# Industrial Table WIP **now featuring terrain**



## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Hello fellow Heretics! :drinks:

Took a break from building and painting models to work on a table idea for Shadow War or smaller games of 40k (maybe even Zone Mortalis if you just play the table without terrain). I figure, if you want a ton of levels to play at why not start with a level built into the board itself? Going for a long dried out sewage treatment plant or something of that ilk. If nothing else, sludgy water channels all over a city. Once I get this all done I can set out working on the pieces of terrain that take it vertical; the plan is to have at least four levels above the main table level (six levels for models!). This is my rough sketching of the tiles themselves as well as some of the details I plan to do ("F" tiles are entirely raised up 2" to allow for larger buildings).










I got on a sketching roll and did a few 3x3 tables thinking more about Zone Mortalis, one has been shaded to indicate playable area (grey).










Today I was able to get all the MDF I need for the tiles, which means I can start production pretty much as soon as I can throw some more time at it. Really stoked to get this rolling; I might not be able to play a 2k match of 40k fully painted but Shadow War? Oh I got that model count covered :laugh:

More to follow, any questions or comments are more than welcome! As much as I've drawn until it's all glued in place there's room for anything to happen.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Some ideas for buildings, the large one is much more a general idea of size than the others. For the core structures of the thin tower and the double-stack I'm planning on using empty cans (classic) and foamcore panels like the main flooring for the walkways.










These are my original rough drawings of 3x3 table combinations. Red squares are buildings and blue lines are walkways between them at varying heights. The walkways will be similar to the bridges, I'd like to be able to make them up to 16" long but we'll see what supports models when I start doing sub assembly (essentially, eons from now when the board and buildings are done).










I originally thought I would be doing the cutting myself, but some young and helpful lad at Rona set me up pretty huge. I got this stack of 1/2" MDF cut into 1' squares for a whopping $3.39 after hunting for some scrap. 










Special shout-out goes to the person that cut a 4" strip off the long side of a 8'x4' sheet. That's a win! :laugh: I've already measured and penciled out some of the tiles.

Added bonus: I found something I can use for mesh at the dollar store. I love that they advertise plastic mesh as being rust proof :scratchhead:










Going to try and find time to cut all my foam into the requisite bits needed for this project this week. Woo! :grin:


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## thebuilder (Jun 20, 2016)

I will be following this keenly!


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

On scrounging my storage locker I got a couple 2'x2' squares of 2" foam available for this. We'll see if that's enough when I start cutting things up :scratchhead: I think I may have to grab a bit more, but I may have just found a buyer for one of my older tables (4x4 trench table) so that will pretty much seal the deal on supplies (and space...oh, space) for this project and maybe even get some fresh plastic!

All mdf tiles have been pencil marked for foam to be glued down. Minor progress, but progress nonetheless k:


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Well, I didn't have enough 2" foam to get everything cut today, but I got a crap ton accomplished regardless. I have all of the 4" and most of the 2" cuts done, but not the 12" squares. I'll do my best to get some gluing done and pics up by the end of the week. 

Cutting foam with a band saw is the best ever, by the way. Doing these blocks with a knife or wire cutter would have been waaaaay more work.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

The stack on the left is good to go, stuff on the right needs to go back for some more cutting. I got the requisite foam for the fully raised up tiles as well so back to the workshop I go if I get some spare time. 










My very professional gluing station out on the balcony:










Finally, the seven tiles I was able to finish yesterday:










Nine more to go, hopefully the weather clears up over the weekend and I can get those finished. Until then I'll just have to kill my spare time by perusing the Shadow War rulebook I just got :biggrin:


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## Brother Dextus (Jan 30, 2013)

Looks like a pretty epic project!


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Brother Dextus said:


> Looks like a pretty epic project!


It's a bit of an undertaking, that's for sure :laugh:


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Got the 'room' tiles cut yesterday, figured I'd start with clean edges despite wanting to fill in the corners for a battle-damaged/eroded look. Sadly it won't be warm enough to glue outside until Sunday. Stupid weather! :ireful2:


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

All sixteen pieces, glued and ready for foamcore:


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

I've put foamcore on the bottom of all the tiles and have started adding mesh to the tops. Been pinning away as I can manage the time to pull a couple tiles out.










