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 attempting a search and getting an error message I thought I'd pop on here and ask you all what's a good material to stick my recently assembled Imperial Sector ruins to.

Any suggestions?

I'm also wondering what a material is to make a gaming surface out of, I've seen some pretty cool foam squares but I don't know what they're called or where to get them. Yes, I'm pretty lost on this.

Any help would sure be appreciated.

For basing terrain my preference is hardboard/high density fibre board. You will need a jigsaw or a hand saw and a lot of patience to cut it with though.
Its sturdy, light enough, and won't warp/bend and crack your basing material.

I'm sure there are other people that will link to some great tutorials on gaming table building.

plastictrees wrote:For basing terrain my preference is hardboard/high density fibre board. You will need a jigsaw or a hand saw and a lot of patience to cut it with though.
Its sturdy, light enough, and won't warp/bend and crack your basing material.

I'm sure there are other people that will link to some great tutorials on gaming table building.

Thanks! Where would I find fiber board?

Home Depot or any home hardware store they haven't crushed yet should carry it. 2'x4' sheets are probably the smallest you'll find there.

It's basically peg board without holes if that helps at all.

plastictrees wrote:Home Depot or any home hardware store they haven't crushed yet should carry it. 2'x4' sheets are probably the smallest you'll find there.

It's basically peg board without holes if that helps at all.

Cool man, I'll look. I have a Lowe's within reasonable distance. I'm sure they'll have it there!

I'd suggest basing the buildings on MDF. Won't be terribly thick or heavy while supplying enough strength to keep the bases from warping when you sand/flock/whatever. Some people bevel the edges to blend into the table, but if you're going for a city-fight vibe, I'd suggest making your base slightly oversized, keeping the edges square for a curb, and adding thin card sidewalk slabs. Slap a building on either side of a road and the whole setup gets that extra touch of realism.

For the gaming surface, extruded polystyrene insulation foam is a godsend. You can find big sheets of the stuff in thicknesses from 1/2"-2" at most home improvement stores. In the US, Lowes usually carries blue sheets and Home Depot carries pink ones. Either works just as well. You can glue stacks together and carve hills, dig into it to create pits and craters (if it's thick enough), scribe lines in it for brick patterns, etc. and it's pretty resilient considering its minimal weight. Granted, it's still only foam, but if you don't abuse your terrain much, it should hold up pretty well. If you want to go modular, it's pretty simple to cut out tiles of foam and mount them on a harder board for strength. Keep the edges as-is and go to town on the rest of it - lets you make a totally interchangeable (and expandable) board with elevation changes and the like. Plop your MDF-mounted Imperial Sector building down and it's a city-fight board. Flexibility!

oadie wrote:I'd suggest basing the buildings on MDF. W

Does it come thin enough?

Or go to your local sign store and see if they have any PVC sign boards. They're as structurally heavy as the walls if GW scenery, and being solid plastic, they are relatively easy to cut and super glue-proof.