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Hey guys, I've recently been doing a tonne of refereeing (all of 8 games) and managed to scrounge together just over 500 dollars.

now, the ROBB is $450 (australians correct me.) and I've got ample time to make a decision.

I felt it'd be a fun project and a cool battle board for my every-2 month home game/campaign.

now, I feel it's appropriate for a 2 player game, but is it worth it for a three or two player game, or should I just get terrain peices.

Also, with the remaining 60, I plan to get a building scenery.

Bloody hell, if you want to spend $500 on a plastic game board why not just set fire to it, then incorporate the ashes into something you built yourself?

I don't own one myself but my FLGS has two of them which can incorpirate up to 8 players (4 on each side) per table as long as it is around 1000 - 1500 pts. They are very nice because of the seperate tiles so one
game you can have somone defending a fort on a hill, the next a battle with hills in each of the corners and after a game defending a vally formed by putting the hilled sections in the center-outside. One problem that does pop up though is that the clips are aparently hard to put on and the plastic bends if it is leant on.

I'd suggest just making your own gaming board. For $500, you should be able to make a nice table with a mix of different terrain types. I'm not a fan of tables with built in terrain features, because its limited in the number of configurations. Build a flat table, with different terrain pieces you can place on it.

christ dread.

I'm not able to get multitudes of cardboard, and being a child, I'm not allowed to use many tools either. (yet I was allowed to buy a craft kit) my problem is not that I'm not capable of doing it, It's just I'm not allowed.

so I get the next best thing.

pay your dad/uncle/whatever to make you a board then ><

Dude,

1. Get four 24"x48" MDF sheets (Should cost ~$40).
2. Go out to a home depot place and grab a bad of fine gravel (~$20).
3. Grab a bottle of PVA from your local hardware store (~$30).
4. Grab some texture paint from your local paint store (~$30)
4. Smear the PVA all over the boards using a big brush.
5. Pour fine gravel all over the boards.
6. Leave for a few hours, then shake gravel off. Apply more PVA/gravel if need be.
7. Water down PVA, and put it all over the boards. This seals the gravel.
8. Apply texture paint to the boards using the same big brush as before.
9. After drying, paint it desired colours.
10. Saw each board in half.

You now have a flat, textured board, bigger than the RoB board. You do not have irritating hills that tip over your models. If you want those irritating hills, buy some Styrofoam (~$45), cut it into hill shapes using a hot wire cutter (~$40), then texture and paint them as you did the board.

You now have a board which has custom hills and more modularity than the RoB for ~$225. The RoB still needs to be textured, so that's even more onto its already OTT price.

The great thing is, no more tools are required for this than for the RoB (unless you want the irritating hills, in which case the wire cutter is required). The gravel, PVA and paint is all necessary for the RoB too.

The ROB board is pretty damn good, and you can buy the "expansion" (just the two flats again) to get yourself 8x4" board (or any combination that 8 2x2 can give you, really) as well if you wanted to.

Durability wise it far exceeds the homebrew kits, as it is the same injection mould plastic as the models, jsut a lot thicker - it can support someone jumping up and down on it.

The clips CAN be a pain, however one trick is to use blutack on one of the boards so it holds the clip out - when you put them together it is easy for one of the clips to get pushed under a little.

Get the painting kit as well, as you will use a LOT of paint / flock / glue on this thing!

Captain Solon wrote:Hey guys, I've recently been doing a tonne of refereeing (all of 8 games) and managed to scrounge together just over 500 dollars.

You waste your money on that damned board and every game you play will have those same hills. There will be nothing you can do about them, they will always be there, you still don't have any terrain for the table and you'll be out $450 before you've even bought the paint and flock to make it look good.

Save your money. Buying an MDF board isn't expensive. Buy a GW green mat, and use the money you've saved to buy terrain.

A 6x4 board is fine for 2vs2 if you stick to 1250 - 1500 each, 8x4 will do 2k each.

I think all of you have not listened. I'm unable to make my own board, and I don't have anyone who I'd be willing to pay to do it for me.

and saving? dude, this is two days work, full paid for, accomodation, food, flight and administration.

Captain Solon wrote:I'm unable to make my own board, and I don't have anyone who I'd be willing to pay to do it for me.

You don't need to make a board. I've had the same single 8X4 (now 6X4) piece of MDF for years. I put a table cloth on it, or, later, the GW green cloth on it - and bingo - it's a table. You don't have to 'make' anything. And you get to spend your saved money on terrain for the board, rather than just on the board.

Good point there - get the DIY store to cut the MDF to size if the sheets arent a good size for you already, and you're away.

The green mats are a breeze, few woods and hills and you're on your way.

Pika_power wrote:
The great thing is, no more tools are required for this than for the RoB (unless you want the irritating hills, in which case the wire cutter is required). The gravel, PVA and paint is all necessary for the RoB too.

nosferatu1001 wrote:Good point there - get the DIY store to cut the MDF to size if the sheets arent a good size for you already, and you're away.

