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2018/12/31 02:33:19
Subject: First go at a gaming table. Unfinished. Looking for tips.
After watching numerous videos on YouTube, I decided to create a 4x4 gaming table topper for my home. I am learning as I go and have never done anything like this. I would love advice from enthusiasts and hobbyists on better construction materials and ideas for what to do with the wall.
Right now the table topper only weighs 8 pounds and seems pretty sturdy. I added rubber bumpers to the bottom of the frame to keep it on the table. As of now I have spent about $150 US dollars on the build including all the paint I will need. I have plenty of spare materials as well. I could have planned a little better to cut cost, but I wasn't sure which direction I was going with it yet. Any recommendations on what I should do with the wall would be appreciated. I would like to share mistakes I made. Do NOT seal the foam with white glue. It came recommended by many people in the hobby. This step was done to seal the foam from the aerosol primer I will be using. After experimenting, I have found this foam to be unaffected by aerosol spray like most foam. I used it on my walls and it warped them causing them to curl inward. Repairs were needed and the walls still lack original sharpness. So this step was basically pointless. Don't bother buying a cheap hot knife either. Unless you shell out $200+ for a hot wire bow or professional hot knife it's not worth the extra effort. I will post more updates as I complete more steps.
Am wondering why you didn't build the sides of wood as well?
But good job shaping the foam!
To be honest I wasn't sure what I was going to carve. I had seen a table with caves around the perimeter and you could move your guys through the cave from cutaways you could see into from the outside of the board. I realized how much time it was going to take and took the easy way out with a wall.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/12/31 14:43:38
Am wondering why you didn't build the sides of wood as well?
But good job shaping the foam!
To be honest I wasn't sure what I was going to carve. I had seen a table with caves around the perimeter and you could move your guys through the cave from cutaways you could see into from the outside of the board. I realized how much time it was going to take and took the easy way out with a wall.
OK, that actually sounds very interesting, I just can't really picture how the caves would work ... But then again, I don't play ... I'm just in it for the modelling & painting. But I do have a serious weakspot for terrain & especially for innovative terrain boards
2019/01/02 14:24:45
Subject: Re:First go at a gaming table. Unfinished.
On Monday I rubberized the basin and glued in stones around the border. Yesterday I primed the entire table. This morning I laid down all of the base colors. The table is now ready for airbrushing. For some reason dakka is not allowing me to post pictures though. I have them posted on reddit and in my gallery for the time being. I need to repair my airbrush and I'll be on to the next step.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2019/01/02 18:30:10
2019/01/02 16:07:40
Subject: Re:First go at a gaming table. Unfinished.
I finished up the main color scheme today. I went out and bought an iwata needle and it fit my brush ok. I'm always up for suggestions. Like I said, new to this. Having alot of fun though. Thank you guys for all of your encouragement.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2019/01/03 03:03:43
Looks great! Nice work on the color fade in the shallows... I did something similar on a recent piece and it isn't easy, but it makes a great effect. Are you planning to tint your resin or water effects?
MacPhail wrote: Looks great! Nice work on the color fade in the shallows... I did something similar on a recent piece and it isn't easy, but it makes a great effect. Are you planning to tint your resin or water effects?
Thank you! Yes, not sure what color though. I was thinking just smokey so it would darken up the table a little more. I thought yellow might be cool with the green showing through but then it might just look like old resin. I have also thought about leaving the resin clear and using a black wash on it after it dries.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/01/03 13:17:32
MacPhail wrote: Looks great! Nice work on the color fade in the shallows... I did something similar on a recent piece and it isn't easy, but it makes a great effect. Are you planning to tint your resin or water effects?
Thank you! Yes, not sure what color though. I was thinking just smokey so it would darken up the table a little more. I thought yellow might be cool with the green showing through but then it might just look like old resin. I have also thought about leaving the resin clear and using a black wash on it after it dries.
I've been cautioned to tint with ink or pigment rather than paint to avoid cloudiness, but other than that it will be an experiment for me too. My pool is blue rather than green, and I'm toying with either brown or green tint. I need to get the inks and I'll be ready for a couple of small test items. I'm a little wary of washing over the finished resin lest it limit some of the illusionary (and actual) depth you've worked so hard to create.
I went out yesterday and bought some brown and florescent yellow resin dye. I made a few samples of swamp water, some using acrylic paints and some using dye.The set of three are paints, the set of two are dye. I also laid the final layers with the airbrush and clear coated the entire thing.[img]
I know it's not exactly an update on the table itself, but while I am waiting for my resin to arrive I painted up some trees to go with the table. The resin might take a while to get here, so I'll be working on more scenery for the time being.[img]
The resin finally arrived yesterday. So I mixed up some batches and started laying it down. I decided to only use brown resin dye since I will probably be adding green floaties to the mix. I had a little more to add but one of the tributaries started to flood. I found I sprung one leak, not sure where exactly it starts but I lost less than a teaspoon. Well 3 days to dry and I can move it inside. We can do the rest of the details in our game room.
2019/01/20 13:14:52
Subject: Re:First go at a gaming table. Unfinished.
This is great, and such a tease... I can't wait to see the full depth at an angle with less glare. The photography must be tough on this project. Nice work!
Hello Dakka, I finally come bearing some updates. I ran into some problems with the resin. One of my batches did not mix thoroughly and remained tacky. Well I decided polyurethane would be a good fix and about 20 minutes after putting down a layer the three days of rain really screwed up my finish. Long story short, hours of repairs ended up pretty decent. I was able to lay a nice layer down the afternoon and the results are much better than before. I found this product call Tintit I decided to use on the water for a different tint. We are moving the table inside for the final touches. We bought some reeds and cattails, along with these bubble shaped stickers to make the muck look really nasty. I have also included some pictures of some little projects I have been working on for my salamander army.[img]
Great progress so far!
Making a gaming table is always a lot of work, but most likely will be worth in the end. It's always a good opportunity to learn more.
That is true with almost every single tool you can think of. I have learned the hard lesson a few times and always had to go ahead and buy the more expensive version too, wasting money in the end. A poor guy can't afford to buy anything cheap and so forth...
Will come back for more, keep up the good work.
PS. is that an El Camino in the first post? Always wanted one.
It's been a while since I've worked on the table. Minis have been getting in the way. Finally I am getting back to it. I left the table for a week or two before I painted it. It seems maybe the foam wasn't finished expanding yet. So unsightly cracks have been appearing on the wall. I was thinking about glueing green flocking into the cracks. Thought maybe that would look pretty cool. What do you guys think? Any other ideas?
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2019/05/02 13:24:50
-- $k 
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1500pts
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