Batman Update: Raising Gotham

With my efforts in painting miniatures bearing considerable fruit, it was time to get started on building an actual gaming table to play on.  BMG runs an unusual table size (at least unusual for me) of 90cm x 90cm which is a bit of a departure from the old 4’ x 4’ table I’m used to playing on with GW games or Wrath of Kings.  Armed with this knowledge, I set out designing a gaming table that would allow me to bring Gotham City to life...

Starting with a 6’ x 4’ sheet of MDF, the sheet itself was cut into a series of 1’ x 1’ squares which according to basic math would provide me with 24 squares from which I could build my table.  Thankfully my sometimes questionable grasp on basic mathematics was correct (like everyone else, I struggle with thinking early in the morning and on Sundays.  I can’t even adult before at least 8am) and I was gifted with two piles of stacked squares from which I would be able to craft my glorious vision.  Considering I would only require 9 of these sections for the inital board, I would have plenty of spares for me to create additional configurations.  For the most part, these alternate configurations would most likely relate to different intersections and / or development components.  I did however, want the roads to be set into the board so that models would be required to step down into the road as opposed to stepping up onto a modular / portable road that seems to be the norm on a large number of tables.  The solution? MDF layers!!!

The layering process was a drawn-out affair due to climate issues delaying the drying time of my PVA glue.  That said, once the sections were dry, I had by road ready to go which was an exciting prospect indeed! With the construction completed, it was time to proceed with the painting process, which is one of the most enjoyable elements of the process but before that could occur, I needed to add some extra details.

Part of the fun involved with building a table comes from the extra details you get to add extraneous detail to the table that doesn’t seem too important at first, but will greatly enhance the realism of the board as a whole.  Things like stormwater drains are perfect for this sort of thing because everyone see’s them every day and when they’re absent it forces a slight disconnect which is something I wanted to avoid if possible.  Now that the tiny details are handled, I can move onto the painting portion of this project.

Catch you all later,

Trev.