I also have (I think) sufficient 2" cuts for trench walls and have started doing only the straightest of cuts for the finishing pieces on the tops. Thinking I'll be shoving a finishing nail through strategic points in the foamcore tops to hold them in place while the glue dries and for rivets in the long run of things when I get the mesh done.










Yes, I could do the edges and the trim together and save a step. Figured I'd save the frustration of trying to hold the previously rolled plastic mesh in place while getting it all square and pretty. 10/16 tiles meshed so far.


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## Old Man78 (Nov 3, 2011)

Impressive start, I'll be keeping an eye on this. I also like your use of diy materials


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Old Man78 said:


> Impressive start, I'll be keeping an eye on this. I also like your use of diy materials


Thanks pal! This project has really been done on a shoe-string budget but it can quickly get pretty expensive. I happened to get a lot of the stuff I needed for this project for almost free from job sites and off cuts, as well I have a healthy supply of tools from my background in home renovations/carpentry that have helped out a ton along the way.

In lieu of that, this project has currently cost me ~$40 where it would have been probably closer to $150-200 had I bought everything new for the first time. Things like a caulking gun for styrofoam adhesive, putty knives and spackle/filler, sand/moss/texture adding elements in general, and access to power tools (bandsaw saved the day on all that foam cutting) are things that get used again and again but I already had it all from my previous dealings.

As for the project's progress, everything looks good for me being done the mesh and onto more foamcore in the next day or two.

EDIT: Or I could get to it today.


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## Spoticus (Apr 18, 2017)

I look forward to seeing the continued progress on this. Very impressive!


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Spoticus said:


> I look forward to seeing the continued progress on this. Very impressive!


Thanks pal! Just for that here's what the B tiles look like with the top pinned down:










I'll have a couple hours to throw at it again tomorrow, looking to get at least four more tiles 'topped'. I'm actually really stoked to get through these broad stroke details and down to the nitty gritty additions that will make this board look way cooler.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Holy fucking Emperor I am buying a table saw with delicate little blades for foamcore. This ruler and knife (I am using a bigger and better knife than before, way more appropriate blades) thing is far too time consuming. 

8/16 tiles topped, if I can get the other 8 done by the end of the week I'll consider myself on schedule....whatever that means. I just wanna get to the fun details already! :ireful2:


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## Brother Dextus (Jan 30, 2013)

This looks bloody good! 
I cant quite picture how it will look finished, but certainly looking forward to what you come up with.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Brother Dextus said:


> This looks bloody good!
> I cant quite picture how it will look finished, but certainly looking forward to what you come up with.


Thanks! :drinks: Let's see if I can describe my vision a little bit here...

The tops (main floor) will look pretty much as they are, though I will be adding manholes here and there once I get to that stage. The trench/canals will have popsicle stick 'straps' every few inches that run across the bottom and up the walls; the unfinished top of foamcore wall and cut popsicle stick will be covered by a foamcore topper about the same size as the strips present (the walls sit flush with the bits I just nailed down). Added bonus, this will mean anyone being shot at from across a trench will likely be partially obscured as those edges will be 1/4" up from the mesh floor. There will also be the occasional drainage pipe coming into the trench/canals, and plenty of grime everywhere (sand and moss mixed into the PVA). There's also a three tile 'pool' area that will have two raised drain sections at the join between tiles, one of which busted out with a ladder or something nifty like that.

I'll try and get through to some of those details soon so that this thing can really start to take shape! k:


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

FINALLY DONE. If I ever do something like this again I will do it better and take less than half the time I have here (which was a god damned stupid amount of time spent :laugh.

A selection of tiles with the tops attached:










Some of the connections look a little borky right now, that will neaten up a bit once I get more done.

Here's the fully raised tile's look:










Credit goes where it's due, that Tuborg (and several of its friends) helped me get through cutting almost an entire 20x30" sheet of foamcore into 3/16" strips for this step.

Into the canals!


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Did all the canal walls today. Going a little cross-eyed from cutting foamcore...getting close to done though!


