Sand table

[Argonor]

I just got an incredibly exciting (stupid?) idea for a 2x2 desert table.

In my childhood (late 70's) wargamers used what used to be called 'sand tables' for their games.

It's basically a board with high (5-10 cm) edges (which makes it a very shallow box) filled with sand.

The sand can be rearranged for every game - you can even bury hidden tombs/artifacts and embed the bases of your other scenery (cliffs, rocks, even houses) in a way that's very pleasing to the eye.

To make the sand stay in place, you spry some water on it with one of those sprayflasks that can spray a very fine dust.

I disregatrded this kind of table many years ago, as a full wargaming sand-table is very, very heavy and need a permanent place to be - but with a 2x2 table, you can emty it into a bag and put it away between games :-)

I think, I'll be building one of these at some point during the winter or spring - and when I get a webpage up, I'll also post some pics, if it turns out all right!

[Argonor]

Oh - and I forgot: You can very easily arrange dunes on such a table, too ;-)

[PeteMurray]

I'd be interested to see how it works out. Holding the sand in place will be the real issue, and I'll be curious as to how spraying it works out. The other concern I would have would be excessive wear on the paint on the edges of the figures' bases.

So in other words, I think YOU should try out these things before I do.  :mrgreen:

[Westfalia Chris]

I´m sure it´ll work well with plastics, but might not be pewter minis be too heavy for the surface, ie sinking in?

[WitchfinderGeneral]

I´m sure it´ll work well with plastics, but might not be pewter minis be too heavy for the surface, ie sinking in?

I don't think he wants to use a kind of quicksand, so no, the figures won't sink in and get lost forever.

I think this would look great but I fear that it will get messy sooner or later. Like using real water for your rivers.

[Westfalia Chris]

Well, whenever I tried to place pewter minis on a larger area of sand, they pushed away the sand to quite an extent, that´s why I asked...

[Argonor]

I´m sure it´ll work well with plastics, but might not be pewter minis be too heavy for the surface, ie sinking in?

I don't think he wants to use a kind of quicksand, so no, the figures won't sink in and get lost forever.
quote]

I actually had a short flash in the back of my mind of a buried shoepolish can (the flat ones) with a 'lid' of slit paper to act as a quicksand trap. I got a little worried, though, about 1) the fate of miniatures falling in (the paint, I mean), and 2) my sanity...   ::

It doesn't matter if the miniatures' bases leave marks/rearrange the sand a bit - after all, you would expect the desert to be messed up a bit during a fight, anyway (and it can be corrected very fast and easy for the nescessary battle report camera shots).

[Driscoles]

Ok...carry on....I start painting French Foreign Legion for the Desert  :mrgreen:
Iam curious on your result too.

The whole thing will be pretty heavy. Although its only a small table. I can recall how surprised I was how heavy the sand was when I filled the 1,20 x 120 sandbox in our backyard for my daughter !
Björn

[Argonor]

That's exactly why I haven't dreamt of using a sand table, before I came acroos 45A... (or it came across me, leaving me a complete pulp wreck.... well, actually Rugged Adventures is to blame, after all... ¤%A just finished me off)