Some questions regarding the Realm of Battle board

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**Ouze**

Hello Dakka,

I've got some spare money post-holidays, and am considering getting one of these. My original plan was to get a pair of folding tables, which I have done. They are each 2.5 foot by 6 foot, and they fold up into 2.5x3 foot squares with carrying handles. When set up and pushed next to each other, they make a 5 foot by 6 foot table. Good.

The next part of the plan was a Zuzzy mat. This has not worked out so well. To be honest, the smell is a little strong, and I haven't had as much luck painting it as I would have liked. I don't know that there is any way to strip it without also melting it. So, lets assume I'm not going forward on that.

My next thought is, since I have the tables, what about a ROBB? One of the problems I had with the Zuzzy mat, besides the smell, was the distinct lack of immovable hills and subterranean deposits and veins of skulls. The ROBB would certainly solve those problems.

Here are some of the questions I have. Please note that I don't have the skills to assemble my own board from MDF and that I'm also aware many people consider the board overpriced; "answers" along either of those directions are not useful to me so please refrain from them.

1.) How securely do the sections lock into place? How, specifically, do they lock into place? Is it possible to put it on a 6 foot by 2.5 foot table without it falling apart, or would I need both tables? Will it unsnap\fall apart with dudes putting their beefy elbows on it? Is it possible to somehow lock it onto a smaller table with pegs or something, or must I use both tables to support it?

2.) Do dice roll on it normally, or do they bounce weirdly?

3.) Did you have any issues with the substrate coming off? Presume I will give the surface several "washes" of watered down PVA glue to seal it.

4.) Paint-wise, was it hard to paint each section so that they blended with any other section seamlessly? Was there a special technique you used to be able to put it together in several different configurations without the paint job looking "off"?

5.) Is there a cheaper place to get one in the US then the Warstore? I wouldn't be in a big rush for this.

Thanks!

**BloodQuest**

I love my RoB board, although it has to be admitted it is very pricey.

To answer your questions, though:

1. The clips are okay, bit of a bugger to put on. Two tables would be the way to go, I think, because the board really isn't that heavy. I think there'd be a tendency to slide if someone bumped up against it.

2. Dice roll fine, but I have yet to add much texture to mine, so they tend to go a long way...

3. No problems with paint coming off in terms of showing the underlying plastic, but run a fingernail across it and you'll see some colour on your nail.

4. I airbrushed mine and rotated panels as I went to get a good match up.

5. Can't help you on that one - I paid full whack at GW not long after it first came out.

Hope that helps!

**padixon**

I own a RoB. I love mine too, and totally concur with BloodQuest. Its pricey but great quality.

Mine is fully painted and fully flocked.

1. You will need both tables, 2.5 is just not enough. The table does hold together pretty well with the clips. Like BloodQuest said, the clips can be a pain in the rear to deal with though. But once you get them on, they will do a real good job holding it together, but again, you need both tables.

2. The dice roll fine on mine. The flocking are nice shock absorbers. Without it, I don't know.

3. I have yet to run into any paint coming off. The flocking will rub away over time I imagine, but I guess I will just put more on when that happens.

4. I had no problem painting mine, I used a very simple scheme that GW recommended on their website. All Brown (except the rocks), dry brushed that ocher over the brown, and then used a dry brush dark grey followed by a lighter dry brush of a lighter grey over the rocks. Then picked out the detail (the skulls). After that I flocked it with 2 different grass types (dead, and green). Do each section that way and no matter the config, it looks great. It took a total of 3 maybe 4 hours to do from start to finish with a good sized brush (not including the black spray paint base or the dry time of the flocking which takes a good day).

5. I don't know.

**Scott-S6**

1 - 3 foot wide is okay, 2.5 is pushing it.

2 - without flock dice tend to bounce pretty hard and models slide around a bit.

3 - if you don't put anything between the sections that are face-to-face in the bag then they will tend to abrade on each other. Mine didn't come with anything so I used some sheets of bubblewrap. I don't know if they've started including anything with it (that thin foam that comes in sheets for wrapping fragile stuff would be perfect).

4 - the sections match up nicely, painting it so that it all matched wasn't difficult at all.

