What do you use for a gaming surface?

[MasterCraft]

I'm in the process of building a gaming table at home. The concept is to build a table with interchangeable surfaces for different types of terrain (dirt, snow, etc). I first thought to use 2" x 4' x 6' polystyrene sheets. My only concern is, do they get worn easily and where do you find them? So far the only way I can get them is to special order them in which case I'm paying tons of money. MDF board is another option but that seems too hard and how does PVA glue Anne sand take to that?

What kind of surface does everyone use either at the their gaming store or at home to play on. Please post what material it is and how you crafted it. Pictures would be great.

Thanks

[isotope99]

If you are worried about PVA glue durability use wood glue, it's more expensive but much tougher.

[Cpt Codpiece]

MDF would be fine, but i would still try and get some blue or pink foam sheets to add the basic terrain to. hills and even trenches look great sunk in or raised up with foam, not to mention rivers and lava bases :)

if PVA and MDF seems a bit risky (MDF may sag a little with a lot of moisture) try a coat of gloss varnish or paint from a rattle can (£ or $ stores usually have car stuff). then a quick sand to key and PVA/woodglue (pva with sap/bits of soft wood pulp in) to hold your texture medium. the remember to give it a layer of glue or varniish once sand has set down if you intend on actually using the table for more than a game or two as you will wear the sand off its glue.

[Wolfshade]

I have two 4'x3' foamex boards which I cover with the old citadel battlemat

[dwez]

I use this laminated to fit my kitchen table, about 5'x3'.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dZ-GLhcvuoQ/TMqsbONW3YI/AAAAAAAAAK4/fL6APfqhxtg/s400/planet+1.jpg

If you go to the blog the original file can be downloaded and printed. (http://40kaddict.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/battlefield-mars.html) If you can't find a place to print it in one go then some printers can do A4 pieces at a time, do that and stick to .mdf.

[Bergermeister84]

So there are a lot of things that you could end up doing. First of all, you should select a material for the base. Insulation foam, MDF, and even plywood would all work well. Any of these should be available at Home Depot, Lowes, or Menards. Each really has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Insulation Foam is light weight but tends to be less durable unless you take certain steps (see below). MDF and plywood have a tendency to warp at low thicknesses (~1/4") OR they can get really heavy (anything above 3/8s.) If you are doing a single large sheet, such as 4 feet by 6 feet, then I would use a sheet of insulation foam. This is especially true if you plan to create multiple surfaces for a single table and want to "swap out" the top since the lighter weight will make it easier to change. If you plan on going with a smaller table and don't plan to change the surface often, I would recommend a thicker piece of plywood (I think I used 5/8ths for my 4' x 4' board.) This board will get pretty heavy, so make sure you have sturdy legs.

Once you decide on your base material, you really want to prep the surface. If you apply static grass or flock directly to the table, you will be able to see through to the plywood/foam board regardless of how thick you make it. Instead you should start with a textured surface, then paint, and then finally apply flock. (I guess the third step is optional if you want a desert or snow covered field.) If you decided to go with foam, you can use drywall mud or spackle to cake the play surface. You can mix in a little sand to give it texture. When it dries you can give it a light sanding or leave it as rough as you'd like. This will help protect the play surface so if you drop buildings or miniatures they won't chip the foam underneath. If you decided to go with plywood or MDF, you could use the above method to lay down a base. Alternatively they make textured spray paint in a variety of colors. Some of these are good enough to just leave it at that. WARNING: DO NOT APPLY SPRAY PAINT DIRECTLY TO FOAMBOARD. The aerosol propellant will eat away the foam and leave you with a big pile of goo.

After you apply your base of texture, spend the time to paint it. Airbrushes can be really handy. Otherwise find a 1" or 2" brush and a big bottle of craft paint (no need to use expensive Vallejo or GW paints) and go to town. Lastly apply flock or static grass as you like. There are a variety of good products. I generally go with Life Like "Blended Turf." You can find it in hobby shops with model train sections. Application is fairly easy. Get a water bottle with a spray nozzle, water down some elmers glue, spray the area you want with a light coat of glue, apply the flock (about 1.5 times what you think you need), and then apply another layer of glue. You want a spray bottle that will really create a mist effect. If it stays too much of a stream then the glue will pool up and you can spread it out with your brush.

Anyways, it takes some practice. I'd recommend trying things out on scraps or tests sheets before you tackle a whole board. In the end I think you'll be happy with the results. Sorry I don't have any pictures or videos to share, I'm away from my house at the moment.

Hope this helps and Good luck!

[MasterCraft]

Ok. Sounds like polystyrene sheets are the way to go. So my only question is... where the hell do you find them? I can't get an 8x4 sheet to save my life. Home Depot has 2x8, but I don't want a seam. Lowes has the 4x8 but only the DOW brand with the silver film covering it.

Can someone point me to a place online that sells this by the sheet at a reasonable price. So far all I've found are wholesale bulk places. I need 2 or 3 at the most not 50. This is really frustrating.

