It all started with a man and a dream…

But the much shorter version is I didn’t love that the map was never big enough in Germany, and I felt bad leaving tables up in the living room for days while playing around peoples schedules, then it hit me -I should make a giant map that fits on the wall!!!

I had a friend order a large print of a map I found online.

My first construction step was connecting 8 foot 2x4 to wall studs with 4" screws.

It started as a simple wood frame.

Then I put on the pressboard.

(Annie the cat did not approve of much of this process)

Then I added the 3’x4’ steel sheets from Home Depot (often found near the water heaters, it was hard finding them without large bends.)

I secured them with Loctite Power Grab Ultimate.

Getting it attached to the wall with the kitchen drawer rollers was tough. I’m glad I had a friend to help me lift, I bent some of the metal picking it up myself. It was awkward.

The plan with the drawer rollers was to lift it up and down easily, but it became so heavy that I but in a base at the middle for a car jack to lift it into place and then it sits on the 4"x4" pieces of wood each side in either the low playing position, or the high display (I get to put my couch against the wall) position.
It’s only 6" deep, but still.!

It’s a big map. 10’ wide by 4’ 7".

thumbnail.jpg

It’s so big I set the board up without chips. Every individual piece is represented as it’s own figure.

Then I just rolled out my vinyl map and used magnets to secure it in place.

So, yeah, that’s my map.

Some extra thoughts…

In complete transparency, the wall is not magnet, but ferrous, specifically steel. Not knowing how things would turn out I bought rare earth magnets N50 & N52 staying away from the less expensive N35s, but if you get a map printed thin even most ceramic magnets would work well.

If I had to do it again, I’d go 2 feet longer. 12’ x apx 6’ would mean using 6 whole sheets of 3’x4’ steel and not having to cut any of them.

Loctite makes a great tube of Power Grab Ultimate (their highest strength) I used about a tube every 18 square feet. That is probably way too much, but I didn’t want my expensive and time consuming project falling apart over a $10 tube. Nor did I want a sheet of steel falling sharp end down on my foot.

Ryobi tools makes a power caulking gun that made gluing the metal to the wood a breeze.

Since we plan on playing just a round at a time, I bought magnetic arrows from the dollar tree to optionally mark any plans so we don’t forget in between days.

I found a map I liked on the internet, it wasn’t vector, but it blew up nice on my computer screen, so I figured (and it did) blow up very nice. This could easily be done with the bloodbath custom map (with permission of course) or another map.

And having this in the living room means we can put other vinyl game boards right on top of it if we so choose.

I used 4 inch screws whenever possible to make it as secure as possible. A licensed contractor may know better though.

For legal reasons, I’m not suggesting anyone do this, just letting you know my experience.

@kyle47 True story, I’m the roomate. I go all in, I lose aircraft better suited to taking out the British navy. Or I can bring my land forces in but have to determine how much I’m willing to lose, but there is no good answer. Or I can gather in a defensive formation, but lose the 2 Eastern territories, but then Russia has a large IPC count that can’t be dealt with.

When the Russians gather their forces on Karelia, I can’t find a way to be successful as the Germans.

@andrewaagamer Thanks, I didn’t realize that Russia using Karelia like that was a standard practice for players.

We don’t play with bids, perhaps we should start.

Thanks again.

@EnglishImperialist

Sure, just on a very practical level, getting a piece of vinyl and your magnet, take them to home depot and thest them on the metal you’re considering.

I didn’t much like the standard magnets and went with the rare earth type. Strength 35 is good, but 55 us great. I really like strong magnets for every thing but the chips, it’s nice to have a weaker magnet on those. I really like on ebay the 12mm x 0.5mm N52 Strong Round Disc Rare Earth Neodymium Very Thin Magnet.

It became a more expensive project than I anticipated, but still happy I did it. I ended up getting multiple copies of the game, then lots of loose used pieces and ordering bulk from websites, then magnitizing all those pieces…it was a lot, but a fun process. Because it’s in my living room, I tend to get decals and paint…it’s a fun hobby.

I spent a lot of effort cutting down my metal sheets to the size of the game, but I was thankful I had some leftover metal surface, it’s nice being able to put spare pieces, chips, and markers underneath the map.

A small glue gun is an important purchase. You’ll want to be able to control a small amount of hot glue while magnitizing the pieces.

One thing I’ve always wondered is if the Axis and Allies community has a standard for magnet orientation. It won’t matter until you try to put a plane on an aircraft carrier, or on a chip. Mine are standardized to my house, but what if I ever wanted to buy a customized magnetized piece…?