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## Brother Dextus (Jan 30, 2013)

that is certainly


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

All the sharp things!










Things are starting to come together here, I've even managed to cover up my janky foamcore cuts at the edges of the tiles:


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Decisions, decisions....

Which "ladder" looks better for scale? They will be trimmed and mounted accordingly, just leaning up against a wall in these pics.


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## Old Man78 (Nov 3, 2011)

I'd go for the second ladder as it is smaller and clearly not made for gene enhanced marines


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

I'm going to put a cap on the canal wall to cover the tops and gaps in foamcore, as well as the tops of the popsicle sticks. The ladders will be mounted on the edge of that lip and I'll see how craftily (holy fuck that's a word?!) I can cut the ladders themselves so that they still connect. They're plastic hair curlers so if I don't cut the section so short there should be connections rounding off the sides to the wall. I feel like I'm doing a bad job explaining this, but if it looks as good as it does in my head all will be well!

Decided I'm going to hold off on building..er...buildings..for this table just yet. I got a 10' length of 1/2 pipe and a dozen or so fittings to make some scenic accessories for the table that should be a lot easier to get together and I'm now planning a couple more simple platforms and walkways to round this project out for the time being. Got some other smaller terrain projects I need to get going on. Good things brewing! :drinks:


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Here's what things are looking like now. I will cut the rest of the wall supports longer, the gaps bother me. Can't see them unless you're right down at the table checking line of sight at least.


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## DaisyDuke (Aug 18, 2011)

Nice 👍 
I'm starting too see where you're going with this now and it's looking awesome 👏


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

DaisyDuke said:


> Nice 👍
> I'm starting too see where you're going with this now and it's looking awesome 👏


Excellent! Things have changed a few times as I've moved through the project but I think it's all for the better. Those two tiles are basically finished with the exception of grime added all through the canal. Grime will be represented by hobby moss dipped into a mixture of fine sand and PVA glue and shoved in almost every nook and cranny I can think of (any 'drips' down the walls will just be PVA with fine sand, which picks up a light drybrush quite effectively). Every few tiles will also receive ladders and short pipes draining out of the walls into the canals. There's eleven tiles with inset canals (plus three that make a large pool area which will have more unique accessories) so I'm thinking maybe six tiles with drains and five with ladders.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Got a little bit more work done today. The middle tile of the pool area:


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Been picking away at this, too hot right now in the apartment to do much of anything even though I have the place to myself. Instead I'll pull out a bunch of almost done tiles and take pictures! 

Here's the pool area:










A close up on the damaged grate (yes, it was fiddly as fuck):










....and last but not least, I have a 3x3' table good to have some random scatter terrain thrown on it so I can actually play a game of Shadow War on it!










It will be fun to play a game finally. I never played Necromunda and I haven't done anything but read the Shadow War rule book and make kill team lists around building this table....hopefully I like the game, eh??!!! :laugh:


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## DaisyDuke (Aug 18, 2011)

Looking impressive! Do you have a painting plan?


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## arthur.bobany (Sep 30, 2016)

Lovely to see the tiles together and taking shape. 

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks for the kind words! 

My painting plan I'm sure will change as I start going, but I'm thinking that the mesh will be metal (black drybrushed silver or silver washed black and highlighted, not sure yet) and the foamcore will be concrete grey with some highlighting. I feel like I'll end up painting the wood ..er..wood coloured but I may change my mind. Grime will be muted browns (highlighted with beige maybe) and greens (highlighted with yellows maybe) for maximum grime.

It's a rough plan but it's what I got! :laugh:


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Took a break from the table work today to scrap together some skids. I feel like they're a little large but am generally OK with how they turned out, next step here is making a bunch of ammo crates and/or barrels to stack up on top to help block that LoS.


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## Kharn The Complainer (Aug 19, 2015)

Kharn approves of this entire thread. It has me excited.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Bam. All sixteen tiles (finally) finished and ready for the grime-ening:










I haven't counted, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was ~500 nails shoved into that board.