**Necros**

Did you get your folding tables from Walmart? I think I may have the same ones. I put mine together into a big 5x6 table with the ROB in the middle so each side gets a 1' strip of table to place dead/reserve models on or whatever. For stability, you really need the whole board to have a surface under it.

My dice seem to roll just fine on it.

I painted it dark browns, I sprayed it with a tan primer spray from home depot, and then washed it with a dark brown water based wood stain (which wasn't as good as I thought it would be), then I drybrushed it with some lighter browns that were just regular acrylic paint instead of the GW colors. Then I used generic green flock from Woodland scenics. The little green bits, not static grass. I never sealed it after and the flock is slowly coming off. I think a flat varnish spray would be all ya need for that.

I just went to my local shop and asked the owner how much it costs, and he gave me a pretty good deal. Dunno what the warstore charges but I feel I got a pretty significant discount. He said it was something he doesn't really stock and just special orders for the regulars that want it.

**Ouze**

Necros wrote:Did you get your folding tables from Walmart? I think I may have the same ones.

No, I got mine from Lowes about 6 months ago, but I was recently in wally world and I saw a very similar table there too, down to the same crappy catches that won't stay closed when you're moving them. Good tables, bad catches.

Note that the Walmart ones are $5 less.

Thanks for all the responses. I'm hoping for more, especially prospective problems people have had with their tables. I still haven't 100% decided for or against getting one.

**micahaphone**

This is a bit off topic, but you mentioned starting with a Zuzzy mat. This mat seems somewhat similar to the Citadel Battlemat, which got good reviews when I asked about it in this thread. Just an alternative, if you wanted to stick to your original plan.

**BloodQuest**

@Ouze:

Well, did you decide to go for it?

**Ouze**

Yes. I pulled the trigger on it Jan 31st, as I wanted to wait for the extra 5% off from the warstore.

I'm glad you posted this, because I meant to ask - did you guys wash yours before priming? I'm guessing yes but couldn't hurt to ask.

**filbert**

I didn't wash mine, I have to say.

Painting / flocking it was a lot less painful than I had imagined. I roped in the aid of Mrs Filbert and the Citadel Basing kit that GW sell (I think that's the name anyway). It comes with a heap of flock and some large tubs of Brown and Ochre paints + a v large brush.

Working together, we painted the tile brown and then drybrushed Ochre. The wife then painted on slightly watered down PVA and I flocked it. I then stood the tile up on some newspaper, shook off excess, waited for it to dry and shock it off again and then applied a spray coat of varnish. So far - no dramas.

Panic wrote an excellent guide to painting/basing a ROB board here

**BloodQuest**

Have to confess that I didn't either.

**Ratius**

I didnt wash mine either, cant say it made any difference.

To your questions:
1 I play with mine on the floor but my friend has his mounted on two 6x4 wooden boards. Sometimes we clip them, sometimes we dont. Cant say either way makes a huge difference
2 Cant say I have noticed any difference.
3 No issues
4 I did mine in a snow theme using the following "technique". Black undercoat. Rocky outcrops painted with shadow grey. Then sprayed white over it, alternating the spray can at distance to get heavier/lighter snow fall effects. Came out pretty well considering it was an afternoon job (a few pics in my gallery).
I didnt flock it but my friend flocked his in a greeny/brown. He said it was quite easy.
5 Unsure Im afraid, bought mine from GW.

Good luck, personally I love the boards, I recently bought the 2 peice expansion and might even get two more!

**Gorechild**

Ouze wrote:1.) How securely do the sections lock into place? How, specifically, do they lock into place? Is it possible to put it on a 6 foot by 2.5 foot table without it falling apart, or would I need both tables? Will it unsnap\fall apart with dudes putting their beefy elbows on it? Is it possible to somehow lock it onto a smaller table with pegs or something, or must I use both tables to support it?

They are joined together by little plastic clips, you put two between each facing that will be touching another piece of board. They are pretty fiddley to get on, but do a reasonable job once in place.

Ouze wrote:2.) Do dice roll on it normally, or do they bounce weirdly?

They are fine, as long as you aren't rolling them down hills or anything stupid you'll have no trouble. You can get cocked dice in the skull pits, but if you roll sensibly there are no issues.

