For those of you who follow this blog regularly and enjoy the AARs or Batreps or whatever the current hip term is for blogs about games you'll notice that the far end of the table in the pictures is normally a bit of a mess.
So I had a few spare hours and thought I could build a movable screen to block off the bits of table I'm not using at any given time.
Being a grown up bloke my garage has lots of random bits of wood in it. Mrs T doesn't understand why I hoard bits of wood like old shelves or dismantled wardrobes. The fact I have no definite plan for their use is the issue, I think. However, as every bloke knows, you never know when they might come in useful.
And it just so happens I have a door from a kitchen unit I took apart in our last house (nearly 30 years ago....) that is the width of the table, almost.
And almost is what I need so I can screw an old shelf cut in half to the end to keep it all upright. This is all the work of a few minutes as being a Grown Up I have access to a jigsaw and a powered screw driver.
As you can see it fits lovely, - except that the mdf of my far end table has started to bow a bit, so isn't entirely level (should have used thicker mdf when I built it). I've painted it blue for now. I think I'll put in some green hills. I was wondering about sticking a model railway background on it, but they often have modern ephemera on them, so not helpful for the battlefields of Hannibal and Alexander. I need to do some work on the other side, as it is a bit mouldy, and it also has a handle recessed in it, so it needs a bit of cleaning up before it can become a double sided screen. Once done the other side will have a sandy lower half, probably
Lastly I think I might need to put some flanges on the bottom to overlap the table edges, so no ham fisted MNGr can nudge it off the side and make it tip over.
So I had a few spare hours and thought I could build a movable screen to block off the bits of table I'm not using at any given time.
Being a grown up bloke my garage has lots of random bits of wood in it. Mrs T doesn't understand why I hoard bits of wood like old shelves or dismantled wardrobes. The fact I have no definite plan for their use is the issue, I think. However, as every bloke knows, you never know when they might come in useful.
And it just so happens I have a door from a kitchen unit I took apart in our last house (nearly 30 years ago....) that is the width of the table, almost.
And almost is what I need so I can screw an old shelf cut in half to the end to keep it all upright. This is all the work of a few minutes as being a Grown Up I have access to a jigsaw and a powered screw driver.
As you can see it fits lovely, - except that the mdf of my far end table has started to bow a bit, so isn't entirely level (should have used thicker mdf when I built it). I've painted it blue for now. I think I'll put in some green hills. I was wondering about sticking a model railway background on it, but they often have modern ephemera on them, so not helpful for the battlefields of Hannibal and Alexander. I need to do some work on the other side, as it is a bit mouldy, and it also has a handle recessed in it, so it needs a bit of cleaning up before it can become a double sided screen. Once done the other side will have a sandy lower half, probably
Lastly I think I might need to put some flanges on the bottom to overlap the table edges, so no ham fisted MNGr can nudge it off the side and make it tip over.
nice work, having a backdrop of some form does help give more context feel to the game and also useful for photos.
ReplyDeleteYou could vary the backdrop my using suitable MDF pieces covered with commercial backdrops slotted onto (or resting against) your end piece
Some nice backscenes from the New Modellers Shop including desert/arid, see http://www.newmodellersshop.co.uk/backscenes.htm.
Yes, variable backgrounds is an option, but I was trying to keep it simple, with just having the two sides. Having said that some of those on that website look quite tasty - the desert ones are very good.
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