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## neferhet (Oct 24, 2012)

ntaw said:


> Bam. All sixteen tiles (finally) finished and ready for the grime-ening:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


you can legitimately say: nailed it.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Aw man, I'm not allowed to rep you right now but thems are puns of steel you got going on.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Took a little break from the table to work on terrain for it. Let there be pipes!










8x 8" pieces and 4x 5" pieces that I'll ruin the ends of should be enough to spread across the table. They will run on supports so the tops of them will be ~1" off the table; plenty for cover or to hide behind but not totally LoS blocking per se. Any and all walkways will be 2" off the table and will be just over top of the pipes if they intersect.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Little bit of time spent detailing the pipes today. These are the three types of join I'm doing, though none of them are on their bases yet. Not sure if I'm going to bother with rivets this time around.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

I got a bit more work done on the broken sections today but ran out of .5mm styrene before I could finish :ireful2:










I have enough to lay randomly across a 2"x2" square to this point, there will be almost double that by the time I'm done.

Also managed to start grime-ing up the board today. All of the tiles are drying right now, but here's one just after it was hit with the mix:










Looking forward to seeing how it dries! I'll likely go over all the tops of the tiles randomly with what gunk is left diluted with a ton of PVA and fine sand for the 'dirty-but-not-so-nasty' main floor area.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Guess who started painting yesterday??










I have to play this stage a bit differently as I can't just have the tiles going in and out of the closet once the sides have been filled (too much possibility of debris or hitting them off something), so I have to paint the edges fairly promptly after they have dried and had the loose bits sanded off to seal them in. Figure, if I'm painting the sides I may as well paint the rest of the tile as well, right? Right. Hopefully I'll get the wood, silver bits, and grime done some time over the weekend and actually see what this is gunna look like finished.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Been really busy with life recently, but I managed to put a bit of time in painting. Here the first tile is, before and after the wash.



















Just have to drybrush up some details and it'll be on to tile number two. At least the approach will have been decided on for the next ones, there has been a lot of 'hmmm...how's this going to work?' at this step.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Finished tile #1 :



















I'm not super confident in my painting skills compared to my building skills, but I think this is a pretty good place to stop. If I can manage this level of detail for every tile I think I'll be pretty happy with the overall look.


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## Nin (Jun 1, 2017)

That looks fantastic. The wash made a big difference. I'm going to have to go read this thread from the beginning.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks, I was more than a little nervous sacrificing this tile to the gods of trial and error but it all worked out in the end. If anything I could have done the wash before the green and then drybrushed green on top of it but I'll likely just keep rolling with this idea. There's going to be walkways, platforms, and pipes all over the table to distract from any of that.

I couldn't wait to get to where I am but now that I have a plan I'm all about building some terrain to fill up the space :laugh: Always thinking about that next step...


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## DaisyDuke (Aug 18, 2011)

Coming along nicely dude! Some leaky pipes and shit will launch them into the stratosphere.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks @DaisyDuke :drinks:

Little bit of prep work done, currently painting 3 more tiles. Got the one above finished with a black exterior edge, I think it really cleans up the tile's presentation. Thoughts?


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

A month has passed and 8th is in full swing, as well as a fully painted Necron force for me to game with. Now back to business! I have four tiles totally painted now and two more currently in progress.


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## Nin (Jun 1, 2017)

I'm liking how this is going. I was in dollarama and grabbed some of the materials you used. I think I'm going to do the negative space thing and make a variety of shapes like how the tiles produce in the corners when they are all lined up. I have a desert terrain table that I've slowly been making into a more alien and rusted post apocalyptic table. 

I think a good portion of it being like your tiles but coming out of the desert rather than being sewer will work to make it more industrial Sort of like foundations anchored down to rock beneath the sand to allow things to be built on them instead of sitting on the sand.










Like if the coloured portion above was a single terrain piece.

If I didn't need to keep things really portable, I'd totally go get a bunch of squares cut like you did. This table is turning out great.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks @Nin, that seems like a pretty cool idea for terrain you have yourself. Be sure to start up a thread with your results k:

Thinking about portability, I found a suuuuuuper minty plastic bin that holds 8 tiles....almost perfectly. The wheel wells stick up just enough that I have to shim the base a 1/2" and that means I can't close the lid. I'm going to get in there and chop the raised portions out 'cuz damn this is just perfect with almost no wasted space down the sides and two would hold the whole table for transportation and storage.