Captain Solon wrote:I think all of you have not listened. I'm unable to make my own board.

With the MDF, you have to flock it and paint it (or drape a battlemat over it).

With the RoB, you have to flock it and paint it.

The MDF, can, in effect, require less D.I.Y. than the RoB, for less.

And with the MDF, you get to choose where the terrain goes, wheras with the RoB, all you get to choose is where the hills will be this time.

Do this instead: http://www.zuzzy.com/

I'll second the zuzzy mat, I just got mine and started painting it. It's actually been a pretty fun experience so far.

precut chipboard, paint and sand. 30$

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z64_ZRiqP1g

Captain Solon wrote:christ dread.

I'm not able to get multitudes of cardboard, and being a child, I'm not allowed to use many tools either. (yet I was allowed to buy a craft kit) my problem is not that I'm not capable of doing it, It's just I'm not allowed.

so I get the next best thing.

As mentioned already your fldiy store will like as not chop to required size for you Captain
You won't need to use tools.
I see the problem you have but the flexibility of positioning the terrain would be much preferable imho.

If you can't make the terrain details then you should be able to buy it given the savings made.

Good luck regardless Cap'n

If you want to get a RoBB, then do so. Those that hate it will never change their tune, but there's nothing wrong with that. You respect their opinion, and they will respect yours. I've had my RoBB since launch, and have had many enjoyable campaigns on it. I've enough scenery that it never looks the same twice, and I love the hills on it.

Same here, I in fact have both - ROB and a battlemat. RoB looks *amazing* if you put the time in, superior to a plain green mat, and we try to get as many as we can when playing Apocalypse etc - anything to aid the experience.

Some people hate the hills, others dont. And if you get the "expansion" you only have two hills to "worry" about...

I'll put it this way, if a guy came up to me on the street and gave me a choice between a RoB table and an MDF table,, I'd take the RoB. If the same guy gave me a choice between a RoB board and an MDF board with $300 worth of terrain, I'd take the MDF board.

I think that sums up my feelings on the matter fairly well.

Well, goods to you.

The Shop I get my stuff from (in this case it won't be a gw, I'm smart enough to shop around a bit) will be a bit more:

1. imperial sector
2. ROB GB
3. the two extra 2'x2' boards
4. citadael scenery painting kit.
5. snow particles (not gw, but eh.)
6. the other kind of hill
and
7. with 4 tree bases and 16 trees, not GW standard, but still just as good.

for just over 500.

I'll take that one.

But but but...ARGHH.

I think this thread was more a case of you stating what you were going to buy anyway, kind of like thinking aloud or like tweeting what you had for lunch.

I'm starting to feel that way.

I came asking 'is it worth it or not' and I got "build yer own."

not exactly what I wanted but, I'll take it.

Captain Solon wrote:I'm starting to feel that way.

I came asking 'is it worth it or not' and I got "build yer own."

not exactly what I wanted but, I'll take it.

The advice is make your own i.e the ROBB isn't worth it. It may be worth it to you though.

Captain Solon wrote:I'm starting to feel that way.

I came asking 'is it worth it or not' and I got "build yer own."

Read "build yer own" as "No, it's not worth it, because you have the following better options."

No. It's not worth it.

As has been said already, you'll be building your own, no matter what.

Here's what I'd suggest as an alternative. NO BUILDING REQUIRED:

Go to the previously mentioned "Do It Yourself" store. Buy a NICE sheet of wood (MDF, plywood, pressboard, etc). There are a bunch of choices, and some are quite durable.
Have them cut it down to 6 x 4 size for you.
Buy a gaming mat for the board (you can also buy adhesive rolls of "grass" from Woodland Scenics. Just unroll, remove the protective backing, & stick to your board). Bam! There's your gaming board.
Then, with the $400+ you've saved, go online & buy premade scenery off of feebay. It'll already be built, painted, etc.

You'll have a lot more options available for gaming than are available with the ROBB.

Eric

If you really want it. Get it they are pretty nice. My FLGS has 4 sets. But as others have said and I will agree just spend the 500 bucks on other stuff to make your own. The hills can get old.

I made my own city scap board which I love. I spent alot of my money on all the GW ruins it will look just as nice and will give you alot more options in the end.

Captain Solon wrote:Well, goods to you.

The Shop I get my stuff from (in this case it won't be a gw, I'm smart enough to shop around a bit) will be a bit more:

1. imperial sector
2. ROB GB
3. the two extra 2'x2' boards
4. citadael scenery painting kit.
5. snow particles (not gw, but eh.)
6. the other kind of hill
and
7. with 4 tree bases and 16 trees, not GW standard, but still just as good.

for just over 500.

I'll take that one.

How are you getting an Imperial Sector, two extra sheets, the painting kit, snow flock, hills and trees for ~$70?