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Post by sammo on Jun 14, 2010 7:47:37 GMT -9
I've been lurking around here for a while and after a bit of muddling have put together a paper mini. Any feedback would be appreciated. I'd also like to thank all of the people here who helped me indirectly by posting their work and tips on all of these threads (especially Jim for all of his work here). Anyway, here is an image. I'm not 100% sure about the scale, they are supposed to be big, 7' 6" or so. Also here is a link to the PDF if anyone wants to print them. broken
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Post by sammo on Apr 23, 2010 6:33:26 GMT -9
I honestly can’t remember how much I paid for the sheet of glass; it was about 10 years ago. I’ve used the glass over a hex mat since I bought this piece glass but it is only this year that I built the hinged top to go with it.
The glass is pretty heavy, but the frame is mostly aluminum (with steel brackets) so it doesn’t add much weight. It’s easy enough to lift but transporting it is a bear. I imagine it will sit in my game room until I move.
I also have a piece of acrylic glass I use when I go somewhere else to game and it is lighter thinner and cheaper. If you’re looking for a cheap way to accomplish the same goal a thin piece of acrylic works great and is way easier to transport and lift up to monkey with maps underneath. However (as mentioned by glennwilliams) it does scratch pretty easily. I’m on my second piece in about 3 years (still probably cheaper than the money I have tied up in this table top). Also the acrylic is lighter and prone to slipping around over the maps. It’s a minor concern, but it does make me prefer the glass.
It’d be pretty hard to break the glass (on accident anyway) I have, it’s relatively thick. However the glass used for framing might be a bit too fragile to use.
I’m not sure how small the pieces are for Formula De, but we play ASL with the map under the glass without much trouble, once and a while you have to stand up and look straight down on it and those hexes are pretty small.
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Post by sammo on Apr 22, 2010 11:21:23 GMT -9
Post some pictures mate. More than a few of us here would be in Game Geek heaven with their own dedicated, wizbang Gaming Tables. Until then let us drool over other gamers choice cuts! ~F You got it. I didn't want to clutter up this thread so I started a new one about my glass gaming top on the forum onemonk.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=stats&action=display&thread=2077
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Post by sammo on Apr 22, 2010 11:11:21 GMT -9
This is my solution for a changeable gaming surface. I have some textured (4'x4' and 4'x6') surfaces for traditional war gaming but for using printable tiles or for drawing out encounters for skirmish games or RPGs, I like the glass top. It's durable, dice roll well on it, minis slide easily across it, it isn't susceptible to bumping and you can draw all over it with a dry erase marker (we keep track of initiative and damage right on the tabletop). It also works well for board games (tired of someone's elbow rearranging the Twilight Imperium universe? Put all the tiles under glass). With a 30"x46" usable playing surface it can accommodate most games. As a side note, when you are sitting at the table, glare is not nearly the issue that it is in the photos. So the regular hex mat (with some minis and drawing, it's hard to see the grid, but it is a 1" chessex hex mat) Ready to switch? Clear of the top, lift the glass (it rests on a hinged frame) and put the supports in place, there is one on each side). Shuffle through the pre-printed/assembled maps, stored under the glass ready to use, or toss in some freshly printed tiles. Align the chosen map on top of the stacks of maps Put the glass down and game. This is a portion of World Works deep space map. Need a change of venue, swap out the maps again (this is skeleton key games desert bluffs)
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Post by sammo on Apr 22, 2010 9:05:34 GMT -9
My solution is a large piece of 1/4'' thick glass. While it doesn't offset the cost of printing it does solve durability problems. Plus you can draw/write on it with dry erase markers.
I still use textured terrain mats for war games (40k, Warmachine, etc), I use the glass/card stock combo for RPGs and skirmish games, especially if they use a grid. For the run of the mill game night I just toss the Chessex hex mat under it use the dry erase markers to sketch out encounter areas.
Perhaps slightly off topic but--I like it so much I built a tabletop that allows the glass to pivot up and hold in place while I rearrange the mats/tiles underneath. It works really great, though admittedly I went through quit a bit of wood and metalworking effort to construct it. It gives me a 30" x 46" playing surface that can be changed relatively easily.
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Post by sammo on Apr 10, 2010 18:39:00 GMT -9
Sorry to bump this thread, but I can't seem to find the paper minis base option on Litko and I like to order some. Can someone point me in the right direction?
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