Ouze wrote:3.) Did you have any issues with the substrate coming off? Presume I will give the surface several "washes" of watered down PVA glue to seal it.

I haven't put any thing over the paint on my board and its still fine (got it christmas 09), tiny (and I really do mean tiny) bits of paint have rubbed off on the corners from pulling the boards in and out of the bag, but its not noticable when set up.

Ouze wrote:4.) Paint-wise, was it hard to paint each section so that they blended with any other section seamlessly? Was there a special technique you used to be able to put it together in several different configurations without the paint job looking "off"?

As long as you mix enough paint to do the whole thing then you wont have any trouble, I just sprayed mine black, went over in a brown basecoat then drybrushed browns and greys and it looks fine however its set up.

Ouze wrote:5.) Is there a cheaper place to get one in the US then the Warstore? I wouldn't be in a big rush for this.

I can't help you with this though

**Ouze**

So, you guys flocked the entire things, or just sections of it? Other then, obviously, the skull pit.

**Scott-S6**

I didn't flock mine at all, wanted it brown and muddy. I have been considering going back over it with brown flock - it'd stop things sliding down the hills as much (my valks are quite prone to that....)

The skull pits got a thick layer of black/grey paint (really thick) and then filled with scenic water. (matches the muddy feel, all my craters have pooled water as well)

**Ratius**

So, you guys flocked the entire things, or just sections of it? Other then, obviously, the skull pit.

I turned mine into water.
I took some blu-tac and thinly layered it over the skulls in the pit so they now looked relatively flat with some undulations (currents). Then painted it in dark blue with light blue/white highlights. Glazed it with a gloss then.
It came out ok tbh considering I didnt put too much effort in and am not a good modeler. With some more time I think you could do the same (assuming you want water!).

**Ouze**

I do want water. I have clear resin, and think I'll tint it red and then fill in the pit that way. That was it can be a pool of blood, lined with skulls so I can get 2 GWS cliches at once.

Is it possible to enjoy the skull pit ironically?

**Ratius**

I genuinely never hated the skull pit but it simply didnt fit in with my snow theme, I wanted small glacial lakes.
If I was doing a different style board, I'd probably leave them in.

**Kroothawk**

1.) Personally I go for felt mats by Hotz ( http://www.hotzmats.com/felt_purchase_mat.html ): Look good, no immovable hills, no painting, no sliding and dice roll nice. And you can get 2 and still save 50% over a ROB. Examples:

(I chose no road option)

(For Fantasy)

(For Battlefield Gothic)

2.) I don't own the ROB myself, but from looks in the GW store, it is slippery on the hill sides, so you NEED to add some flock, even when it is only sand painted. Skull pits can be filled with putty or greenstuff. And dice jump and make noise when thrown on non-flocked plastic.

BTW the new city mat by Zuzzy doesn't need much or any paint (but still smells):
http://www.zuzzy.com/wc-bb-001-terra-flex-gaming-mat.html

**Ozymandias**

Ouze wrote:
My next thought is, since I have the tables, what about a ROBB? One of the problems I had with the Zuzzy mat, besides the smell, was the distinct lack of immovable hills and subterranean deposits and veins of skulls. The ROBB would certainly solve those problems.

I'm sorry, but this just made me smile. I like the ROB board, but I certainly don't like it for the immovable hills and skull pits.

And to the above new Zuzzy mat, this may be the tipping point for me, that looks really nice.

**Ouze**

I like those Hotz mats a lot in theory, but in conception... ehh. It seems like an awesome product, well executed, and I love that you can get it with hexes on it, but none of the current designs really speak to me, for lack of a better phrase.

The new Zuzzy mat certainly looks nice, and I wish I had waited before buying my own ill-fated zuzzy mat now.

**Ouze**

So, the board came today, and guys... I think I may be in trouble here.

It's a lot bigger then I thought it would be. I know conceptually in my head how large 6x4 is, but it's another thing entirely to pull out these 2x2 half-desks one after the other. It's also a lot heavier then I thought it would be. Same problem as before - intellectually, 33 pounds isn't all that much. My dog weighs 45lbs, and I pick her up all the time. But man, I don't... like... carry her places. I figured I could maybe carry my folding table in one arm, this bad boy in the other. In retrospect, that's like one handing a bag with 4 gallons of milk in it. This thing is never leaving my house.

