Rab's modular gaming table - grass added

[Mister Rab]

Some of you may already have seen these on my blog, but I'm going to repeat myself here anyway

Last year I constructed the table itself, giving me a 1.5m x 1m sunken tabletop into which I intended to have some 1m x 0.5m terrain boards made from 50mm thick extruded polystyrene ("blue foam") that I would be able to place in different arrangements to give multiple landscapes to battle over. These would all be Northern European countryside in appearance as my main wargaming interests are all medieval/pseudo-medieval-fantasy. I also love the WFB/RT mashup in the Siege book, as well as having a vague scenario plan for a sci-fi big game hunt that goes sideways

So, planning the boards...

This layout was taken from the excellent 1000 Foot General blog and, after cutting the foam (using a low voltage power supply and some nichrome wire that I borrowed from my school's science lab to give an impromptu hot-wire-cutter), I used slightly watered down ready-mix plaster to give a smooth surface.

This was particularly important with the hill:

To give the rocky outcrops I used sections of cork bark, cut to size and blended to the hillside using the same plaster

Obviously I tested it at this stage for figure stability, and was very relieved that they didn't fall over on the slopes I'd made!

Next up will be texturing and painting the boards...

 

[Suber]

Re: Rab's modular gaming table

Looks great so far! I'm following this with interest.

 

[Fimm McCool]

Re: Rab's modular gaming table

That's a very cunning 3-parter! Looks like a great start.

 

[Mister Rab]

Re: Rab's modular gaming table

Thanks

That's a very cunning 3-parter!

Isn't it? When I saw it, I knew it would suit my needs perfectly. I also made a fourth, totally flat board so I had even more options for layout, and could get the typical "two armies meet in a valley between two ridges" layout as well.

 

[Mister Rab]

Re: Rab's modular gaming table

Ok, next steps (all of which are on my blog if you'd rather read them in their original habitat).

I mixed together some tester pot paint of a rich brown, a squodge of black to darken it, plenty of pva glue, and a generous quantity of builder's sand

It's a full tester (250ml?) pot of B&Q's own brand paint, "Valspar", in a rich chocolate brown. I forget its name. Forest mushroom? Something ridiculous, anyway. Added to that, the same volume of pva glue and a good splodge of kiddy craft black paint (both from Wilkinson's, costing about £2.50 in total), then two big handfuls of builder's sand, again from B&Q. As a tip for those of you in the UK, get your sand from B&Q if you have to buy it - ask if they've got any split bags; I got more than I could comfortably carry without lifting it from underneath for the princely sum of one pound. I'll never use that much sand for hobbying even if I remain active until I'm over a hundred!

End result? This:

and the flat board looked pretty similar:

 

[Mister Rab]

Re: Rab's modular gaming table -

I know the gloop isn't very interesting, but without it the following steps just don't work!

I did several layers of drybrushing, all with a cheap 4" brush from Wilkinson's (a quid, I think, grey handle and black bristles). First I used the main base paint I'd used in my board coating mix (Valspar "Norwegian Wood"), then increasingly added some of a sample pot I'd got free with a voucher a couple of years back.

I think I tried to get it matched with the old GW Graveyard Earth, but it's called Velvet Truffle 3. Eventually I went up to pure Truffle #3 for where I intend there to be paths or a bare patch of ground as a potential village space. Having looked again today since it dried fully, I think I'm going to need to go even sandier on those patches; I have couple of craft paints in suitable tones to have a go with.

I also drybrushed the rocks and cliffs in the same way, steering away from the standard grey and trying for a more Cotswolds warm stone effect. I was pretty pleased with this (possibly a slight grey/beige top brush still to go) and started to take celebratory photographs...

 

[Mister Rab]

Re: Rab's modular gaming table - drybrushing

Things I have learned flocking these boards.

You need more scenic cement. No, more than that.
You don't need as much flock as you think, but you do need variety
Other than that, I'm rather pleased with how they look for their first layer. Some bits need the gaps filling, other bits have a rather stark colour change, the edges need thickening up, and the large "village" bare patch needs to have the edges feathered with some earth blend. Getting there!

The process I've been following is to mix up some flock (Woodland Scenics burnt grass fine turf, weeds fine turf, mixed earth blend, burnt grass coarse turf, Javis bright green meadow scatter, a couple of bits and bobs that I had already but long since lost the labels for) in a tub, brush on some scenic cement, scatter the flock on thickly, let it dry for a couple of hours, stand the board on its side and tap the back firmly, gather up all the flock that falls off, repeat!

The flock:

The application:

Giving, after tweaking and so on, this:

At the moment, as you can see from the picture below, the three boards (number four is shyly hiding out of shot) are propped up on top of the table that will be their home so I could protect it with an old shower curtain. That's why there are a few gaps visible along the joins in the photos. I hope you think my work has been worth it!

So, what's still to come? Well, the river needs to be filled, most obviously. My research seems to suggest that a souped up varnish resin stuff called Envirotex Lite might be best as I've made the channel a bit deep for other afffordable-ish products. I also have trees armatures to apply foliage to and mount on fine pins so they can be put in different places each game. Finally, I intend to build a bridge that can be plonked down and look like it's part of the board, or removed if desired.

 

[LilBroGrendel]

Wow, that looks great - and very realistic! I have never heard of scenic cement before. Is that what makes part of the flock dry in clumps?

 

[Mister Rab]

Thanks, LilBroGrendel

Scenic cement is mostly watered pva glue, but it also contains something to make it dry matt, as well as a "wetting agent" which ensures it soaks into the flock really well. The clumps are "rough turf" sized pieces of flock from the likes of Woodland Scenics which I included in the mix to make it look more like rough pasture or moorland than a completely smooth surface would have done. I'm probably going to add a few clumps of short static grass and/or flowers at some point. But next, trees!

 

[symphonicpoet]

I think I saw the blog post you're working from. That'll be a nice table indeed. I'm very tempted to try something like it.

 

[Mister Rab]

Do! It's actually loads of fun to get stuck into a large terrain project, particularly when you know it'll give you hours and hours (hopefully years!) of gaming pleasure