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Folks, i'd need your help for a little project of mine.

I would really like to make my own and good enough looking table for Bolt Action and 40k. But i'm not, but i mean not at all, good with it all. So i plea for your help and advice. Here's my requirement list:

Must be easily dumpable
Would rather allow me not to leave the ruins, trees and so on fixed
Should look like mud and grass ( my lain army, the KG Walter, is supposed to take action from March 8th 1945 in Germany)
I'd really like to make some pathes.
Must remain as cheap as possible, im really short in money

I already thought about making several 60 cm x 60cm planks on which id draw my tracks.

For now, what i have at ly disposal is:

Old wall paints (green, brown, and several greys)
Sand
Hamster litter ( he wont feel grudge about that )
Polystyrene and cardboard.

Thanks for you help!

Depending how much effort and time you want to put in will affect the end result. Best place to start looking would be YouTube. Plenty of vids on there, look for a guy called the terrain tutor.

I can help you out,Well for starts what do you have for LUmber? You will a piece or pieces of Plywood/PArtical board. If you cannot buy a 4x/8 piece new. I would got to you local consturction site and do so Dumpster diving for it .also some 2x4 would hurt either. Also what do you have for hand and power tools around your house and space?
I have 2 gaming tables atm in my garage A large one that is 9x7 that is made form dumpster dived house doors, covered with a green grass indoor /outdoor mat.Supported by dumpster dived Saw horses. My other is a 5x4 table made out of nothing but dumpster dived lumber.

well as i said i need it to be easily stocked. That's why, according to what i already saw through looking to the liite german channel Tabletop gorilla, i though about using little pieces, planks, i'd draw onto. I must own a saw somewhere; but Nothing further, even if i might rely on some relatives.

I'll check the terrain tutor you spoke of gorex.

I strongly recommend Battlefields in Miniature:

https://www.amazon.com/Battlefields-Miniature-Realistic-Effective-Wargames/dp/1781592748/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1471021238&sr=8-8&keywords=wargames+terrain

Also:

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Wargames-Terrain-David-Cross/dp/1841544558/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1471021238&sr=8-3&keywords=wargames+terrain

Both are good terrain building books.

 Maniac_nmt wrote:
I strongly recommend Battlefields in Miniature:

https://www.amazon.com/Battlefields-Miniature-Realistic-Effective-Wargames/dp/1781592748/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1471021238&sr=8-8&keywords=wargames+terrain

Also:

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Wargames-Terrain-David-Cross/dp/1841544558/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1471021238&sr=8-3&keywords=wargames+terrain

Both are good terrain building books.

Miht take the firs one buti ain't ranting on GW to then buy a book from them thanks for the references

Alrite since you got a gaming tabletop to use i can tell you how tp build the latter. heck i probably could write my own book since i have been wargaming now 30yrs. wow doesnt seem that long and i have built alot of stuff homemade orD IY style.
Sound like what to build and use is called. Modular style.
Since you use your planks as a base for your for your terrain section. base coat your base planking boards. watered down black craft paints work great and are only around a buck for a big bottle.
Next thing would be what type of battle field you want to build this will determine what type of material to be used as a actual teerain texture type, IE dirt, concrete etc.
im stopping here this maybe what ur are thinking of?


Or you may use another method to use,I call it the, OH Well Fk it ....way?
Here how you do this
PAint your planks green let dry then throw some cat litter, flock on them and Say f it good enough.
But dont forget to build your foam core buildings.

Maréchal,
I would suggest an alternative to the above. Buy a commercially available wargaming mat. In the States we have frontline gaming's FAT Mats, which I think are pretty top notch. The reason Im suggesting this is multiple, but here's the main ones:

- Multi use (not just wargaming)
- Durable
- Storable
- Easy to transport
- Re-sellable
- Very pleasant to play on (quiet, no wobbly models, models slide over surface and grips if table gets bumped)

Then just buy a sheet of 3/4" plywood and 2 collapseable saw horses. Now you have a gaming table or a giant painting desk or a work table for other things. You will have spent a little money, but youll have saw horses until you're old and gray. You can re-sell the mat if you need or store it if space is a premium. The plywood can be re-purposed later. Then you can spend your time making cool terrain or finding do-dads too use for terrain. I recommend NOT painting and texturizing with sand a whole sheet of plywood. Nor gluing something to it. It will get scuffed and damaged and in a few years youll hate it... and it WILL go to the dump. Leave it as unfinished wood. I recommend 3/4" plywood. Do NOT use MDF. It will bend and is more expensive and heavy. Spend a little money you wont regret it.

Battle mats are very good but lack the one thing every gamer wants,personalisation. It's the challenge of making your own terrain that's half the fun.

Anyway for me it comes down to space which most people have a limited amount off. So I would suggest 2x2 modular boards allowing you lots of board design possibilities and easy storage. Plus you don't need to break the bank to achieve it. You will need a few wooden battens,mdf and styrene. Basically you use the battens to edge a square of mdf and sit the styrene into the middle. I have been using these types of boards for years and they don't warp and the styrene allows you carve out exact terrain and keeps the whole board light in weight.

I usually coat the styrene in masonry paint,which is always on the reduced shelf in diy stores and then you are free to add whatever surface you require(scatter,gravel etc). Industrial pva glue sticks down just about everything.

Good luck with whatever you go with

Thanks darkness and doktor.

I think i may still stare at a personalized gaming table since darkness said it: its half the fun. But i might put some cash aside to buy a gaming mat for like Christmas. to have a second and easily transportable one

Hi, welcome to Dakka.

What are you asking for? Please could you specify a bit more.

The table? Look at cheap wallpaper pasting tables, we can get them here with hard board tops. They fold flat, you could paint and texture the surface, and they are cheap,
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wooden-Hardboard-Folding-Wallpaper-Pasting/dp/B008AGRBQW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1471761855&sr=8-3&keywords=pasting+table

If that is more than you want to spend, then do you have a table to support boards? Recommend going to the DIY store and getting loft boarding, cheap, comes with tounge and groove joints and comes in 1.2 meter wide bits.
http://www.diy.com/departments/chipboard-loft-panel-pack-of-3-l122m-w325mm-t18mm/61765_BQ.prd
Don't think they will deliver to you, but you get the idea.

You can even get it with insulation board stuck to it, so you could carve a landscape...
http://www.diy.com/departments/bq-insulation-board-l1220mm-w320mm-t-123mm/183180_BQ.prd
Bit more expensive though.

Or was it the terrain.

There are loads of people on Dakka that can help, look through the P&M Blogs. In particular, (terrible self advertising) look to the League of Extraordinary Riveters Terrain Competitions, our whole ethos is do it cheap from scrap.Link to latest round below, but there are links in the OP to the previous comps.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/693487.page
Any of the guys and dolls of our group will be willing to help and indeed check out there blogs.

There are tons of guys doing similar and better probably, but have a glance through my Buildings Gallery for some ideas. Any questions please ask away, I do everything cheap.

Also whilst you are on Youtube, I can also recommend the Terrain tutor, and I would also recommend looking at DM Scotty. Yes he is modelling for D&D mostly, but with a little thought many of his techniques can be used to make our more elaberate pieces, and can be used to make amazing things, and we are talking very cheap.
https://www.youtube.com/user/theDMsCraft

Lastly, you will from now on be forever pennyless as this will consume your time and money. You will build a nice table and some terrain, but then you will want it to go that bit further and before you know it you will be buying battlemats and resin terrain pieces and it will all look amazing and you will unfortunately have joined our club, good luck, best wishes and welcome sir.