For magnets, I talked about the chips earlier.
I really appreciated having a craft/sewing ruler ($1 at walmart), it helped me plan ahead for magnet purchases, but these are what I liked…
12mm x 0.5mm disc for chips
3mm x 1mm Disc for fighters and tac bombers.
10mm x 1mm Disc for infantry originally
8mm x 1mm Disc for tanks, infantry, AA guns, and are just a bit wider than a cruiser
3-4mm wide x 2mm tall disc for hollow aircraft carriers.
4mmx 4mm Disc (set for each) for aircraft carrier that need drilling.
12mm x 1 mm Disc for flight stands and are just a bit wide for battleships.

3mm x 2mm x 1mm rectangle for strategic bombers.
10mm x 5mm x 1 mm rectangle I used on transports, many artillery, and mech infantry.
10 x 5 x 3 rectangle I have on destroyers.
10mm x 10mm x 1mm rectangle fit nicely inside or under factories, as well as custom air and naval yards.
20mm x 2mm x 2mm for submarines.
20mm x 10mm x 1mm are good for kamikaze markers.

Standard ceramic for nation markers, I like they are thick and easy to grab. Be aware, some are weaker than others.

This is just what I did, figuring all this out.

In retrospect, I do like that all the ships have different magnets, it helped me and friends identify which is what kind.

If I was doing this again, financially I’d probably put the 8mmx 1mm disc’s on most everything (except carriers and planes, and maybe chips). Just one big bulk rate purchase.

But again, get a mm ruler and see what’s good for you.

Enjoy!

I forgot this one, a comparison of the sizes.

@EnglishImperialist

Sure, just on a very practical level, getting a piece of vinyl and your magnet, take them to home depot and thest them on the metal you’re considering.

I didn’t much like the standard magnets and went with the rare earth type. Strength 35 is good, but 55 us great. I really like strong magnets for every thing but the chips, it’s nice to have a weaker magnet on those. I really like on ebay the 12mm x 0.5mm N52 Strong Round Disc Rare Earth Neodymium Very Thin Magnet.

It became a more expensive project than I anticipated, but still happy I did it. I ended up getting multiple copies of the game, then lots of loose used pieces and ordering bulk from websites, then magnitizing all those pieces…it was a lot, but a fun process. Because it’s in my living room, I tend to get decals and paint…it’s a fun hobby.

I spent a lot of effort cutting down my metal sheets to the size of the game, but I was thankful I had some leftover metal surface, it’s nice being able to put spare pieces, chips, and markers underneath the map.

A small glue gun is an important purchase. You’ll want to be able to control a small amount of hot glue while magnitizing the pieces.

One thing I’ve always wondered is if the Axis and Allies community has a standard for magnet orientation. It won’t matter until you try to put a plane on an aircraft carrier, or on a chip. Mine are standardized to my house, but what if I ever wanted to buy a customized magnetized piece…?

For magnets, I talked about the chips earlier.
I really appreciated having a craft/sewing ruler ($1 at walmart), it helped me plan ahead for magnet purchases, but these are what I liked…
12mm x 0.5mm disc for chips
3mm x 1mm Disc for fighters and tac bombers.
10mm x 1mm Disc for infantry originally
8mm x 1mm Disc for tanks, infantry, AA guns, and are just a bit wider than a cruiser
3-4mm wide x 2mm tall disc for hollow aircraft carriers.
4mmx 4mm Disc (set for each) for aircraft carrier that need drilling.
12mm x 1 mm Disc for flight stands and are just a bit wide for battleships.

3mm x 2mm x 1mm rectangle for strategic bombers.
10mm x 5mm x 1 mm rectangle I used on transports, many artillery, and mech infantry.
10 x 5 x 3 rectangle I have on destroyers.
10mm x 10mm x 1mm rectangle fit nicely inside or under factories, as well as custom air and naval yards.
20mm x 2mm x 2mm for submarines.
20mm x 10mm x 1mm are good for kamikaze markers.

Standard ceramic for nation markers, I like they are thick and easy to grab. Be aware, some are weaker than others.

This is just what I did, figuring all this out.

In retrospect, I do like that all the ships have different magnets, it helped me and friends identify which is what kind.

If I was doing this again, financially I’d probably put the 8mmx 1mm disc’s on most everything (except carriers and planes, and maybe chips). Just one big bulk rate purchase.

But again, get a mm ruler and see what’s good for you.

Enjoy!

@AndrewAAGamer Fair enough, but with a bid of up to 60, that’s theoretically up to 20 extra Russians if that is your goal, and there are ove 20 spaces to put a Russian infantry that will return to Moscow by turn 4 (Or shoot at German in defense on the way). But on a G3 attack, that’s up to 20 extra Russians as a bid, and up to 10 extra bought every turn.

I’m not trying to be rude or contrarian, would you please tell me the piece I’m missing?

What is it about G3 that gives the German the advantage over the extra Russians purchased in Moscow?

