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Hi all I have for some time been wanting to make a 40k gaming table and after losing a bet with a friend I now have to make one suitable for apocalypse games, I want to make it more or less a ruined hive city and would really appreciate any advice on making it impressive but still quite simple and not to costly
Thanks In Advance

A while ago I saw pre insulated loft boards, they are basicaly a big block of insulation glues onto a thick section of chipboard flooring. I'd start by getting a pack of three of those and a router and carving away the foam into a series of plateau's and slopes you can then resurface the foamwith a non melty product like modrock or something.

Expensive is relative. Given the cost of raw materials and sundries, you're looking at $200+ I'd guess for a good sized board. Plywood/OSB is through the roof right now price-wise.

Fast, cheap, high quality: You only get to pick two.

Seriously, though, that's a pretty tall order. There are ways to cover a lot of table cheaply, but cardboard corner ruins usually don't look all that impressive. Like 1-UP said, even basic materials are going to set you back a pretty penny. Is this going to be a permanent table or is this a playtop you'll be putting on a folding table or the like? Lumber for the frame is going to bump up the price, if the former is the case.

If you really do want to do the ruined city thing, remember that Apocalypse needs space. Not just a big table top, but open spaces on the play area. Have scatterable urban terrain pieces, for sure, but I'd focus on a few big building pieces, for a few reasons. First, big buildings are more impressive. You wanted impressive, right?

If you go about it right, they can also help you save on materials. Buying an Imperial Sector boxed set won't cover an Apocalypse table, but those same bits coupled with a little scratchbuilding know-how and a few well disguised bits of cardboard, foamcore, and insulation can.

There's also the playability issue I alluded to earlier. Big building allow you to space them farther apart without diminishing the visual effect of a dense city. A Warhound titan striding between two towering factories is impressive and plausible. Good luck balancing a stompa on a Cities of Death kit.

Best of luck to you. I really mean that. However, I think you need a bit more planning and direction before you'll have more specific questions that will net you more useful answers.

Alright, I sat down and thought about it a bit cost-wise, more or less for my own amusement but I thought I'd post for you. I'm going to try going with bare minimums.

I guess I'll price out how I prefer to build boards as going over the pros and cons of each method could be an article in and of itself.

Let's assume an 8x6 board. That's a pretty decent size and managable for most rooms. Bigger = more expensive, so keep that in mind.

1/2" OSB is sold in 8x4 sheets, so going to need two of those. They go for about $16 apiece.

We're going to want some foam. Since we went with OSB (could have done naked plywood, but that's $22 a pop and a lot more limited with what you can do), we're going to want to cover it with something. I prefer 1/2" foam insulation board. Some folks like thicker stuff because it's more versatile, but I find it's more expensive and harder to work with. We'll need another two sheets of that (this is actually possible to find in goofy sizes, but we want scrap to build terrain with anyway so we'll just stick with the 8x4 sheets). Those run about $12 apiece.

We're up to $56 and have a lot more to go.

Gotta glue the board down to the wood. It takes more than you think it does. We'll play devil's advocate and say you can get it done with 2 tubes of contractors glue. That's $6 for the pair.

Need to paint it now. You're going to need two coats (we want it to look good, remember?). A quart of latex housepaint will cost $12 or so, but you don't want the quart. You want the Gallon size because you're going to want to be able to paint terrain templates and whatnot colors to match your terrain board, so knock it up to $18 (which is a screaming bargain on paint, as the gallons all seem to be up to $24 or so for the regular stuff).

A basecoated board looks like crap. It needs some color variation. Luckily we can use cheap craft paint for this purpose. Let's say we get 3 color variations to drybrush on. We'll call it $6 for the lot, with the potential of going a lot higher if you start adding lots of variation.

For an absolute bare-bones board with no terrain and the assumption that you have the necessary brushes and tools (8 ft boards take different brushes than 2" tall minis, things need to be cut, etc), you're looking at $86.

But wait, we need terrain! And the board is so boring because there's hardly anything going on with it!

Let's add some more "basics"

Drywall Mud/Spackle/Plaster - about $8 for a premixed small tub. The larger is a much better deal, but most of it will go bad because there doesn't seem to be a "happy medium" size.

MDF board for bases - $10, although you could go with cardboard on this. I prefer something a bit sturdier.

Random Texure - We'll go cheap and use kitty litter and/or play sand - $6 for a lifetime supply.

Aaaand we still haven't put a scrap of terrain on it at $110. You can be the best dumpster diver in the world, but whatever you pick up will still need paint and glue. The more details you add in, the more cost. If you have to start buying tools (like a saw to cut the MDF), costs go up even faster.

There are cheaper routes to go of course, but throwing a coat of paint onto raw OSB is...not pretty.

Thanks for the help guys and with the advice I am trying to get plans drawn up looks like this is gonna be a task worthy of... well someone who has more free time than me so I'll call in my old man he knows his stuff when it comes to terrain building etc