Thanks for all the help.

[chromedog]

Painted mdf boards.
My home board is made up of three sections of 4'x2' 15mm mdf sheet painted on one side and grass-mat flocked on the other. My club had to buy new boards a few years back, and it was cheaper to get the Full sheet (8'x4') cut down to 6'x4' and keep the excess pieces (4'x2') than buy a pre-cut 6x4 (bonus was that for every 3 boards done this way, we gained a fourth. Important when our little club tourney balooned to 70 players this year. I got to keep one set of boards as a thank you for painting all of the rest of them.

I did have a sculpted board years ago, but it was a lot of effort to ensure it didn't get damaged.

Nowadays, all of my terrain is based and goes on the table where it fits, as opposed to being "built in". It means I can vary the layout just by moving terrain around.

[sukigod]

Painted mdf boards.
My home board is made up of three sections of 4'x2' 15mm mdf sheet painted on one side and grass-mat flocked on the other. My club had to buy new boards a few years back, and it was cheaper to get the Full sheet (8'x4') cut down to 6'x4' and keep the excess pieces (4'x2') than buy a pre-cut 6x4 (bonus was that for every 3 boards done this way, we gained a fourth. Important when our little club tourney balooned to 70 players this year. I got to keep one set of boards as a thank you for painting all of the rest of them.

I did have a sculpted board years ago, but it was a lot of effort to ensure it didn't get damaged.

Nowadays, all of my terrain is based and goes on the table where it fits, as opposed to being "built in". It means I can vary the layout just by moving terrain around.

This. I use 1/2" MDF at home (x2) and at the store we play at we use 1/8 hard board. It's like paneling but made with a rigid laminate paper/wood compound and much lighter than MDF. Instead of making a fourth board though (with the lighter stuff) we use this to cut out woods bases, round the edges and flock. You can get quite a few tree/forest/wood bases out of a 2'x4' strip of this material.

Some are flocked in various colors and textures, some are left plain and we cover the boards with a stretchy cloth material. All terrain is modular and boxable so we can transport the whole shootin' match if we need to.

[bethor]

I've built several tables several ways, and my favorite for weight/cost is just a hair more work:

Wood panel veneer (8x4, cut downt to 6x4)
4x 2"x2" x 8' wood (cut down to 2x 6' and 4 x 3'8")

You use 1" stables and wood glue to affix the backings to the veneer. You can be done with this here for about $30, and either spray paint or roll on the table and call it a day.

I have been attaching 1" pink foam to the top using insulation adhesive, and then painting and texturing. It adds $6-8 to the cost, but if you dont you'll get a hollow noise when rolling dice on the table, which I find a little bothersome.

[turiya64]

I just got a sheet of plywood cut it to 6x4 and nailed some molding to the edges to make a frame / dice fence
watered down some wood glue sloped it on and pored a bag of children's play sand (the cheaper the better) over that let it dry over night. Sprayed to brown then dry brushed it with a lighter brown then very lightly with some bleached bone where i was not going to flock with some cheep woodland seenicks flock of a few shades and put it up on some saw houses. its not the easyest / fastest way but it took my friends and i a weekend to do and has lasted about 10 years so far with little to no damage a few minor chips when people droped there figure cases on it and the glue had not totally soaked the sand but i fixed them a little wile ago with about 15 min and a few brush loads of paint. not a big deal

[MasterCraft]

OK, so I broke down and went the insulation board route. Seeing that my Depot only carries 2"x2'x8', that's what I went with. So we are looking at 3 2'x4' sections that make up my surface.

Another question I have is, can anyone point me to a tutorial on techniques or how-tos for creating the desired terrain for the surface.

I would also love some pis and tips from the BOLS people too.

Thanks

[TGG-Schoolboy]

Built one of these with a buddy of mine. Come out to be about $50-75. The table tops are interchangeable. Have a Zuzzy mat and a Realm of Battle board that we normally switch in and out.

http://www.drunkdwarves.com/?p=200

[MasterCraft]

Found this guy in my travels through the net. Watch his tutorials on you tube.

http://eq2templar.shutterfly.com/

[inquisitorsog]

Built one of these with a buddy of mine. Come out to be about $50-75. The table tops are interchangeable. Have a Zuzzy mat and a Realm of Battle board that we normally switch in and out.

http://www.drunkdwarves.com/?p=200
Looks nice. Not sure you needed to waste the lucre on 4x4s though. Realistically, 2x3s are more than enough, 2x4s if you really want to be rugged. 4x4s also may present issues to some people in terms of having a saw that can cut it in one pass.

I'm about to embark on table build (for general purpose, not just wargaming, so going w MDF on top) and have been thinking about using 1x3 or 1x4 as it's usually easier to find straight pieces and they're still more than strong enough. 2x4s and 4x4s are usually rough lumber and so you often find lots of crowns and warps with them.