@TheVeteran
Russian starting IPC is 37, they certainly lost some from German attack, at least -3 maybe -10 depending on how far from Moscow the Germans march. The Russians might have taken Finland and Norway +5, with an additional set of bonuses +6, they may have got the +5 sea zone 125 bonus. (*And that’s assuming Russians didn’t sneak into Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania, or Yugoslavia each worth 4-6 after bonuses.)

Russian IPC could range from 27-50 (or more*) if I’m doing the math right here.

On the low end, that’s 9 troops, but likely 10 units including some infantry & tanks.

Not only that, but that’s an extra turn the UK has to land fighters in Moscow.

I ask respectfully, but am I missing something?

It seems like the extra units the Germans can bring on turn 6 isn’t worth the extra units the Russians can produce, or the UK can fly over.

@TheVeteran perhaps I don’t understand some of the more intricate parts of the game, but if you attack Moscow on turn 6 instead of turn 5, the Russians can add an additional 10 units to defend Moscow.

What will the Germans add to the fight by waiting an extra turn?

Is it really worth it when 10 more Russian units show up?

@kyle47
I’m a member of the play group. I can confirm that this G2 & J1 combo seems unstoppable. It hits hard and fast before the allies can build up forces, and certainly before the Americans pose any threat.

I forgot this one, a comparison of the sizes.

It all started with a man and a dream…

But the much shorter version is I didn’t love that the map was never big enough in Germany, and I felt bad leaving tables up in the living room for days while playing around peoples schedules, then it hit me -I should make a giant map that fits on the wall!!!

I had a friend order a large print of a map I found online.

My first construction step was connecting 8 foot 2x4 to wall studs with 4" screws.

It started as a simple wood frame.

Then I put on the pressboard.

(Annie the cat did not approve of much of this process)

Then I added the 3’x4’ steel sheets from Home Depot (often found near the water heaters, it was hard finding them without large bends.)

I secured them with Loctite Power Grab Ultimate.

Getting it attached to the wall with the kitchen drawer rollers was tough. I’m glad I had a friend to help me lift, I bent some of the metal picking it up myself. It was awkward.

The plan with the drawer rollers was to lift it up and down easily, but it became so heavy that I but in a base at the middle for a car jack to lift it into place and then it sits on the 4"x4" pieces of wood each side in either the low playing position, or the high display (I get to put my couch against the wall) position.
It’s only 6" deep, but still.!

It’s a big map. 10’ wide by 4’ 7".

thumbnail.jpg

It’s so big I set the board up without chips. Every individual piece is represented as it’s own figure.

Then I just rolled out my vinyl map and used magnets to secure it in place.

So, yeah, that’s my map.

Some extra thoughts…

In complete transparency, the wall is not magnet, but ferrous, specifically steel. Not knowing how things would turn out I bought rare earth magnets N50 & N52 staying away from the less expensive N35s, but if you get a map printed thin even most ceramic magnets would work well.

If I had to do it again, I’d go 2 feet longer. 12’ x apx 6’ would mean using 6 whole sheets of 3’x4’ steel and not having to cut any of them.

Loctite makes a great tube of Power Grab Ultimate (their highest strength) I used about a tube every 18 square feet. That is probably way too much, but I didn’t want my expensive and time consuming project falling apart over a $10 tube. Nor did I want a sheet of steel falling sharp end down on my foot.

Ryobi tools makes a power caulking gun that made gluing the metal to the wood a breeze.

Since we plan on playing just a round at a time, I bought magnetic arrows from the dollar tree to optionally mark any plans so we don’t forget in between days.

I found a map I liked on the internet, it wasn’t vector, but it blew up nice on my computer screen, so I figured (and it did) blow up very nice. This could easily be done with the bloodbath custom map (with permission of course) or another map.

And having this in the living room means we can put other vinyl game boards right on top of it if we so choose.

I used 4 inch screws whenever possible to make it as secure as possible. A licensed contractor may know better though.

For legal reasons, I’m not suggesting anyone do this, just letting you know my experience.

Thanks for the ideas.

I usually play ‘Sink the Bismark’ when dealing with a German battleship, but always wondered if Band of Brothers of something would make for good background music.

@andrewaagamer Thanks, I didn’t realize that Russia using Karelia like that was a standard practice for players.

We don’t play with bids, perhaps we should start.

Thanks again.

@kyle47 True story, I’m the roomate. I go all in, I lose aircraft better suited to taking out the British navy. Or I can bring my land forces in but have to determine how much I’m willing to lose, but there is no good answer. Or I can gather in a defensive formation, but lose the 2 Eastern territories, but then Russia has a large IPC count that can’t be dealt with.

When the Russians gather their forces on Karelia, I can’t find a way to be successful as the Germans.