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I wanted to make a bfg board for my fleet that would be more exciting that just playing on the kitchen table.

First I went and bought some hard board from my local hardware store it comes in 4' by 8' sheets. It cost me around $11 USD. I then measured 4 foot and cut it in half. I used an electric powered jig saw for this. This will leave me with a 16 square foot section that I'm going to use to base my cities of death buildings on.




One side of the hard board is very slick and shiny. Paint could have trouble sticking to this. I took an electric sander and 220 sand paper and scuffed this side of the board.




Be sure and take a rag or cloth and wipe off all the dust generated from sanding as this will also affect the paint.



I bought a quart of flat black paint at the store and just used a house painting roller and applied it to the surface of the board this cost me about $5 USD.



Next I took a couple of random spray cans of paint from my cabinet. (purple, orange, yellow, red) I lightly misted these in places to represent the colors of space and gases and what not that float around.



For the stars you'll need an old tooth brush and flat white craft paint. I dip the tooth brush in the paint and then flick my finger across the loaded bristles. This creates a spray pattern. If you're unfamiliar with this technique I would recommend trying it before you use it straight on your board.




I'm pretty happy with how this turned out I started it on a whim about 8pm and about 10pm I was done with the project.
And the Finished board!





Hard Board = 11
Black Paint = 5
Spray Paints = 5
White Craft Paint = 2
Total Cost of Board = 23 bucks

I plan on adding a border to it and painting it a gloss black to add some structural support.
I'll update the article when I add the border and get some pics of my first game on it.

Looks great so far.

I don't play BFG but that table looks perfect for it so far.

Haha, isn't the "flick" method what Jae Lee used to use for his artwork?

So you're going to put boards across the board underneath?

Looks great!


Since BFG is so flat, I would have done this on a piece of canvas or cloth so I could use it over the table I have for 40k/fantasy.

Cheers!

Yea I'm going to put boards around the edges and something on the bottom to stiffen it. My 40k board isn't flat or I would have just gotten a space scene piece of fabric and rolled it up when not in use. (+ I like making things )

Looks great. It's nice to see another space combat related post. And this one has color too!

For those who end up using a piece of canvas/cloth, take a look at this tutorial as well. In fact I'm trying to think of ways you can get much the same effect on a hard board/flat board like this. I've seen it done by street artists with nothing more than a spray can and some newspaper. Hrmmm...

Like so Bud.

That's pretty fantastic. Wonder if it would transfer to a board well. They're using metal sheets for that style of spraying correct?

I believe metal sheets or photopaper are used. Anything that doesn't absorb the paint and leaves it wet longer.

looks awesome but isn't the board BIT too thin???

1/8" thick, lays on a table, has aproximitly .1 pounds of space ships on it... I think it'll be fine.

Looks good. I did something similar years ago, but I used a black bedsheet. The great thing about the sheet is that it is really, really easy to store.

That effect is actually really good!

Cool, really great effects.

littleboyblues wrote:1/8" thick, lays on a table, has aproximitly .1 pounds of space ships on it... I think it'll be fine.

...true

Any plans on terrain. I for one would love to see a guide on that.

I'll be out of town for a week or so. After I get back terrain will be tackled soon after.