Specialist Arms Forum
Battlefleet Gothic => [BFG] Discussion => Topic started by: Daemon_Primarch_Lorgar on May 18, 2013, 07:04:00 PM
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Hello again! Just to not take my own topics off topic: here is another one ;).
I'm planning on getting a nice, high quality gaming mat for my groups BFG games right from the start, so my question for you guys is basically:
Which company/mat do you use/recommend?
Here are two companies I've been considering, but I can't come to terms with which mat would be best suited for BFG games.. Which mat would you get if you could choose freely?
http://corseceng.com/fabric-mats/
http://www.hotzmats.com/mat_1-en_deep_comp.html
All help is very appreciated :).
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None. given the choice, I'd still make my own. Cheap, modular so I can rearrange it at will, looks good, and all fits in a medium sized box for transport.
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If space isn't an issue for you, I'd recommend getting 3 2'x4' plywood boards. Paint black, get some skull white (or whatever the hell it is now) and use an old toothbrush to make stars and spray varnish them. Quick and cheap ;)
Those mats you can get on-line look the biz, but are a little steep for my wallet.
Would recommend 1" thickness or more. My 1/2" boards are starting to bow a little more than I would like :'(
You can even add nebulae and stuff with an airbrush if you've got the nounce for it!
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Im cheap
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vHXh7H0gYU0/UZhbEeTExoI/AAAAAAAAAr8/d8eDu7uwF5w/w952-h711-no/IMG_0559.JPG)
4x8 sheet of OSB and some old black curtains from my black out everything days ::). The lint makes great stars :D.
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We have three wooden (about 18mm thick) parts of 120cm x 60cm each. Makes a good 180x120cm. Painted Black.
http://www.forum.specialist-arms.com/index.php?topic=1225.0
for reference.
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Couple of weeks ago I e-mailed the hotzmatz guy, and he e-mailed me back the price offering to send invoice. E-mailed him again saying yes please, send invoice. No reply. E-mailed again couple of days later, still no reply. Annoying.
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Thanks for the replies guys :)!
Actually, space is more of an issue than cost in this case. I'm a student so I actually don't have a lot of money to spend, but our group consists of 5 people, so even the most expensive mat would just be some 15 dollars (and that's less per person than the cost of the beer we drink at each game ;)..). My "apartment" is 19m^2 though, so a wooden board is sadly out of the question. But if cost wasn't an issue for you, what mat would you like to have? The black curtain solution is nice, so I'll probably adopt that one as well since it would probably be pretty easy to transport and also highly modular. But I think I'd like a mat as well. I've heard hotzmats are exceptionally bad with their delivery services, so I'm leaning towards corsec. Has anyone had any experience with these mats? Do they have "to much" detail for BFG games (not subtle enough) and which mat would you prefer to play on if that's not the case?
Thanks again :)!
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The nice thing about felt is that if models fall over, they are obviously protected pretty well. The issue is that for space, the fuzzyness is going to be awkward, but the prints on them look awesome.
I always stored gaming surfaces behind my couch, so it you still want to go with the board, 2 modular ones should fit behind a sofa or under a bed.
You could buy your own rubber matting- something like this
http://www.rubberco.co.uk/products.php?SID=2&secname=Commercial%20Rubber%20Sheet (http://www.rubberco.co.uk/products.php?SID=2&secname=Commercial%20Rubber%20Sheet)
And then paint it however you want. It will still be space saving, though not as much as felt. But it will be extremely resilient and durable. Models that tip over still won't be damaged. And you can set glasses with condensation on them with no fear. You can likely find this at your local hardware store.
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I've used the GW gaming mat: grass on one side and black rubber on the other.
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Hehehe, funny thing is: I don't have either a sofa or bed.. I'm sleeping on a mattress on the floor :P (and yes! I do prioritize buying a gaming mat over a bed! My mattress is nice ok?! I'm not addicted, don't give me that look!)..
Do you think the rubber mat would look better than the felt mats from corsec considering their fuzziness :)?
I have never owned a GW gaming mat, would you recommend me buying one of those instead of a mat from corsec fracas :)?