As for the table....well, life's been busy between work, my family, and my desire to get in games of 8th with a fully painted army. Gaming aside that's out of the way now so I'm doing stuff I promise!










Once these three tiles are done I'll have a 3'x3' gaming area good to go.


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## Nin (Jun 1, 2017)

Do you have any idea who makes the container or what it's called? I think the tile approach is really good and if I can find a good transport solution I may end up imitating your plan more directly.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Nin said:


> Do you have any idea who makes the container or what it's called? I think the tile approach is really good and if I can find a good transport solution I may end up imitating your plan more directly.


I'm having a bit of trouble getting things to fit. It's such a tight fit I actually am down to less than 1/4" to make the difference between the lid closing or not. I have to find a better tool to shave down the corner struts but it's been otherwise easy to make the modifications I have. Might all be for naught though, hopefully I get a bit of time to work it out soon.

Got a bit more painted, top centre tile has been darkened to match the others since the pic was taken. Next three are currently being painted, hopefully done sooner than later.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

*does a little happy dance


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## Shandathe (May 2, 2010)

Starting to look very good indeed.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks @Shandathe, now that I have a 3x3 area finished I'm going to get some terrain on there for some gaming action. Tomorrow I'll be bringing in some scrap mdf to work so I can cut bases for my pipe sections.


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## Nin (Jun 1, 2017)

The grates really make the join lines between those tiles disappear. Once you add terrain, pipes, etc., I think it's going to look really unified.

I finished my prototype for the negative space version. When it came to doing all the nails to make rivets, I just stopped part way through. I think I might get some sort of adhesive rhinestone or something.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

@Nin, I'd love to see how it's going. Why not start a thread about it? When I used tiny brad nails for my board it was also to help hold everything in place and because it was easy to push them in with my thumb on the fly given how much foam I have on top of my mdf base.


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

Damn mate, looking incredible! Can't wait to see what you put on top of it!


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks! I started cutting bases for the pipes at work today (only took me almost two weeks to remember to bring MDF in) so there will be at least that on there for whenever I can actually get a game in on it.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

I've done fuck all building but managed to get ruined in a couple matches the other day. The table is so fun to play on, while the ruins definitely worked for our purposes seeing them only makes me want to make more appropriate scenery more. 




























Yeah those DC all died where they stood.









I seem to remember Warriors not winning in CC in the olden editions...









Much like the DC, those dudes out front: toast.









Now my opponent (who is just learning the game) gets a taste of why you don't let BA characters into combat...









...and why it's important to keep supporting units further away.


















The big showdown (Libby lost, but only just).









How it all ended.









Pretty crazy to me that three models almost tabled him once they got into combat, and they aren't even close to the best BA have to offer.


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## arthur.bobany (Sep 30, 2016)

Looks like a fun game! Those Necrons look ace, as does the table. 

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks arthur_bobany :drinks:

I have now sealed (with Mod Podge) 7 out of my 9 painted tiles, and took a break to work on my skids a little bit. Here's where I'm at with them:


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## Brother Dextus (Jan 30, 2013)

Looking great. Still. It just gets more fascinating every time i read this thread.

Tiny little pallets. 
There'll be some gypsy round to steal them before you know it.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks! Surprisingly they block LoS at eye level to most infantry models perfectly.

Almost done sealing the tiles I have painted, only one more to go! Not like that's even close to the end of this project of course...:hang1::laugh:


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Started working on terrain now that I've sealed the tiles I have painted. Here's a WIP shot of what my walkways and platforms will look like (so far from being done).


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Chippin' away.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Started supports today.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Starting to take shape now. Pretty stoked that it came out level and fits so nicely in the tile.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Cut the pipe to the length I wanted, bottom hole is so snug it actually supports it already. Second level build but just kinda propped in place about 3" above the main level. There will be supports echoing the lower ones propping it up.


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## Brother Dextus (Jan 30, 2013)

Noice!!


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks @Brother Dextus :drinks:

Hopefully I'll have the supports cut for the upper level today.


