I have been playing around with different configurations for a custom table and wanted to note some things I’ve landed on that I really like. A main one thing is having the map mounted so that it can slide around as needed on top of a bigger playing area. My table is 65” x 95” in total with a 5.5” arm rest around the outside and the middle is a recessed neoprene surface. I have the OOB Global map mounted on 1/2” rigid foam with a 1/2” aluminum frame around it. This allows the map to slide up close to whoever’s turn it is, but then be in the middle so both players can roll dice In front of them without disturbing the map and in easy view of the other player. (Plus we like lots of room to roll the bones). This ability to adjust the surface along with a standing height, makes it comfortable for long uses because you can move around more and don’t feel as tied down.
Things I’ve learned and changed from original design - I originally used too big of a frame for the map and mounted it on too high of a foam block (you can see these pictures at the bottom) - it made it hard to see the other player’s dice and the big frame took up too much real estate. My global map is mounted on much thinner foam (the framing is bad, you can see if you look closely) but I also used much thinner aluminum angle for the frame. This gives just enough grip when needing to move the map around (I use furniture slides on the bottom, which glide very nicely on the neoprene) but doesn’t make the whole thing too bulky. Having it an inch or so off the surface keeps the dice off, but isn’t so heigh that you can’t see the other player’s dice rolls. When playing other versions (such as Zombies) the board is much smaller, but it can easily swap in and out on the same table since it can move around where ever it is needed or be pushed aside.
I originally made it normal table height, but found long reaches while sitting were harder and it just felt cramped. Standing height with a bar stool is a great way to have the best of both worlds.
The 5.5” rim around the table itself gives you a nice arm rest that doesn’t interfere with the gaming surface. I’m playing with how to best add some cushion to this part - open to suggestions. Sometimes I just lay a piece of leftover neoprene on it.
Dice bounce nice on the neoprene and stay off the floor. It also feels nice and has enough give to allow things to slide but be picked up easily. Wouldn’t definitely go with neoprene again as a surface covering.
I made the drawers open to the inside of the table so you can stay hunched over the action while accessing and stowing stuff away. 50/50 on whether I would keep this if I were to do it again. If I were doing it again, I might try to build customer drawers form scratch using actual drawer glides, but that was beyond my ability when I first did this, so I just used clear plexiglass boxes with aluminum pulls mounted on them. It’s nice having them clear, and I was happy with how the pulls came out, but without glides they can be a little fussy sliding in and out of their slots.
I originally designed the table so that I could put a cover surface back on top when not in use, but find I don’t really ever do that, so if I were to do it again, I might not mess with that part (I never even finished staining those as you can see in the pictures).
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Painted playing pieces
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CWO & others,
@CWO:
@Tall:
And let’s not forget the Russian Rifle Infantry in Winter scheme that were just completed.
Very nice! I note with amusement that you posted this on the last half-day of this year’s winter, so perhaps the next painted set we’ll see will be Germans equiped for a summer offensive (or splattered with Russian springtime mud). :-)
––Our first German Infantry types will be the Paratroopers. I held off doing all of the German Minor Infantry(Romania, etc) because I heard that HBG will be introducing some new units for these in their up-coming Global Warfare 1939 Expansion Sets.
––The Expansion Sets will also include a “Winter War” set with Russian & Finnish Ski Infantry! That ought to be some interesting “eye candy”.
––The German & Japanese Paratroopers(+ others) will be added to the que following the present ‘batch’ of some Infrastucture and Aircraft units.
----Who’s got some more new painted unit pics for me to enjoy seeing?!“Tall Paul”
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@Tall:
Who’s got some more new painted unit pics for me to enjoy seeing?!
Regretably, not me. When it comes to A&A sculpts, I’m a purist for natural-colour naked plastic. Which, ironically, is why I’m so impressed by people who not only have the eyesight and the hand control to paint such tiny sculpts in such exquisite detail but who also have the patience and motivation to do so for dozens upon dozens of identical units.
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These painted metal pieces all look so good. Can someone tell me where to buy the metal pieces? There are so many oversized pieces and I want to only get the pieces that are axis and allies sized. It’s very confusing because no website tells how big the pieces actually are. Everything is a fraction and each piece uses a different scale. What are the correct ratio scales for each unit? I’d like to start with fighters bombers and aircraft carriers.
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What are the correct ratio scales for each unit?
See this thread for information on scale:
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Has anyone painted their early war Russians yet? I’d very much like to see some paint schemes for those.
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“painted playing pieces” are just that, decals are way out of scale, not the emblem the plastic of the decal itself is too nasty on minis this size. These paint jobs are amazing!