Newb wanting help with first table!

[bchatzis]

Hi there wise people of the terrain and table building forum! I call to you for help. I have never built anything with my own two hands before (apart from minis), and would like to build my first warmachine table. I have no idea where to start or what i need, so please help!

[ForestZ]

I think the first thing to do would be to look at a bunch of tables for inspiration. I recommend these:

Poppabear's folding tables
Pake's Portable Tables here and here
Clockwork Cove and Corvis
Scenario board 1 and 2
Poppabear's Epic Table

Those are a few I remember off the top of my head. They're all great for inspiration even if you're not going for something so complicated, and a lot of those threads provide some great step by step information if you're curious how a particular effect was achieved.

The next thing to do, now that you have some inspiration and your creative juices flowing is figure out if you want something that's going to be portable or not, how heavy you want it to be, how sturdy you need it to be, etc... You can get away with a 4x4 piece of foam board covered in static grass if you want, but it will get chipped and dinged and damaged, so some sort of plywood base and frame may be the order of the day.

And lastly you'll need to consider your budget and what materials you have available to you. If you can't get pink/blue foam, you'll be at a disadvantage, but it's nothing you can't work around, you'll just have to be creative. A lower budget means using more found objects and maybe skimping on the frame for your table, etc... It also depends on what tools you have or can buy. I built the frame for my current table using nothing but glue, a few screws and some clamps and a power drill for the most part. I did use a small nail gun when gluing the outer border just to hold it while it glues, but only because I didn't want screws on the outside.

Hope that helps point you in the right direction!

*edit*

Oh, I would also recommend browsing TerraGenesis

[bchatzis]

Hi there, thanks for replying. I have actually seen most of those threads before, including your own. I was thinking much much simpler designs. This is my first ever project, and i have little access to materials and tools. I dont mind purchasing tools and materials, but I was hoping for a simple design that wouldnt take too much of my time. I was thinking about having a 4 part board thing to put over a dining room table. Easily removed/portable, and hopefully simple. To increase simplicity I was thinking about flocking it, but using pre-made terrain as I dont think I would be able to create it myself. Definitely not for my first project. Any ideas?

[FluffyZealot]

Hi there!
Tables range from extremely simple to incredibly complex and detailed.
A good starter is to just get 2x 4x2' boards and paint one side green :P
MDF is a good choice for this 8mm thick upwards (if someone from the US could translate :P )

From there you can make your own terrain pieces to put on top.

I recommend around 6mm MDF for the base of these, but I have been playing around with some superthick cardboard from an art supply store which works great if you don't get it too wet


That's basically a very good starting point.
The boards are easily hidden away, and the terrain is generally usable on any future boards you might make.

From that starting point you can begin to play with foam and make mountains/houses/etc from it, so once you get more comfortable with it, doing a table out of it isn't too worrying.

From there you can progress into how detailed you want

Edit: Here's a few pics to show how simple stuff works

[bchatzis]

I like millimetres and centimetres Thank you very much! I'll definitely look into that. Thanks!

[Lachlan the Mad]

And if you want cheap terrain, grab an old computer/tv/electronic-majigger and a lot of screwdrivers. Crack it open and pull out the good bits, then spraypaint them to look like heavy industrial machinery. My gaming group does this, and it's awesome.

[bchatzis]

sweet! loving all the tips!

[Lord of ???]

Remember to look at your local hardware store for sand, plaster, paint and glue before going anywhere near a craft or hobby store.

You get a lot more for a lot less.

[HeadHunter]

grab an old computer/tv/electronic-majigger and a lot of screwdrivers. Crack it open and pull out the good bits

Make sure you know what you're doing. These devices can contain capacitors which may retain voltage. Admittedly it's unlikely after a long period of disuse, but still...

[Lachlan the Mad]

"Know what you're doing" and "Lachlan the Mad" are not things that go together

[PG_Dalthoraz]

Building a basic table should be easy thin MDF put 1 inch pink foam on it. Paint it, cover with glue and desired flocking material (sand, static grass, tuff, etc.) I had a cool table idea using plaster or something similar to create a broken dry lake bed like below

[Dashwood]

Can we sticky this thread or one like it for beginners? This is all great stuff and links!

[bchatzis]

What did you use exactly for that dry lake?

[PG_Lankira]

What did you use exactly for that dry lake?

I don't know what Dalthoraz used, but I have found that using Crayola's Air Dry Clay and brushing the surface with a good bit of water while the clay is still wet can cause it to have a dry lake bed look. It's easily painted with acrylics, which helps a lot. I highly recommend playing with it and see what works for you.

[Steamroller]

Hi Bchatzis

If you live in Australia go to Bunnings ask for a sheet of 16mm MDF which cost about $35 - $40, and get them to cut it when you ask them to cut it make sure you specify 2 foot cuts and not 600 millimeters. They also have texture paint which easily paints on to the MDF and can be tinted to a large range of colours. I would recommend fine texture.

These can be easily stored and put on top of a dinner table when you want to use it.

If you want to go to the trouble you can also join these boards together with a hinge or something similar.

I have made about sixteen of these as tournament boards and they work well and are easy to transport even in a small car.