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

looking dope mate! Is there gonna be something like this in each tile, or no? And will these top pieces be glued on or modular?


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

JAMOB said:


> looking dope mate! Is there gonna be something like this in each tile, or no? And will these top pieces be glued on or modular?


Not on every tile, things I think would get a little congested if I had something on each of the 16. I'm thinking of doing another one of these dumping stations, which stand about 14" tall and the main platform is 8" square, several modular walkways with subtly larger platform areas as 'spray down stations' for the canals, four pillars (at least one or two with ramshackle sniper nests up top), the pipeline that I've had sort of in the works the whole time, and two larger 10x10" platforms for the fully raised tiles that have no canal. I was thinking one of them would have a large freight elevator on it with skids/crates as scatter terrain and the other could have large storage tanks of water/cleaner used for the hose down sections so long as I can reasonably run pipes to and from it. 

Everything will be capped at 12" taller than the main level of the table (14" from the bottom of the canals) to imply a fairly low ceiling to the area. Ultimately I'm looking at 5-6 different levels vertically for models to use.

....any of that make sense? :laugh: Here's where I'm at with it now. Really jonesing for more than 10 minutes at a time to put on it.


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## DaisyDuke (Aug 18, 2011)

That’s sounds like some awesome terrain you’ve got coming up. Are you going to add some barriers, gantry and walk ways for the raised areas? Going on your build quality so far you’re going to have a green eyed monster inducing sweet gaming table!
Keep it up dude.


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## Brother Dextus (Jan 30, 2013)

Was reading through HH red books yesterday and was thinking your terrain would also make a pretty good space hulk if you put the tall sections either side of a low tile in the middle. 


It looks awesome dude.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks for the kind words :drinks: Would you believe this is my first actual cohesive terrain project? I've built various small things in the past but this is the first venture into an entirely themed and scratch built table with terrain specific to it.



DaisyDuke said:


> Are you going to add some barriers, gantry and walk ways for the raised areas?


The walkways I mentioned in my previous post will be ~2" above the raised area of the table on legs echoing the telescoping poles of the dumping station (ie. I have more of that tubing and found a far better way of cutting it :laugh. I'm thinking that I should have another level above that though....I'll have to figure that out as I get rolling on that aspect of the terrain. The main platform of the dumping station will be ~1" above the walkway system (3" above raised area of table). I could maybe transform my pillar idea to enclosed staircases, that way I could put precariously high walkways (~10" above raised area of table) between them way up at the 'ceiling'.



Brother Dextus said:


> Was reading through HH red books yesterday and was thinking your terrain would also make a pretty good space hulk if you put the tall sections either side of a low tile in the middle.


I have thought many many times about building a retaining wall with sewage grates in it to cover the rough edge of the table so that it works with a flat area and adds to a much larger table, but for now that idea is stewing. Once I get a couple tables done for 40k I'm totally going to recreated the Space Hulk tiles for a more immersive game. Will very likely widen things up to accommodate Zone Mortalis as well, but with relatively obvious squares to maintain the ability to play Space Hulk (since it's what got me into this whole nonsense hobby back in the 90's).


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Finished everything but the fine detail work on the main platform centre console thingy and glued the legs for the second level in place, though the second level is still sitting unattached (don't think the legs were glued in place for the second picture, but that's basically where they are).



















One I finish the small details I'd like to add to the consoles it's on to the ladder between levels I think, so I can glue the top in place finally. Railings I'll have to work out once I've done some hard thinking on my walkway system. I have the design and materials at least.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Finished the console details, glued the 2nd level in place (after playing a stupid game with leveling it off a bit better), and am ready to start work on the ladder between levels and the railing up top. I think I may have to add some supports in underneath on the main legs as well, to pull two in that have waffled out a bit but more to better support them as they are just glued by the edges of a tube to the bottom and are ~5" tall.




























EDIT: Got a bit more time, did work on the ladder. Pink part not glued in, and I cut them a bit long to give me leeway with the railing.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Woo railings! Decided to only to one entrance to the main platform. The piece can easily be turned on the spot to whatever heading is desired during setup anyway.



















Next up: some details around the pipe on the top level once I figure that out.


