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It becomes more and more a Bob Ross picture then a gaming table .

I for one don't like the rust-sprayed tree, the other ones look much nicer. But truth be told, I'm jealous of your gaming table - there's just something incredibly cool about fighting on a battlefield that looks this serene and peaceful

I almost want to write a haiku about your table...

almost...

Symbio Joe wrote:It becomes more and more a Bob Ross picture then a gaming table .

He has yet to include a 'happy little bush' that's 'our little secret' though.

Great job on the table grey_death.

SoG

Koolidge wrote:I almost want to write a haiku about your table...

almost...

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator

Happy Little Bush

I think those dinosaurs are already dead . Is that a T- rex . Good job, keep it goin'.

Cloverfield

I hope you have children or else I have to wonder were that dinosaur comes from.

Symbio Joe wrote:I hope you have children or else I have to wonder were that dinosaur comes from.

Close Enough >.>

Symbio Joe wrote:I hope you have children or else I have to wonder were that dinosaur comes from.

Sooooo you dont strategically position your plushies on your bed after making it every morning?


yea neither do i....

Well I've got the first bit of magnets attached.





They hold very well together. I just need to paint over them now and they'll be good to go.

I also gave Braad of Warseer's suggestion to add dense undergrowth to the board some thought and used a very simple solution that I've sort of had the idea for the whole time I've been working with the trees. The Woodland Scenics trees end up losing a good chunk of their foliage while you're working on them. It's not a bad thing as they end up looking a bit less 'puff ball on a stick' when they do. But all of that extra material is still VERY useful and I've just sort of been throwing it on the board as the stuff falls off. Well, to get the nice thick undergrowth look, I've put a lot of the stuff in one area.

In the attached shot you can also see I've got the tree template integrated as well. This will be a nice way to help tie the board and the templates together, especially the washer based trees.

Nice table! I love the magnetic tree idea When I get around to making a table I'm gonna do that so that I don't have to worry about them breaking off. It would also make things like troop movement a lot easier. Especially since my Catachans are unusually attracted to such places

Finally got the tree template finished. Only thing I was really waiting on was super glue. I let that dry up and then hit them with some quick paint to help hide the magnets some. In the future, I plan on completely integrating the magnet into the base by sculpting around them with spackle. I am also thinking of possibly using spackle or green stuff (if I can find some) for the tree proper to help hide the magnets as well. We'll see what I can scrape up.

Anyways here's the pic:

The magnets blend in very well. It makes your already great table even better.

Testing out a new product I found.







Have to let the stuff dry completely and we'll see how it comes out when painted. this might be a quick and easy way to hide those magnets ^_^.

The stuff isn't hard to work with so far, though the application is a bit messy. It's got an oily liquid that I guess keeps it workable for longer while in the tube. I found putting some on a paper towel and using it like spackle ( <3 spackle) for what I'm doing worked well. I want to see if it works well enough to use for gap filling on models as well.

Stay tuned for the results.

The testors contour putty worked like a charm. When it was about half way dry I pressed the back edge of my hobby knife into it to create some bark texture. I let it dry and added some more lines with the hobby knife and tried to get it to generally fit in a bit better. hit it with some paint and it's good to go. check out the results:

Finally got around to spraying the tree tops. The color breaks up nicely. And while noticeable on them in person, you can really only tell the big difference with the yellow and orange trees in the photos. Check em out:

Man, those breakaway tress are terrific - makes me want to go magnetic logging!

Seriously, though, that's a great idea and they look excellent.

Awesome, just amazing. If you paint over the shiny parts of the magnets you could have adaptive scenery (trees getting knocked down).

I really dig the magnetic trees! I have been trying to devise some clever plan involving forrests that look good and actually allow mini's inside, but damn, you just nailed it for me!
Something wonderful to add to the Book of Magneticus Rex!

Death By Monkeys wrote:Man, those breakaway tress are terrific - makes me want to go magnetic logging!

Seriously, though, that's a great idea and they look excellent.

Thanks, it's been a labor of love ^_^.

Doctor Optimal wrote:Awesome, just amazing. If you paint over the shiny parts of the magnets you could have adaptive scenery (trees getting knocked down).

I really wanted to be able to paint over the shiny bits, but unfortunately when I tried it, it just ends up coming up after a few clicks of the magnets. I can still make the adaptive scenery things happen though, I've got plenty of loose foliage in a box by the table ^_^.

Wehrkind wrote:I really dig the magnetic trees! I have been trying to devise some clever plan involving forrests that look good and actually allow mini's inside, but damn, you just nailed it for me!
Something wonderful to add to the Book of Magneticus Rex!

Glad that people can find a use for this on their own tables ^_^.

A quick note, when you're matching up the magnets to put together, make sure you're aware of which sides attach and which repel. As long as you match up a tree for every magnet, it's not a huge issue. But say, you put all of your magnets on without thinking about that, you could end up with trees that won't attach anywhere!

New template.

All the spackle work was done by pushing my finger down along the edges. Push down on the stuff to get it to secure to the board and not pull it apart.

Sweet work. The bright primary colors that the trees start with detract from the table IMO. Changing up those colors and making them more realistic makes a big difference.

Some more progress with my trees.

Finished another template base. Unfortunately my supply of magnets had dried up. I'll have to either find another supply or have the store start ordering for me. Either way, it's going to be a bit before I can get all of the trees on magnetic bases. So this is the end of the line for a bit.

Nice work Ddue, We lost our old Gametable at work when it went out of Bizz, it was a 8 x 4 Cityfight table, had sidewalks and street lights that really worked.
not to mention part of an Airport on onside...Sniff..sniff.. A guard tower with a gate, it took us about 2 Months to make..Sniff..sniff..but now its lost.

Owell time to make a new one.

I love the Hearth Stone sitting next to your table. Don't leave Home without it!

I had an idea for your magnets. Firstly www.kjmagnetics.com is an excellent site for cheap rare earth magnets of various sizes and strengths. Their clearance section can score you a plethora of dirt cheap power. Plus the guy sends you free samples on big orders, so you can get all sorts of neat things. I really love the site.

For the trees: instead of using two magnets, why not use one magnet and one flat head screw or nail? Say magnitize the trunk, then just put the screw or nail in the stump flush. Unless you really need 10kgs of force holding it together, and unless screws are more expensive than magnets, it should work out.

Where did you get that spackle stuff you used on the magnets? Ive been trying to find a way to cover the magnets on my table for a good bit now with limited success.

Actually, I was wondering about that. Why not just use some GS instead of the putty?

Some replies!

drunkorc - good luck with building the new table. I did a small 2x2 cityfight piece a while back. I still haven't finished painting the thing. You can check it out in my photodump post.

Wehrkind - good thinking on the flathead screws. I might have to give that a go and see how it holds for me. As to the website, I'll have to check it out. Scarab gave me an address a long time ago when I first had the magnets idea, I just never got around to ordering any. And thanks for the comment on the hearthstone ^_^. I was bored one night and had 20 minutes to kill.

Accuracy by Volume - The putty I use on the magnets I picked up at the local hobby store (Hobby Lobby for those who have em). I'm sure you can pick it up just about anywhere you can find a good assortment of testors products.

Death By Monkeys - The putty is pretty low hassle. I just squirt the stuff around the magnets and start shaping. Let it dry some and get to texturing it. That and I don't really have a good supply of GS around here.