A game table to call my own

Well with just a few touch-ups left on the hobby table and game boards I thought now might be a good time to post some info about it. My father and I started working on it abut a week and a half ago. It started as a table just so we could start work on the "Normandy to Berlin" game boards but the fact that it takes 35 minutes to get to the closest game store has prompted the quick construction of some generic game boards so I can host games from time to time. Of course I only know one gamer out here so far but we'll work on that next. There is supposedly a group of about a dozen Warmaster players out here.

So, the table is 4'x6' and is primarily plywood with two 2x6 supports. The legs lock into place so that it will always remain at waist height. That was really the trickiest part was getting the whole table level. But, its done!!! We added some side supports to keep the boards from moving if they get bumped, but as you can see they have gaps so that you can easily remove the boards as needed.

In the beginning there was lumber

Hmm... to heavy in the middle

Better, but not quite there yet

 The game boards themselves are 2'x4', or 2'x8' blue foam laminated to 1/8" masonite (MDF). They are not very heavy but the Masonite should help them survive longer. The generic boards that can be seen in the final picture then had a Grass Mat from Woodland Scenics glued to it. You can then see my father using a rolling pin to apply some pressure to the mat to get out all the air pockets. All that remains to do is test to make sure the glue takes and then attached the excess mat to the sides of the board. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow.

Attaching the Grass Mat

Glue, we need glue!

A little water and then we spread the glue

Removing the air bubbles

The completed table leveled and ready for terrain and armies!

Now that I have a table this should motivate me to get even more done. Huzzah!

Just a few other quick notes. I have unpacked the rest of my miniatures. They will require some cleanup as the method I used to transport them across the country did not quite work the way I had hoped. What I did was tape my loose miniatures to the bottom of boxes then I poured puffed rice into the boxes to keep them from shifting around and getting damaged. I think I would have been okay just using packing popcorn with them taped to the box but as I have never done something like this I wanted to make sure they were as safe as possible. Well they ended up being quite safe. Unfortunately when I bought my puffed rice all I could find was Sugar Puffs... which are sugar coated and at some point during my minis trek that sugar coated puffed rice turned into puffed cement!!! Nooooo! So unpacking them became breaking the puffed rice up and sifting through to make sure nothing was lost. It took a while but with the help of my father we got it done. Now they just need to be cleaned. Ugh! Well lesson learned at least.

Finally, I have used my first wash on a miniature. My Warmaster Trolls got a gray base coat over the last few days and tonight I applied a dark blue wash to them. 4:1:1 ratio of water to paint to glaze medium. I want to do a final coat on them but they  look good after the first coat. I have high hopes that it will all work out. Stay tuned for future troll developments.