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## DaisyDuke (Aug 18, 2011)

Looking good dude.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks @DaisyDuke :drinks:

Finished the top details, not bothering with supports underneath. Aside from going in and GSing weld lines all over the place to fill in little gaps my brain has already moved on to building the walkways. That should be interesting. I'm currently thinking of doing support sections that can be placed whatever way they need to with walkway sections separate that sit on top (magnets, for sure). For now here's pics of the top details and some full shots of Sump Station #1 . I'll be coming back to it once I know how the walkway is going to connect up to that gap in the railing out front.


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## Brother Dextus (Jan 30, 2013)

Man, it gets better and better!!


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Brother Dextus said:


> Man, it gets better and better!!


Thanks! Just for fun here's one last pic of it with a couple tiles for reference before I put everything away. 










Can't wait to get down on the walkways. Gotta get some more supplies first, I ran out of what I use for the trim on walkway platforms and have to get more but need to buy in bulk and order in so who knows how long that will take.


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## Brother Dextus (Jan 30, 2013)

That looks damn awesome dude! When it all comes together that will make some really amazing battles. Personally I'd be inclined to create some high level walkways and vertical scatter terrain (ladders up to 1st floor from the top of trenches etc. That would really open up the board but create some cool LOS blocks. 
Cant see the squad one turn, then "whoooah, how'd they get into combat with me!" Goddamn genestealers.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

It's worth keeping in mind that this table is entirely designed for Shadow War/Necromunda when thinking of heights and all-around accessibility. In 40k there's no need for ladders to get up to places since terrain doesn't effect movement much and in Shadow War the models aren't supposed to be able to traverse it without some sort of special upgrade or ability that helps them navigate vertical distances. 

I've been thinking of how to add in another level of walkways above the one I'm currently planning but everything I've thought of so far only makes it very hard to reach into the centre of the table. Once I build the walkways I'm currently planning and another sump station I'll have a total of 5 levels at varying heights. I could try adding a 6th by doing tiny little catwalks between the pillars I have planned but it's currently tricky for me to develop a reason for them being there with the plan as-is. Definitely rolling around in my mind though.

As for LoS, I'll be adding in ramshackle added-on defenses only if once I get everything built and laid out it's still necessary. The pipe system will be running underneath the walkways to help block things right off the hop. Goddamn Genestealers will ruin your day with great ease on this board, I promise you :laugh:


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

Dude this looks amazing! And I am always a slut for Necromunda-specific terrain. I love it!


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Well, the walkways I had planned are not going to work. My table isn't flat in that there's 1/4" height differences all over the place on the top that essentially stops me from being able to put a modular walkway system on top of a modular board...or at least my brain isn't able to come up with it. I spent a few hours a couple nights ago with the board out and paper cutouts of what I planned on building and came up with this solution.










The sump station I built will have a raised platform in front of it with stairs coming off either side, and I'll build another one the same way that, in this picture, would sit opposite of it. The three squares will be big support pillars with ramshackle sniper nest sort of platforms up top. The idea will be you have to use a full movement/advance to get up there or be deployed up there (unless you can FLY of course). The big square off to the side will be a large 10x10" platform with a freight elevator on it. I'll also be making some raised foot bridges to go over any canals that need to be gone over. Pipes just kinda sit around doing whatever at this point. Once I get those things done I'll see where the board's at, there's more ideas if I need to fill in some more space.


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

I'm not sure I understand your predicament - can you not just have a bridge that is bigger than necessary, for example a "metal sheet" that someone cut or some pipes/etc. that hang over both sides? If it's a little crooked, that shouldn't matter, should it?


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

JAMOB said:


> I'm not sure I understand your predicament - can you not just have a bridge that is bigger than necessary, for example a "metal sheet" that someone cut or some pipes/etc. that hang over both sides? If it's a little crooked, that shouldn't matter, should it?


Just to preface this, I had dozens of paper cutouts of walkways at full scale and tried several different modulations of the table before giving up on what my idea of the walkways would be. None of them worked without insanely variable walkways lengths.

