Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

After completing my Leviathan of a snow covered 4 foot by 8 foot battle board for a 40k Apocalypse game, I decided that I needed a more regular table, something for every day usage that could be brought out whenever someone wanted to throw down a regular 2000 point game rather than a 8k world ender. Most tournaments and game clubs use a standard size of 6 foot by 4 foot board because it is large enough to provide a tactical problem by giving room to manoeuvre while being small enough too transport and store.
I also wanted to keep things simple, I spent three hours on the last board using a plane too chip away at the wood to lower the level of the ocean too give the water some depth (however I didn't have enough time too layer up the water effect to give it any type of noticeable depth). Frankly I don't want to go through that again. So this time I am keeping it simple and I am going to use the Citadel Battle Mat.
But first I had to assemble the boards.
Previously I have had problems with boards warping or bending in the sunlight because I don't use any kind of structural support beneath the board. So this time I am using some old left over wood that I scavenged from a book shelf I dismantled earlier this week.

Stage 1 Construction:

I went up to buy the MDF board I needed for the board, after looking at the pitiful samples of 2ft by 6ft MDF I decided to get 4 2x3s rather than 2 2x6s (waaaay to many numbers there). I also chose the thinnest option of MDF because it would be lighter weight than any thicker options, making it easier to transport (not to mention it was cheaper).

After sawing the supporting pieces of wood into the right size I nailed them onto the MDF (after spending literally three hours looking for the nails that I bought today specifically for this project). I made sure that each piece of supporting wood was approximately 1 inch away from the edge of the board. This meant that there was no way for the supporting wood too push apart the board and create any annoying gaps that would destroy the look of the board.



Admittedly the supporting wood is very badly done but as long as it prevents the MDF warping I will be ok with it. Next I am going to add cross section support as the middle of the board seems to bend if there is any weight put on it. I don't want too put down my freshly painted (all metal) high elf army for it too bend the table.
I have managed to find some spare pieces of wood lying around so I will be adding those cross sections tomorrow (Tuesday) and getting the Battle Mat from my local GW when it opens on Wednesday (stupid new 1 man store rules meaning it isn't open on Monday and Tuesday).

Before I get the mat however, I need to know if there are any things that I need to know while using it, what kind of preparation should I be doing? Should I use glue to hold it in place? Should I nail it too the board? How easy is it too cut too shape so that I can use it on each 2x3 section and keep them independent of each other? Does the grass come off easily?

The more of these questions you can answer the better. Thanks guys!

Construction Part 2:

So I decided to add in some horizontal support for the board, making the under lying supports into a “H” shape. Although this wasn't a particularly impressive stage (sorry no photos but it was really boring).
However.
While sawing the wood to make the supports I decided to use a heavy 5 litre tub of paint for weight to hold down the panel of wood that I was sawing. I didn't know that the lid was loose and when I tilted the tub of paint it spilled open and as I stood dumb for a good 10 seconds, over a litre and a half of paint spilled out onto the work table I was using and the patio slabs below. Thankfully I was outside but it took me an hour of cleaning to get rid of the mess. The paint was so thick that I was able to scoop it up with a paper towel to get rid of it.
I also posted this on my facebook afterwards, maybe you can get a cheap lol out of it:
“I just put a garbage bag full of tissues, covered in White stuff that I spilled, into the bin, it's still on my hands and there is a little bit of it on my t-shirt... Oh yeah and it's paint! Get yer heads out if the gutter!”

So tomorrow I get to go up and pick up my battle mat, I may even reserve my copy of Warhammer 8th edition at my local GW while I am up there. Are there any hints you guys know for using the citadel battlemat?

Lol, seems the All-Mighty Emperor doesnt wan this table finished. After your done with it though, you should build one for me...And some terrain...and a sandwhich.

I am sorry to say that your sandwich will have to wait.
Why?
Because the god emperor saw fit to not stock my local GW with battle mats! The cosmos itself is trying to stop me from doing this. Next thing you know the board will catch fire randomly when I try to play on it!
I guess I am going to have to wait until friday until I get too fix this. Until then I have to construct my Byzantine/High Elf army which I can't paint because I forgot to pick up some bases for the models.

Well it seems that not only does the god emperor not want me to make this board but he is using his minions in GW to thoroughly take the piss out of me.
I asked my local GW manager if there would be any Battle Mats in the next shipment of stock and he said that there would be, so I popped up to the store and asked for a battlemat and the covering manager said that none had come into the store on the friday order.
I was also looking for a set of bases for my non-GW elven army so I could use them in my local club (which I am joining at some point) and at home. However the store only had 1 pack of extra square bases (I need at least 3) so basically I am now forced too make an online order for the mat and bases I need rather than wait for GW to pull their fingers out.
Stay tuned for updates.