And if it's never leaving my house, I suspect I maybe should have tried building my own. I'm never used a hot wire cutter in my life, but I suspect I could have gotten pretty good with one for less then $230.

I'm not saying it sucks; because it doesn't. It's very well made. It's very solid, very firm. I imagine if you were even slightly careful with it, it should easily last decades. I don't quite regret it... yet. And I might not. There sure is a lot of room in the pockets undernear for any sort of LED tricks I might want to try.

I'm just grappling with the enormity of it. I'd describe it as peering over the edge of a very high cliff I don't know if I have the stomach to rappel down.

**H.B.M.C.**

Are you planning on flocking the RoB as thought it were grassland?

**NobleSeven**

Be strong and endure!

The table is amazing and not THAT difficult to transport! Just take care when breaking it down and unpacking it again.

Also, if you plan on transporting this a great deal- flocking is not the best idea. Especially large sections. It will not survive numerous trips (or even one, I found out personally) without your hard work being ruined by scratching board sections, bumping into this and that and just plain laying it down in the back of a car.

PS- It is, however, good for building upper body strength! =P

**Kilkrazy**

Ouze wrote:I do want water. I have clear resin, and think I'll tint it red and then fill in the pit that way. That was it can be a pool of blood, lined with skulls so I can get 2 GWS cliches at once.

Is it possible to enjoy the skull pit ironically?

You could put a fence of spikes around the pool.

**Ouze**

H.B.M.C. wrote:Are you planning on flocking the RoB as thought it were grassland?

Originally, I had not planned to, as several people have indicated that the flock wears off in transit. Now that I realize this thing isn't going anywhere, the deal has been altered. I pray it is not altered further. I don't generally like the look of flock that much, and had always intended to glue down sand to it: I suspect that the sand would give just as good traction as the flock would have.

However, after seeing Panic's fantastic tutorial (thanks Filbert) along with the comments that unflocked boards are a little slide-y, I'm reconsidering. At the very least i think I'll flock the hilly tops and inclines.

**H.B.M.C.**

Ok well the reason I bring it up is because if you want a green surface, have a table to put it on already (and you have to have a table to put the RoB on, so I can assume you do), then take the armful of money you were going to spend and instead look at this this, this and these.

All GW products. A similar style terrain (hills you can half/quarter), for about half the price of the RoB. Better yet, you choose where the hills go (or to even have hills) where as all the RoB ever does is allow you to choose where the hills will go.

Can't do anything about the subterranean skull layer unfortunately. But with the money you save you could buy more of these and these.

**Ouze**

H.B.M.C. wrote:Ok well the reason I bring it up is because if you want a green surface, have a table to put it on already (and you have to have a table to put the RoB on, so I can assume you do), then take the armful of money you were going to spend and instead look at this (snip)

Can't do anything about the subterranean skull layer unfortunately. But with the money you save you could buy more of (snip)

Wise advice, but unfortunately, wrong tense. I ordered it about 2 weeks ago, and it arrived today; my trepidation about what to do now is upon it's delivery this morning. In retrospect I think I could have done better but perhaps I'll do a really great job on it. I haven't yet slept since then (I work nights) so maybe after a night out to think about it I'll know how I feel a little better.

**filbert**

It seems daunting at first Ouze, but once you get started on painting and/or flocking it, you will find it is a fairly straightforward process.

**Necros**

I didn't wash mine

I sprayed mine with a light tan "camo" primer from the hardware store, then stained it with darker brown water based wood stain which was a mistake, it was too dark.. should have watered it down. But then I used regular acrylic paint from a tube similar to snakebite leather and drybrushed that all over with a cheapy 2" paint brush, and then did the same thing with a light color that was similar to bleached bone. For flock I used a darkish green flock from woodland scenics that I also didn't like once it was all done. I might try and get some of the flock off and use a lighter color and more sparingly.

Overall though, it wasn't difficult to do. A little time consuming, but not too bad. I also did the whole thing 1 square at a time, off and on over the course of like 2 weeks.