Small House, Big Game

[IanBruntlett]

Hi,

I have a small house which means I can't just buy a gaming table and place it in the middle of my living/dining room.

One possible fix would be to get a gaming table that could fold up when not in use. It would be nice to be able to buy it from somewhere in the UK.

Has anyone on this list solved this problem before?

TIA


Ian

 

[ubersnug]

Hi,

I have a small house which means I can't just buy a gaming table and place it in the middle of my living/dining room.

One possible fix would be to get a gaming table that could fold up when not in use. It would be nice to be able to buy it from somewhere in the UK.

Has anyone on this list solved this problem before?

TIA


Ian

Well, thats exactly what I did.

Bought a 6' x 4' slab of MDF and got it cut in half into 2 3' x 4' slabs (all in, about £24 from the local lumber mill). Then, I got two long Piano hinges (very thin and about £3 each from homebase), attached both slabs together and had an instant 6' x 4' board that folded away when not in use.

Admittedly, I have considered removing the piano hinges and just rely on placing them together when i am using them, as the weight of the board can make it akward to fold it away.

 

[Target]

We did similar but 3 boards with for dowels drilled into them.

 

[Gargoyle117]

Do you have a dining room table already?

I use something called Designer Tack (I can get the exact name if you need). It's similar to a cork board, but made of layered paper. Each one is roughly 3' x 2' iirc.

I use either one over the table, or both turned the other direction and it works perfectly.

To keep everything in place, I use tiny pins on the bottom of my stands and hat (or T) pins to plot out my movement ant turns before moving the model. This works nicely for me.

Once I am done, the Designer Tack comes off the table and occupies a wall space behind some chairs there. It's cheap and easy.

http://www.americanpac.com/designertack.php

 

[mikelosaurus]

Yes the best thing to do would be to custom-build your own. You could make a free-standing table using wallpaper pasting tables or workman's easels and loose boards. If space really is at a premium and you have a free wall, you could attach a baton to the wall and use it to prop up one end of the table. Alternatively, over the summer you could set up a table outside in the garden..?

 

[Burger]

We used 2 pieces of 2x4 MDF, painted them black with a roller, stuck a "hinge" of black gaffer tape in the middle and more gaffer tape round the edge to protect it. Use spray cans to make gas clouds and brush-flicking for stars. Looks pretty good, and folds nice and small.

 

[Digger]

B&Q Paste Tables are perfect when 2 are put side by side and fold up easily - I used them in a studio flat fine./

They are also cheap, well they were, £8.99 each, but that was 5 years ago!

 

[IanBruntlett]

Thanks for all of your replies.

Would you consider a 6' x 4' surface to be the optimum size?

 

[Burger]

6x4 is best if you can manage it. But since the game is usually played width-ways, having a 4x4 doesn't really affect it much. I find that on a 6x4, both players usually end up at one end or in the middle anyway.

 

[nightshade]

This was recently posted to the Miniatures Page:

http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=174183

Looks like a nice quick project resulting in a very stable table.

 

[Burger]

That is a nice table! Although for ACTA I'd be tempted to go with some very thin boards for the tabletop, with some hooks or something to keep them attached to the frame.

 

[Iain McGhee]

My table's similar to most of the above, but I've just got four 6' long thin planks that sit on my coffee table with three 2'x4' MDF boards on top, with a painted cloth for ACTA (the board's textured for SST/B:E). It all fits easily in my hall cupboard when it's not in use.