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I just hosted an Apoc game at my FLGS today to introduce people to the new Apoc rules. It went very well, we had about 10 players and around 3000 combined PS. It was LoW only, but I plan on making the next game open to all units. We pushed a bunch of folding tables together to make a 6'x17' large table, putting chaos in the middle of the board and having xenos/Imperium on either side. I bought a few light brown plastic table cloths to cover the tables giving it kinda desert vibe. I also put some desert terrain out, but the table was very bare and few things got cover saves. Now that there is interest I want to build up terrain for large Apoc games, cheaply.

I was thinking of getting some grey fabric that can cover several tables and would look like a ruined battlefield. Also, painting some boxes gray to simulate buildings. Maybe cut up some cardboard and make them chewed up roads. Possibly using that pink insulation to make ruins. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm looking for cheap, and durable stuff that won't take a lot of time to make.

Do not forget the easy way of simply finding some larger rocks and such about the area and plopping them down as partial terrain. Same with aquarium plants. For Apoc, where units are generally moving around terrain, simple works well. And of course, ruins from polystyrene can be done easily as well. The type that looks like little balls all glued together you find at most Michaels or Hobby lobby. Break into wall sized sheets, leaving the edges rough and uneven. Paint with black acrylic (no spray paint!) then dry brush white, instant ruins.

edwardmyst wrote:
Do not forget the easy way of simply finding some larger rocks and such about the area and plopping them down as partial terrain. Same with aquarium plants. For Apoc, where units are generally moving around terrain, simple works well. And of course, ruins from polystyrene can be done easily as well. The type that looks like little balls all glued together you find at most Michaels or Hobby lobby. Break into wall sized sheets, leaving the edges rough and uneven. Paint with black acrylic (no spray paint!) then dry brush white, instant ruins.

Like those cheap gas station coolers?

I highly recommend taking a look at Miscast Terrain's videos. Specifically the ones for ruined buildings, walls and barricades, and bunkers. Really cheap, fairly easy (especially with his freely provided templates), and pretty quick all things considered. It will still take you some time obviously, but most if not all of the materials are available cheaply at a local hobby shop and such. See his video's here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUtsRCYEE-hCPsftezm9wzA/videos and get his templates here: https://miscastterrain.itch.io/ . He does have three things currently behind a paywall, but only one would be fit for a 40k table and its files for 3D printed bits to customize terrain. It's also only $10, which is really cheap for 69 files that look just as good as most terrain from GW and actually better than some of their lesser products. If that's too much work/time for your needs though, you could try ebay. I've seen a number of homemade terrain for sale at a reasonable price. Other than those, you might try some cheap model train trees for forested rough terrain. I recently found this how-to and am planning to try it out myself: https://skinflintgames.wordpress.com/2020/05/19/terrain-talk-pt-15-next-gen-trees/

You could use a cheapo gas station cooler, yes. A better option is to walk around behind any larger store and check their pile of boxes. Many things are shipped with styrofoam shaped to it to protect it. Any styrofoam that looks like this works:


An example of packaging found in most appliance etc boxes: This can be turned straight into a cool building by just painting with cheap black craft paint, then a grey/white drybrushing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_cushioning

It is that edge that is important. painted with watery black, then dry-brushed white using cheapo craft paints makes a good ruined building edge.
Here's a link to how it is sold at Micaels hobby store (Hobby Lobby also carrieas this, as I'm sure most craft stores do)
https://www.michaels.com/smoothfoam-styrofoam-sheet-2-in/10397329.html

Here is a link to a tutorial I found:
https://bloodofkittens.com/wargaminghub/2011/01/07/terrain-tutorial-ruins/

Also, foamcore is useful as well, and can be found for a couple dollars at a Dollar General store in the school supplies aisle. Here a tutorial using that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kZVVOPqwjA


Hope this helps

edwardmyst wrote:
You could use a cheapo gas station cooler, yes. A better option is to walk around behind any larger store and check their pile of boxes. Many things are shipped with styrofoam shaped to it to protect it. Any styrofoam that looks like this works:


An example of packaging found in most appliance etc boxes: This can be turned straight into a cool building by just painting with cheap black craft paint, then a grey/white drybrushing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_cushioning

It is that edge that is important. painted with watery black, then dry-brushed white using cheapo craft paints makes a good ruined building edge.
Here's a link to how it is sold at Micaels hobby store (Hobby Lobby also carrieas this, as I'm sure most craft stores do)
https://www.michaels.com/smoothfoam-styrofoam-sheet-2-in/10397329.html

Here is a link to a tutorial I found:
https://bloodofkittens.com/wargaminghub/2011/01/07/terrain-tutorial-ruins/

Also, foamcore is useful as well, and can be found for a couple dollars at a Dollar General store in the school supplies aisle. Here a tutorial using that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kZVVOPqwjA


Hope this helps

Thanks, I'll do that.

What about a table cloth or cheap fabric that I can buy to cover a large table thats like 6' x 12'. Looking for something that's gray and maybe has texture to it so it fits in with the ruins I want to fill the table with?

felt sold on the bolt(fabric term) should be available in 80" wide. We use it at our flgs(cut shorter) all the time and once folded takes basically zero space.

Honestly, that's gonna be really difficult to find as a single piece. You could get one of those colored disposable plastic table cover rolls in grey and simply put multiple sheets down until the table is covered. You could do something similar with heavy duty reusable vinyl table cloths, but if you want a single piece table cover your best bet is to have it custom cut at a local fabric store like Joann Fabrics. It'll probably cost a pretty penny so to speak due to the highly unusual dimensions of a 6'x17' table, but it would last a long time if you take care of it and you could probably get it in whatever color or texture that you want. You might even be able to get one that can be painted and rolled up for storage without damaging the paintjob, like an artists canvas. In fact, your best bet might just be to custom order an artists canvas to the size you want. You could probably even paint both sides and have a reversible table cover for two different map types.

