when it is brushed in a couple of directions.
6. The material looks fairly organic and comes in a variety of earth tones.
7. It rolls up pretty well on a tube, any wrinkles being not detracting from the look.
8. With a few rocks and brown lichen scattered about, the tan colors are just the ticket for the old west.  Personally, I prefer a tan shade with a slight pinkish tint for the ground color in my favorite part of the Old West, the four corners area and Southeast Utah.
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Offline Hawkeye

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Re: Gaming mats and gaming tables
« Reply #20 on: November 13, 2009, 09:26:17 PM »
Thanks, Warren - I'm going into Wichita this evening, and one thing on my list was to check out some fabric stores, so I'll look into the faux-suede option. It sounds like it might be just what I'm looking for!
Skrapwelder - thanks for the link and info (your buildings and board look great, by the way!)

 

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