Hey guys,
I have heard a lot of people talking about how expensive large gaming tables can be, even the cheaper kickstarters seem to be in the 100$ plus range (plus shiping) for a 4X6' table.
So here I will share how you can build a table for under 50$, and actually get more then that if you wish.
first, here is a list of materials you will need,
1. White glue, lots of it, you could use other types of glue, but water based ones like this are cheapest I find. I used up 5 oz of white glue on the whole 4x6 board, I buy mine in packs of 3 for a buck or two at the dollar store.
2. I used a Woodland Scenics WSRG5123 ReadyGrass 50 in. x 100 in. Vinyl Grass Mat Roll in the Forest color, there are 5 other colors, these will all shrink wrap to any texture you put on the board, and cost me 30$. Local hobby stores, generally in the model train section. If they dont have it, ask for it, likely they are just sold out as its popular. Also available online, but I dont trust shippers not to bend it. This stuff is very resistant to shedding, it takes some serious abuse to make the flock come off.
This mat is also shrinkable acrylic, so you can use the same technique as below, but say use some of the scrap or putty/dough/caulking to make a more "rolling hills" or other topographical features on the board, and then once you are done gluing everything, you can "hair dryer-shrink wrap" this to pull onto the textures. I recommend trying the shrink effect out on the smaller scrap bits first if you have never done it before. It is easy, but might take a try to get the hang of how much heat and texture depth you can get away with. I generally find any extra height works out fine as long as its a smooth transition with no huge jumps in elevation.
3. You will need a cutting razor, or scalpel, to trim the edges of your mat. scissors tend to leave an over hang, scalpels are 5$ shipped from deal extreme, and have many hobby uses.
4. Go to home depot or a similar store that offers the free cutting service, and buy a 4x8' peice of plywood, I got one that was very smooth on one side, and slightly less so on the other, for 9$. Then get them to cut it to a 4x6, at this time, also ask them to cut the 2x4' peice into two 2x2 peices as well if you want smaller display boards, or to have modular tiles for your board perhaps. my home depot does this for free, but a simple table saw in the garage also works. 4'x4' boards seem to be readily available as well for cheap.
5. Maybe grab a buddy to help you lay the mat down, or carry the board. I did it all myself, but i am very ninja like with this stuff.
6. books to hold stuff down for you while it sets/ is positioned
total cost: 3$+ 5$ +9$ +30$=47$
Step one, roll out your mat over the board, since they come in 50x100" if you intend to make a 48x72" table and a 48"x24" (so 48"x96"), you will only have 2" of "error" on the long edges, and 4" of "error" room on the short ones,
IE this means you need to get the paper on fairly straight, but its not to hard to get it "close enough".
Once you are happy with the alignment, carefully trim around the edges using the razor/scalpel using the wood as a guide.
Try to do it slow and steady, in as few cuts as possible, and if you err, err on the side of cutting a bit away from the board.
after you glue everything down you will be trimming the edges closer to the actual wooden board, so just make sure you cut it close enough so that you have enough scrap left for your display board if you are making that as well.
If you do it right, you have a big 24-30"x50" peice left, and two nice long stips about 2" wide (very nice for basing dozens of models in a few minutes, as I will show in another tutorial)
set aside the scrap, now we have to start gluing.
Have the board lying flat on the ground, with the smoother side DOWN.
Then apply glue to the top foot or so of the board, a decent line every 2-3" is more then enough I find. The important thing is to make sure the edges are all properly glued.
This means you basically have a 1/4" outline of glue all around the eldes, and then fill in the middle to taste. But for now, just do the top 12" of the edges/board
Now we want to start applying the roll, to make it easier we do the top bit first, get it aligned and hold it down with a couple books so it doest try to roll back up on us.
This also lets us flip the roll back over the books so we can glue the rest of the board later.
make sure you 2x check by rolling the roll all the way to the other edge, and once it is adjusted properly, you are ready to glue the rest.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to glue the 1/4" of the edges... this is where your board will get the most wear and tear, and you dont want it to come loose.
now you just flip the roll back over the books and onto the glued board.
cover the edges as best as you can with books or something to help the glue set, and leave it overnight. Trim/clean up the edges in the morning, and you are done!
you now have a 4x6' gaming table!
sorry for the low res pics, will update soon, it looks really good in person, even if you opt for the "planet bowling ball" look and dont take advantage of the acrylic texturing options, and it makes it easier to place models on when its flat.
You also have the materials to apply this process to the scrap pieces, as well as enough material to QUICKLY make 20+ infantry bases. I used some stools as legs for mine, you can easily make an A fram, or use crates, or anything to hold it up with.
Did this in about an hour.
here is an example of the topographical acrylic mat being used to its full potential.
there are also various shades of textured/flocked mats, you can do city/desert whatever, and the texture is much deeper and colorful then the pictures indicate.
