Mordheim gaming board

Our gaming group got excited about Mordheim again after a few years, but realised that our table is not really meant for it - while it's long enough to have two games running on it at a time, it's only 90 cm wide. This gave me an excellent excuse to make a gaming board to put on top of the table. Daniel36's work with polystyrene tiles was a huge inspiration, so I wanted to create my own version.

I bought two 120x120cm plywood boards and some 4mm thick sound insulation boards - which really are just foamcore (polystyrene panels) without the paper on one side. 4 square meters cost 19€, so I think I got a good deal on them too.


Next stop was to cut the foamcore and glue the panels into the plywood.


I wanted to cover the whole table with cobblestone/flagstone. Since the board is the right size for the game, I thought I'd draw the lines for 8" deployment zones right onto it, so that starting games will be faster. To blend these lines in - but still stay true to the board's feel - I wanted to make them rows of rectangular stones. The little piece of foamcore is where I tested different types of stones.


Next part was the most tedious one - I knew it would be a long and a hard job to carve all the stones into the foam, but after finishing the deployment lines and the first 20x20cm square, my fingers were hurting already.


After a break to allow my cramped hand to rest for a bit, I continued. I carved a square in the middle of the board even if I earlier thought I didn't want any permanent roads or markers. The board would look a bit stupid if a road got blocked by a ruin or a house. Differently tiled 30x20cm area in the middle saves me a lot of work from the cobblestones and actually gives the board more character as well.


Finally, this is what the corner of the board looks like after a day's work.


I'm thinking of creating a bit of diversity to the cobbles in places, broken pavement exposing the sand underneath in places, drain covers or manhole covers in a few places, perhaps a puddle of brown water somewhere... at least there's plenty of room for those ideas on the board!

Excellent start! Carving the stones in can be arduous, but the result is very rewarding. That's what I tell myself anyway   

Great start and smart move on the deployment thing.

And I can relate to the task ahead of you. I am doing somewhat the same as you can see in my log, though I am doing it in smaller pieces of 20cm by 20cm.

EDIT: Just noticed I was actually an inspiration. Thank you for that!! Glad to have inspired you.

Great start on the board. I love the deployment zone idea. As for the cobble stone, I don't know what is more worse, carving the stones into the board or gluing on the "stones" like I do. Both ways take so much tinme but are always worth it. I have never tried to carve the cobble stones into the board like you are doing. I'm always scared that I would damage it too much. Carving too deep or ahave parts of it break off during gaming. My boards go through a lot of punshment sometimes.

LOOKIN' GOOD! AND the cramps in your hand will eventually go away...or so I'm told. It does look like it was worth all the tedious toil, pain & suffering. GREAT WORK!   

Great start, and forget about that cramped hand of yours, no pain no gain   , this will become a superb gaming table!

Interesting   

Great work! And marking out the deployment zones... Awesome idea!

That is a nice start. Soooo many cobblestones, good luck!

Thank you for your encouraging words!

I'm going to move the board from my summer cottage into our game room, so our whole team can focus on drawing the cobblestones. At least while they're waiting for their turn at the game! Hopefully I'll get some more pics soon.