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If you intend to play Karan's based games
And have a hard surface to put the mat on then yes
Duo function and reasonable priced. I fold it back up into the box it came in
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For a long time, I used a large black section of felt that overlapped a 4' x 8' table. Used the tooth brush method to sprinkle on a mix of white and yellow stars, I could vacuum it with a DustBuster, and it rolled up nicely for storage when I wanted to use my game table for other things. Later, I got 2 sheets of 3' x 4' plexiglass from a hardware store, sponged on a few red/blue nebulae and toothbrushed on stars to one side, then sprayed over that with matte black before adding a gloss seal cost to it. Added lots of felt feet to that side, flipped it over and had a gorgeous space board for about $40 total, including spray cans. The only problem with that one was it was VERY reflective. Ships and tokens stood out well against it, but it was difficult to photograph well.
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Black fabric and some spraypaints are your friends. Can look really nice and is whole lot cheaper than an of those prints.
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Cloth or hardwood, black, white stars with paint flick method, spray paint, varnish the wood if you used it.
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Are there any good tutorials on making nebula etc on a cloth out there?
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For a long time, I used a large black section of felt that overlapped a 4' x 8' table. Used the tooth brush method to sprinkle on a mix of white and yellow stars, I could vacuum it with a DustBuster, and it rolled up nicely for storage when I wanted to use my game table for other things. Later, I got 2 sheets of 3' x 4' plexiglass from a hardware store, sponged on a few red/blue nebulae and toothbrushed on stars to one side, then sprayed over that with matte black before adding a gloss seal cost to it. Added lots of felt feet to that side, flipped it over and had a gorgeous space board for about $40 total, including spray cans. The only problem with that one was it was VERY reflective. Ships and tokens stood out well against it, but it was difficult to photograph well.
I was thinking about plexi-glass. How thick of glass did you use? Does it scratch easily if models fall over (particularly metal ones)
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I don't really remember what the thickness was. It was probably a good 2mm thick I think. It really wasn't bad, although I do wish I could have dulled it down somewhat without scratching it up and hiding the detailwork from the reverse side. As far as scratching goes, I didn't really abuse it but the thing never seemed to pick up any scratches, even with metal models moving over it and occasionally keeling over. Come to think of it, my brother's Ork ships had metal washers glued to the undersides of their bases to keep them from falling over and I don't think that even did much damage at all to the boards. The one big caveat is that they really don't travel well. One snapped when my parents changed houses, and the other one my father's using (playing surface side down) on top of some padding as an exercise mat now, and he still hasn't scratched my seal-coat on the painted side. I might have to make up another set of them once I've finally settled down somewhere and have enough space to set up a game room again.
If you decide to go the plexiglass route, get some sawhorses and a couple of 2x4s to support each panel when you paint them. These things like to sag unless fully supported and since you DEFINITELY have to paint & spray them outside, if it's hot out, you might manage to do some damage while leaving them out to cure if you don't have them well-supported. Also, as some advice, for a cool effect, pull the protective cling-wrap off the painting side right before you start toothbrush-spattering paint on. The lingering static charge will actually affect how the tiny paint droplets fall and pull some of them into some neat bands and sweeping arcs of denser "star" clusters when all's said and done.
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Thanks for the replies guys :)!
Actually, space is more of an issue than cost in this case. I'm a student so I actually don't have a lot of money to spend, but our group consists of 5 people, so even the most expensive mat would just be some 15 dollars (and that's less per person than the cost of the beer we drink at each game ;)..). My "apartment" is 19m^2 though, so a wooden board is sadly out of the question. But if cost wasn't an issue for you, what mat would you like to have? The black curtain solution is nice, so I'll probably adopt that one as well since it would probably be pretty easy to transport and also highly modular. But I think I'd like a mat as well. I've heard hotzmats are exceptionally bad with their delivery services, so I'm leaning towards corsec. Has anyone had any experience with these mats? Do they have "to much" detail for BFG games (not subtle enough) and which mat would you prefer to play on if that's not the case?
Thanks again :)!
Honestly use black felt store it in a small plastic bin so as not to damage it when not in use. Then play with it whenever you want
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Honestly use black felt store it in a small plastic bin so as not to damage it when not in use. Then play with it whenever you want
Seconded. A fabric store should be able to sell you sections from 6ft wide bolt of cloth, which will give you a 1ft overlap on a 4ft wide table. With a roll of felt (cheaper than curtain material and about as sturdy) you can roll it up, don't fold it, and bag it to keep the dust off. With the money you save there, pick up some cotton batting to use for gas/dust clouds and go to a craft store for styrofoam spheres and half-domes for moons and planets!
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Thanks all! You've convinced me, I'll get some black felt and make som stars on it with an old toothbrush and some white paint :).