The real trick is that when you build walkways for terrain on a flat table if a thing doesn't meet up you nudge the terrain piece over a centimetre and all problems are solved. I can't nudge a sump station over, it's in the tile it sits in. Not only would I have to break the railings off and rejig the connection to the walkways but I would have to have too large a variety of walkway lengths since there's no way, on a modular table, to predict where terrain elements will end up being. My other thought was to build support structures so that walkways could go halfway or something then go the rest of the way to their destination but again with a modular table and terrain pieces that can't be nudged closer to each other it just didn't work out without just resting pieces on top of other pieces, which I think looks [not great] otherwise I'd have just bought one of the million MDF options for all this.

The issue came down to this: I don't want to spend eons setting up my table. I want to put the squares down and put terrain on it without trying to space things out and dick around with stuff; I just want it to work so dice can be rolled. Having terrain elements separate from each other makes that a hell of a lot easier to accomplish. I'll still have raised walkways over canals all over the place but the walkways won't be the 'main level' of play any more, that will be the current top of the table. I've also decided that I will need longer walkways with a 'hose down' station or two to span the 'pool' area, so there will be plenty of terrain congestion and levels of play offered still.


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

I could me misinterpreting, but it seems that your goal was to have walkways connecting the tiles one level up from the bottom (the grated units)? Or was it to build walkways between the buildings one level up from that?

For the first, it seems you could just have something sturdy and slightly bigger than you need, so that there's a half inch or more of tile on the platform. Lengths would vary, but there is enough consistency in tile size that it would work out. If that doesn't make sense I can take quick demonstration pics when I get home later.

For the second, that's definitely a lot harder. A way around the railing is to build the walkways with small stair things on either end so that it basically hooks over the railing on either side. A way around the variable length (to a certain extent) is to make adjustable pieces, kind of like this but mirrored so that there were the thicker parts on both ends. Obviously this would be a bit tricky to construct, but I think it could give you the function you want. I'm not sure how to make it look nice or make it out of something non-metal (which it would likely have to be for weight, depending on how your buildings are constructed), but I'm happy to put some thought into it / make prototypes if you like while you work on other things.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

JAMOB said:


> A way around the variable length (to a certain extent) is to make adjustable pieces, kind of like this but mirrored so that there were the thicker parts on both ends. Obviously this would be a bit tricky to construct, but I think it could give you the function you want.


First off, +rep for that pun-ishing picture of a telescoping arm bracket. I did think of that but quickly nixed the idea when I got rolling with thoughts on execution.



JAMOB said:


> Lengths would vary, but there is enough consistency in tile size that it would work out. If that doesn't make sense I can take quick demonstration pics when I get home later.


Honestly man I appreciate the effort but the variable walkway lengths just isn't worth pursuing from what I experienced trying to make them line up using the paper cutouts (there were a ton of varied sizes, even started taping some together to experiment more). I was looking at having to make 20+ connection bases and so many varied pieces of walkway the project would still be under way by the time plastic Sisters of Battle get released :laugh: It was really way too much work, and not even the fun kind where I hand push 300+ brad nails into foam to represent rivets. It already takes a fair amount of time just setting the tiles down and making it all make sense right off I really don't want to have to think about how I'm setting down terrain elements to make walkways work between them, or sit there going "I know I made a damned 6 inch walkway, it has to be in here" while desperately trying to make things meet on a table where it's up to my walkway collection to make the connection.

There will still be plenty of walkways, but they will be more bridge-like instead of the 'main' level of play. I constantly get different ideas "but this will connect if I do it this way" but it always ends up being "OK, that will connect if I set the table up this way but what about the other dozen ways it can go". If you have time to kill and want to draw something up by I'll gladly check it out but as you can see I'm pretty well moved on from the idea. Only thing stopping me from executing more terrain building is my Blood Angels, who are getting entirely revamped for 8th edition.


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

ntaw said:


> Only thing stopping me from executing more terrain building is my Blood Angels, who are getting entirely revamped for 8th edition.


Well I'm excited to see that, at the very least! The Libby already looks incredible, I'd love to see some of the less detailed minis brought to that standard.

I'll give it some thought, see how much time I have, and keep you posted if I come up with anything valuable.


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