Pink insulation foam makes for some very quick terrain, and you'll get an enormous amount out of one sheet.

For a desert themed table, just stack up variously sized chunks to the height you want and chop away at them to round the corners and to give them bit of texture that implies sedimentary rock formations (basically just slice into them at not quite parallel angles in order to remove triangular prisms of foam). Wide chunks give you hills and mesas of different heights, while taller, narrower towers give you those rock pillars you see in every western and western-themed sci-fi movie. Cut a few irregular pieces with one side at a dramatic angle (22.5 degrees if you want a mini to be able to stand on it, steeper if you don't) and texture up the other cut edges (leaving the flat areas mostly flat - feel free to add some interest, though) and once you secure the angled edge to a suitable base (or stabilized it with some "rubble" underneath part of the overhang) you've got a broken chunk of bedrock that's jutting up from the ground.

Once you've got the basic idea down, you can go crazy and add details like rock arches or pueblo-style buildings embedded in the rocks (some cardboard or foamcore with some white glue and same slathered on is super fast and looks ok once painted tan). Produce a bunch of large mesas and you can make a canyon battlefield to really mix things up (some separate bridges, whether foam "stone" arches or foamcore/cardboard flats with a bit of reinforcement, can make moving across the gaps easier for non-flyers and give you a slightly more 3d area).

Industrial terrain is pretty easy to make, too, and is pretty backdrop-neutral. Grab a length of pvc pipe (1", or a couple of different diameters to break things up) and a fistful of connectors (elbows are the most useful) and you've got yourself some giant promethium/gas/water/etc. pipes to drop around. A length of pipe with capped with an elbow on each end that goes "down into" the table is a great, basic building block. Stack them up (using different lengths and some additional pipe to provide height), glue two or three together (add a bit of screen and card as a walkway running between/along them), run them into a "pump house" made of foam/cardboard, plonk them down as scatter, or make a giant interconnecting maze of piping, whatever. Aluminum cans with a cardboard top added to somewhat disguise their nature make super cheap storage tanks, as do any other containers with interesting shapes. The tubes oats (or 5lbs of peanut butter, if you buy in bulk) come in can become industrial storage tanks with very little work. Toss some bendy straw pipes on, run some lengths of scrap wire along things, make a few smaller pipes/power cables out of paperclips, stick on some wire/paperclip ladder rungs where appropriate, add on spare bits, etc. to embellish and you're good to go. Spray them gunmetal (or black and then lightly with silver) and add some watered down orange/brown paint to be rust (wherever water would run or collect, plus some randomly stippled around with a bit of sponge or ratty brush) and they'll look just fine.

 SergentSilver wrote:
Honestly, that's gonna be really difficult to find as a single piece. You could get one of those colored disposable plastic table cover rolls in grey and simply put multiple sheets down until the table is covered. You could do something similar with heavy duty reusable vinyl table cloths, but if you want a single piece table cover your best bet is to have it custom cut at a local fabric store like Joann Fabrics. It'll probably cost a pretty penny so to speak due to the highly unusual dimensions of a 6'x17' table, but it would last a long time if you take care of it and you could probably get it in whatever color or texture that you want. You might even be able to get one that can be painted and rolled up for storage without damaging the paintjob, like an artists canvas. In fact, your best bet might just be to custom order an artists canvas to the size you want. You could probably even paint both sides and have a reversible table cover for two different map types.

It would be in several pieces naturally. I was thinking of getting several yards of fabric and cutting them into pieces that I can lay down over the tables. Do you know of any good fabrics to simulate the color of a ruined city? Something gray with elements of dark and light gray in it?

if able to, take a trip to your friendly neighborhood fabric store. You'd be able to better tell what will work for you using your own eyes rather than an image.

I mean, you could always try something like this ( https://www.walmart.com/ip/Print-Inches-Pale-Cloth-Natural-Granite-Surface-X-Outdoor-Grey-Decorative-Ambesonne-Mineral-Pattern-Table-58-Picnic-Stormy-Marble-Dust-Details-Tablec/550099666?wmlspartner=wmtlabs&adid=22222222222149774983&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=o&wl2=c&wl3=74354541014343&wl4=pla-4577954109492728:aud-807615483&wl5=&wl6=&wl7=&%20wl10=Walmart&wl12=550099666_10000000581&wl14=faux%20granite%20vinyl%20table%20cloth&veh=sem&msclkid=c381e3423ba814df72abbd9deab0404b ), but as I mentioned before and Racerguy180 reinforced, your best bet is to go to a fabric store and have them assist you in person. They'll probably even have a few options you could take home same day.

swatches are your friends and most of the time they'll give you a 2x2" square.

 SergentSilver wrote:
I mean, you could always try something like this ( https://www.walmart.com/ip/Print-Inches-Pale-Cloth-Natural-Granite-Surface-X-Outdoor-Grey-Decorative-Ambesonne-Mineral-Pattern-Table-58-Picnic-Stormy-Marble-Dust-Details-Tablec/550099666?wmlspartner=wmtlabs&adid=22222222222149774983&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=o&wl2=c&wl3=74354541014343&wl4=pla-4577954109492728:aud-807615483&wl5=&wl6=&wl7=&%20wl10=Walmart&wl12=550099666_10000000581&wl14=faux%20granite%20vinyl%20table%20cloth&veh=sem&msclkid=c381e3423ba814df72abbd9deab0404b ), but as I mentioned before and Racerguy180 reinforced, your best bet is to go to a fabric store and have them assist you in person. They'll probably even have a few options you could take home same day.

This pattern is exactly what I was looking for! I'd like to order it by the yard, tho. And cheaper...