Gaming Table Trials - Terraforming

After reading yesterday's article about how I wish I could be working on my table, my wife once again offered to give me a hand in getting this thing done.

The with table assembled (minus the handles), it was time to cover up all that pink! Before painting it up I followed the advice of others and gave it a protective shell to help with the eventual dings caused by dropped models. We used some thinned down wood glue and painted it on the table in two layers, giving it time to dry in between. It was hard finding the right consistency. If it was too thick it the tackiness of the glue would sheer off glue we'd already painted on. Too thin and I worried the entire purpose off being a shell would be wasted.

After some trial and error we went with it feeling a bit like drybrushing - it was thick enough not to run off the brush, but transferred very well.




For anyone wanting to do this themselves, be aware that adding any amount of water to the glue seems to cause areas to pull the glue apart. In hindsight I imagine we could have avoided this by stirring the glue more often, but it was definitely necessary to do two coats.

 Before painting I needed to do some gap filling from my foam cutter catastrophe. I grabbed my faithful bucket of Spackle (and not just because it's fun to say), taped off the board so I didn't ruin the finish, and did my thing. I don't really know how well the Spackle will hold up to being bumped around as time goes on, but it seems to adhere and harden enough that a smaller sliver like this shouldn't be a big deal.

 


Painting time! I had originally planned to do a solid brown beneath it, but I had the inspiration to do a more chaotic job. I plan to do several shades of grass (yellow, green, and brown), so I'm thinking that doing different shades of brown that aren't smooth will add to a more natural look. This way I can also experiment with doing the grass thinner in some areas, letting the ground underneath show without it looking like an accidental bald spot on the table.




My to-do list on this table has grown thin! Grass and handles and this bad boy is done. I have a test batch of sawdust grass drying right now. On Saturday I'll be getting more sawdust from a buddy, so should have all my grass made by Monday. After that it's a matter of finding a pair of leather straps that I can attach to both boards and then I should be done. I've learned quite a bit about what I need to do (and avoid), and I definitely plan to make another table in the future. I've had my issues, but overall this has been really enjoyable and easy for someone with entry-level knowledge and access to hardly any power tools.


See you tomorrow!

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