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 Post subject: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 2:48 am 
Kinsman
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While my 13 year old son has been painting some of my sizable backlog of miniatures, I decided (rather my wife decided) we needed someplace to play our game other than the dining room table. Our guest room (formerly my home office) is seldom used, so she suggested we make it into a game room. Who am I to argue with my wife!

So I set about conjuring up a design for a table that would be large enough to play either SBG or War of the Rings. A few years ago, I helped a friend build terrain boards for his table, sized at 6'x8'. (183cm X 244cm). We played a lot of SBG games on that huge table and eventually decided that it was too big to have a focussed game. I wanted something smaller and as it turns out, the game room is fairly small anyway. I have played on "standard" warhammer tables of 4'x6' (122cm X 183cm) and felt they were just a little bit restrictive, especially when longbow range is 2'. I wanted something in between but still small enough to walk around comfortably, which requires 2' of space all around the table.

I also wanted a modular terrain board system, where I could interchange and re-arrange the terrain to suit the scenario. The challenge was to have a set of boards that were equally square so they could be arranged into any configuration. After a lot of measuring and math, I came up with terrain boards 28"x28" (71cm X 71cm). That results in a table that is 56"x87" or 4'8"x7' (142cm X 213cm), which allowed exactly the 2' perimeter for walking around the table.

Here are some pictures. The three small dots in the center of the board are 3 mounted Ringwraiths, for scale. Sorry for the fish-eye lens. It was the only way to get a shot of the whole thing in the room:
Image

As you can see in this picture, the terrain boards are easily removable by reaching under the table top and pushing up on each panel.
Image

Along the sides and back are these small pocket shelves, 8" deep and 6" tall, just the right size for a softdrink can, storage of casualties, dice, manuals, etc.
Image

The tables holds 6 terrain panels but there is a storage rack underneath for 4 additional panels, the first one in-progress shown here:
Image

Lastly, here's a shot of my initial sketch. I made several other detail sketches along the way to work out how to piece it all together. Detailed planning for a project like this is key. I ended up buying exactly what I needed with almost no waste. Just a few very small scraps.
Image

All materials (lumber, Strong-Tie brackets, screws, and 3/4" thick MDF boards) were purchased at my local DIY store (Home Depot). I have a table saw and 12" compound miter saw, which made cutting everything much easier. The cost to get the table to this point was about $320.00. I'll spend another $50-$70 actually finishing the terrain panels. They will be mounted with pink insulation foam panels, which will be cut into rivers and hills and covered with a combination of sand, gravel, and static grass matts.

I'll post more photos as that phase completes.

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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 4:42 am 
Kinsman
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Awesome work I wish I had the space to build that. You have lots of options to vary your modular boards.

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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 5:24 am 
Elven Elder
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Very nicely done.

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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 7:19 am 
Kinsman
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Wow thats a nice and handy table to have. Well done
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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:41 am 
Craftsman
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Very impressive. Good engineering. Looks like a Mumakil could stand on it and not break it.

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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 2:03 pm 
Craftsman
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Amazing

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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 2:24 pm 
Elven Elder
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Looks awesome! Cannot wait to see this unfold (may have to make one myself as well)

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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:48 am 
Kinsman
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Very nicely done. I wish I had room to build a table like that.
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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:11 am 
Kinsman
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Fantasic

I am very envious (both of your talent, and space!)

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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 3:40 am 
Kinsman
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Thank you all for the very kind comments. I'll keep this thread updated as the terrain boards are completed.

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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:35 am 
Elven Elder
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A lovely project to have and like you say, how could you argue with your wife. It looks a great room to lock yourself away in and with some nice weaponry on the walls for inspiration. Though I would be careful not to have the swords too near an opponent on the brink of defeat....
Can the table also be used as a work station for painting etc ?

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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:27 pm 
Craftsman
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Looks fantastic - although I have plenty of space, I don't have space for a dedicated gaming room and a table like that (but I have similar storage racks under the model railroad tables). Like Gandlaf, I noted the swords you had on the walls, and do I also spy a Tolkien-related painting between the swords?
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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 6:43 am 
Kinsman
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Celevue wrote:
Looks fantastic - although I have plenty of space, I don't have space for a dedicated gaming room and a table like that (but I have similar storage racks under the model railroad tables). Like Gandlaf, I noted the swords you had on the walls, and do I also spy a Tolkien-related painting between the swords?


Thank you very much. If you have room for a model railroad layout, I'm jealous. That takes some commitment. I love to look at model trains and the elaborate layouts that people design for them.

You spied correctly. On the wall of the game room is an illustration from an edition of the Hobbit published back in the 80's. I love this rendition of Smaug.
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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 1:12 pm 
Craftsman
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Very cool - I thought from the fish-eye lens photos that it might have been Smaug! I also have Anduríl hanging on the wall in my layout room, which is at the moment not heated; it's been converted from a storage area below the garage. The only thing done for the layout is really the basic tables around the room, which I will use for storage and construction of the gaming terrains for now. Eventually, I will also have the LotR movie posters and a large Middle-Earth map on the walls. I've purchased a very high resolution digital map, which I have edited little by little to reflect the known, hinted at, and possible changes that occur during the first four hundred years of the Fourth Age. My model railroad, once completed, will be set in the Reunited Kingdom around year 410 of the Fourth Age.
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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 2:28 pm 
Elven Elder
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Anduril sits proudly my wall alongside the sword of the witch king. Finances have prevented the growth of this collection.

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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:54 pm 
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I am so jealous of that room - it is my dream to have one room with nothing in it but gaming and modelling stuff.
The only problem with hanging the swords in an accessible location is the number of idiots who start handling them, I would have them displayed behind some sort of extremely tough glass.

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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 7:11 pm 
Kinsman
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I think that anyone that has the space to put together a permanent board should approach it in exactly the same way. Looks like a perfect size, practical and a very solid construction.
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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 7:58 pm 
Kinsman
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Dorthonion wrote:
I am so jealous of that room - it is my dream to have one room with nothing in it but gaming and modelling stuff.
The only problem with hanging the swords in an accessible location is the number of idiots who start handling them, I would have them displayed behind some sort of extremely tough glass.



Well I feel like most boys walk into a room filled with weapons and think "Well these look fun to play with". :twisted:


Of course that's an awesome table you created there. Glad you and your son can get into it together!

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 Post subject: Re: My latest project: a game table.
PostPosted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:52 am 
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Well it puts my gaming table to shame. Awesome job my friend. 8)

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