Redcoat 55 | 07 Apr 2015 1:09 p.m. PST |
One of the neat things about space battles is they don't require a lot of terrain. So as I dive into Star Wars Armada it seems like all I really need to do at first is get a black tablecloth and dress it up a bit. Has anyone ever done that? Any suggestions and/or pictures? I am guessing some sort of very dark black untextured cloth and maybe paint some white and yellowish spots on it? Maybe add some glitter effect somewhere? Thoughts? |
haywire | 07 Apr 2015 1:22 p.m. PST |
For X-Wing I just used a "space themed" cloth I found at Joanne's Fabric. Got 2 yards. I think it was this one link
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olicana | 07 Apr 2015 1:27 p.m. PST |
Or a game mat
This one belongs to a friend, excellent. He got it off Amazon, but I can't remember the manufacturer. It's about 3x3 (from memory), but they make others you can butt up to it. |
thosmoss | 07 Apr 2015 2:01 p.m. PST |
* Black felt, make sure it's not too "hairy". Make it big enough for your play area, then think about doubling it -- what the heck, you can always keep it folded in half. Take your 40% off coupon to Hobby Lobby. * 4" paintbrush. * White, Yellow, and Red paint. I used craft paints like Apple Barrel, and watered 'em down. * A large paint pallet, like you'd use for rollers. * A clear field of fire. Dip the paintbrush in your paint, flick the brush toward the felt. Holding the brush edge toward the black felt will make spatter look more like streaks (imagine the milky way). Holding it wide side on will spatter all over. Start with white, move up to darker shades later.
I planned how I was going to do this for weeks, but the actual execution took less than 20 minutes. And I still get compliments on how nice it looks. |
Andy Skinner | 07 Apr 2015 2:10 p.m. PST |
I like cloths with lots of stars, and only the faintest of other stuff, like wisps of gas, or distant galaxies or nebulae. As pretty as a big planet or strongly-colored nebula is, I think they are too much. I did the typical splattering of white paint with a toothbrush. That looks good up close, but you do need bigger dots to see while playing. I love the cloth haywire posted, though would prefer a bit less of the cloudy gas. andy |
Saber6 | 07 Apr 2015 2:52 p.m. PST |
I have black felt that came with glitter. Mostly black with a hint of sparkle. |
Kropotkin303 | 07 Apr 2015 3:08 p.m. PST |
I did mine with a black cloth and the toothbrush technique. Worked for me. |
Scott MacPhee | 07 Apr 2015 3:26 p.m. PST |
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Parzival | 07 Apr 2015 3:52 p.m. PST |
I also have two yards (6'x6') of black glitter felt. Got it at JoAnn's with a 40% off coupon. Looks like a deep starfield. I used a peg board to grid mine off in 1-inch squares for use with G.O.B.S.!, but for X-Wing you can leave it as is. |
Dan 055 | 07 Apr 2015 4:40 p.m. PST |
We used the black spotted rubberised protective backing for pickup truck decks. They come in 2 x 4 ft pieces and lie perfectly flat.
(close up – fleet scale ships) |
ajbartman | 07 Apr 2015 6:18 p.m. PST |
Dan – do you have a picture of the whole mat? |
Stryderg | 07 Apr 2015 7:54 p.m. PST |
Perhaps this: link probably heavy, though. |
Sundance | 07 Apr 2015 8:35 p.m. PST |
I just took a large piece of black felt and used grey and white spray paint to fleck it and make a swatch of "stars" on it. |
Dan 055 | 07 Apr 2015 8:35 p.m. PST |
ajbartman I'm afraid not. Think of a 4x6 flexible flat rubber sheet slightly less than 1/8 inch thick. No interlocking bits, just cut straight like a sheet of paper. They are a bit heavy, but this keeps them from moving during play. The guy who bought them got them from an auto supplies store. |
The Angry Piper | 08 Apr 2015 3:10 a.m. PST |
I have the exact same cloth that haywire has above, but I ended up buying the Monday Knight Productions space mat. It works fine, looks good and is relatively cheap at $40 USD for a 4x6 (compared to other mats anyway). |
Inari7 | 08 Apr 2015 5:47 a.m. PST |
I got a starry fabric from Jo Ann Fabrics along with some blue fabric and had them sewn together. Now I can play space ships on one side and Jutland on the other. :) |
TheBeast | 08 Apr 2015 6:44 a.m. PST |
I saw something similar to the one from Jo Ann's, but just the wispy background. I was thinking of adding some splatter. Friends have done the brush spray, but a big seems to make it splatter in bits too large, and they sometimes run or smear. Toothbrush splatter is a bit more star-like, but that's a lot of area done a bit at a time. There are splatter heads for airbrushes, and I have same, just haven't tried. I figure three passes with three colors, one being white, should be enough. Does anyone know if you get a diffuse pattern by just pulling away from canvas? Doug Edit: Good point about the slippage; the Monday Knight, and I'm sure others, are heavy enough to resist more 'folding of space', but that would do better. |
TheBeast | 08 Apr 2015 12:16 p.m. PST |
but a big… …brush Doug Edit: Good point about the slippage; comment to Dan. |
J Womack 94 | 09 Apr 2015 3:56 p.m. PST |
Black canvas. Spatter white paint. Easy. |
Lion in the Stars | 09 Apr 2015 5:38 p.m. PST |
Catch one of the Vistaprint or whatever companies that does banners when they're having a sale, then go there with a super-high-res NASA photo. You can get banners printed for pretty cheap. |
Twoball Cane | 11 Apr 2015 4:03 p.m. PST |
Huge fan of cigar box…fleece mats. There are other manufacturers though. |
Redcoat 55 | 11 Apr 2015 6:20 p.m. PST |
Thank you for all the suggestions. The tricky part with Star Wars Armada is the maneuver tool that allows for precise movements of the capitol ships, but also makes the surface more tricky as wrinkles in space would be a vexing problem. What I really need is a hard, space like surface… and then I realized I already had one… The large black but marbled granite countertop on my kitchen island. :) |
Redcoat 55 | 20 Aug 2015 9:56 p.m. PST |
I am thinking to mix things up a bit I may find some pictures of planets and print them out on high quality photo paper, then cut them out so the background is not the same for every battle. |
Sgt Slag | 21 Aug 2015 10:28 a.m. PST |
Another option is to get a piece of Lexan/Plexi-Glass/clear plastic as a hard cover, to lay over the top of your fabric… They can be purchased, in custom sizes, from most glass/glazer companies, as well as DIY home supply shops, in your local area. Cheers! |