"Need help with newbie table, yes, the table itself" Topic

I am in need of assistance.

So my miniature collection is happily expanding. I'm nearing that point where I'll be capable of interesting solo wargaming options that will need SPACE.

Up until now, I've been content with a 6'x3' table, playing on the table itself, our terrain mostly construction paper that we built during family arts and crafts sessions. Needless to say, both terrain and miniatures are easily pushed out of their spot by inadvertance.

Now, I want more in terms of space, eye candy and surface friction for the miniatures.

Got some easels (got a blank, that's what the translation site told me, I know that's not the RIGHT word but you understand what I mean) and a 4'x8' plywood.

How to cover it?

Obvious answer to my problem would be some kind of neoprene wargame mat or another but I'm cash strapped and thats a lot of square feets to cover.

So I figured, might as well get some plastic tablecloth (you know, typical tablecloth for party at 2$ at te hardware store), then cover it with glue and sprinkle sand on it. What the hey, we mostly play flames of war in the desert thatre for big battles anyway!

So question is this: Is the idea of plastic tablecloth with sand on it be a reasonable option for obtaining friction and looks, or is it a bad idea?

Also, anybody got a better idea to give me?

Congratulations! But I would avoid combining plastic tablecloth and glue. The plastic tends to shed glue as you fold it up, and you're back to Square One. Several other possibilities.
1. Paint, with or without sand. If you don't permanently bolt it to supports, tan on one side and green on the other. Sprinkle sand on--if you want sand--before the paint dries.
2. Felt from a fabric shop--possibly glued on, and possibly hit with cheap spray paints to make the surface less uniform. Keep an eye out for a sale: the price of felt can vary hugely from one day to the next.
3. Go to a thrift shop and buy a tablecloth. Stop by a grocery and buy some fabric dye. Glue or staple in place when you're happy with the color.

Felt on the bottom of terrain--or weighting the terrain with pennies--will also help keep the terrain in one place.

Anyway, congratulations, good luck, and come back with updates and requests for more cheap advise.

Plastic with sand. You're not married or expect to be single soon?

Just kidding. What I did was 4x8 with four L shaped legs for support. I picked a table height that worked for me and used underside for storage.

For covering, I used tan felt sprayed with Walmart paint. Two sided, first in greens and brown for USA/Europe and reverse in tans for desert. This has served me for well over 40 years.

Please post a photo of the easels. I've got to see what that site mistranslated. I thought that they were saw horses at first, but your description doesn't match.

"3. Go to a thrift shop and buy a tablecloth." (or bed sheets)

This would be your (cheapest and) best bet. Then paint or dye it.

"avoid combining plastic tablecloth and glue. The plastic tends to shed glue as you fold it up, "

Some glues also warp as they dry. Even worse if it still sticks to the plastic… ;-)

Pretty sure that what the translation site should've said was ‘trestles' not ‘easels'.
I agree with above that plastic is not a good idea. You should peruse some of the many wargaming blogs out there for ideas and tips e.g.:
link

Zephyr's right. I should have included bedsheets with table cloths. Some chance you could buy tan, too. But watch out for fitted sheets.

I agree that the thrift store bedsheets are the best dicount way to go.

The craft store may also have fabric paints on sale – they will work better and last longer on a sheet than spray paint (which will work). I also recommend "workable fixative" as a sealer. It will increase the durability and lifespan of your covers.

May I recommend water as the basis for the table? I've always perferred having water down and putting land over top as opposed to putting down land and then a river on top of it.

If you're using something thick enough and do enough patterning on it, you can cut the river into the main cover. Simply lay the two halves down with a gap (however much you want) and you have a river. If you cover is larger than the table, you get some ability to maneuver and even angle the river.

One half of the cover gives you a beach.

Don't want a river? OK, just marry the two halves of the sheet up with no gap.

One river across the middle and one oblique the long way gives you lots of options for river/beach/bay combinations.

If you go that route, I would also recommend one light brown cover and one green cover. You can layer them on top of each other and get various sand into grass effects. You could even have the light brown with no gaps and leave the gaps in the green to make roads. Again, very nice effect when roads are not laid on top of the surrounding ground.

First, a good word for plastic tablecloths I bought a blue one for my ACW gunboats and it was ok. If I did lots of ACW naval games, I'd probably want something nicer.

I built a Saga board (4 feet by 3 feet). I sawed it in two and hinged it so it would fold up for storage (2 feet by 3 feet). I got a great deal on green felt at an after Christmas sale and spray glued the felt to the wood. It looks nice. Now, I am thinking of a tannish something to put over it for games set in more arid climes.

Grelber

Agree with blue plastic tablecloth for naval, but the OP needed advice for his needs, and it's rare you see a "Flames of War" naval engagement.

If you go with sand…

Technique:

1. Get a large, 1 gallon+, jug of White PVA Glue.
2. Apply the Glue with a 2"-4" paint brush, applying it thickly, to your plywood surface.
3. Pour your sand on top of it, and with a gloved hand, press it into the wet glue. Colored sands, from the Dollar/Pound Stores are your friend, as they go on easily, no painting required.
4. Let it dry for 2-3 days, to be certain it is completely dry.
5. Tip the board on its edge, out in your garage, or on your lawn, parking lot, street, etc. Brush it gently with a benchtop hand brush, or a light-duty kitchen broom, to dislodge all of the loose sand.
6. Repeat if necessary, to achieve good coverage on the board.

Downsides of sand:

i. Messy, tends to rub off, over time.
ii. Acts as sandpaper on anything you put into contact with it.
iii. Heavy, en masse -- see (i.), above.
iv. Be careful how/where you store it as it will abrade anything you rub it against!

Here are some examples of using colored sands on miniature bases:

a. 48mm tall, plastic Cyclops: green dollar store sand, and red Lake Superior beach sand, applied as described for the tabletop, above, but using smaller brushes to spread it around; once color applied, dried, then the next color applied and dried. All miniatures have MDF bases, sand applied with PVA Glue only.
b. 20mm tall, metal Gnomes: same as above, but using a mixture of three different sands -- green, another shade of green, and tan.
c. 28mm Human Knight: same as (b.), above, but with Model RR Ballast mixed into the sand, to create rocks, to change it up a bit.
d. 54mm tall Cavemen: same techniques for basing. Sitting atop Tee-Time indoor/outdoor carpet used as my ground cloth -- a 5.5-foot by 9.5 foot piece (comes in 6-foot and 12-foot widths, on a roll, cut to your desired length, at DIY stores) cost me around $30 USD, and it covered my entire table with cut-off's left over to make matching hills out of.

There are many options. Good luck, no matter what route you choose to pursue. Cheers!

I do old school with painted plywood, but if I decided to change these big ground cloths I see at conventions might be my top choice with already decorated terrain features.

Trestles, thats the word.

Many interesting advice and many things to consider. Thank you all.

Outdoor patio carpet can provide a durable surface in various textures and colors. Glue it onto your playwood top. I did something similar years ago and it's still in service.

Or just cover it when needed for a game with a suitable size piece of fabric from a craft/sewing/craft store, whatever color or pattern you need. Sew two smaller sections together if you need to.

Buy the cheap painters fleece, to save your floors. You have to tape it together, because it is usually only 1m wide. Than take two bottles of cheap acrylic paint for walls in brown and in ocher. Paint the fleece mixing the two colour's together with different spots. You have to massage the paint into the fleece. It gives an astonishing good surface. At the end cut to needed size.