The problem....
It has been a busy few days and no mistake! Aside from work related stuff I have completed the first draft of the ironclad rules and these have been duly ‘looked over’ meaning a few corrections and clarifications are in order. Fortunately nothing major which is a good sign! I need to get some pictures organised that show firing arcs and turning etc but again, nothing too serious. There are also the ship specification tables to draw up but these should be relatively straightforward to tackle - as ever time is what is in short supply!
....the solution and....
One practical thing I was able to attend to was organising a square grid ‘sea’ gaming board. In am earlier post I mentioned that I wanted to use a 3” square grid with ships occupying two squares. I am happy this option works for me but I did not have a playing surface I could use. Originally I planned to use a cloth and a permanent fabric marker but I was not able to source one locally. What I did have though, was a couple of rolls of blue Fablon style sticky backed plastic acquired at a boot sale some years ago and a piece of 4ft by 3ft plywood.
In retrospect it would have been quicker to paint the board but I did not have any suitable colours available and did not fancy venturing out to get some - Asda this morning was quite enough retail therapy for one day! I decide to use the Fablon on the board and mark out a grid using permanent marker.
Simple in theory.
The rolls are 44cm wide whilst the board is 91.5cm meaning that three strips would be needed to cover it. The rolls were not long enough for me to be able to cover the very narrow strip remaining in one, in fact it needed three pieces to do so. I also had to make these the same width as the grid so that I could disguise the joins under the permanent marker. It worked more or less and whilst not perfect - I shall order a 6 ft by 4ft ‘sea’ cloth with the appropriate grid when the finances permit - it will be more than adequate for the play testing I shall be doing.
The playing area is 4ft by 3ft so there are 16 x 12 squares. The blue looks quite dark as the lighting in the man cave is not very kind for this sort of thing but at least it will look better than using a desert and a steppe style board side by side!
....the end result.
One thing I did discover whilst making this is that have a supply of 3” hardboard squares I had cut to use with 54mm figures for Volley and Bayonet - lord alone knows how long they have been lurking in storage!
16 comments:
David,
The end result looks great, and has the big advantage of using stuff that you already had to hand.
All the best,
Bob
Nothing wrong with that board, you’ve done a good job for nil cost. Looking forward to seeing more details of the rules.
Graham
Hi Bob,
It will certainly work for me for the time being until I can source something bigger and better. I am looking forward to using it in action - and that will be very soon!
All the best,
DC
Hi Graham,
Trust me, up close it is a little weary looking! The total cost for this was 40p for the two rolls of Fablon. The marker pens came from my son and the board itself was left over from some building work we had done some time ago.
The rules are coming along nicely!
All the best,
DC
All those years of watching Blue Peter and I've still never used Sticky-backed plastic....
Looks perfectly acceptable in the photo David. Not bad for 40p!
Excellent work. Sticky backed plastic always reminds me of Blue Peter in my youth.
A very serviceable solution David and perfect for your current needs:)
Hello there nundanket,
I remember back in the day using it to cover school exercise books. Whilst I was working on the board it did strike me that it it is a very versatile material with many gaming related applications.
Something else to ponder!
All the best,
DC
Hello there Maudlin Jack Tar,
You should try it - it can be a little awkward to handle when dealing with large lengths of it but is very handy all the same.
All the best,
DC
Hello there tradgardmastare,
I remember building a model that John Noaks made of some WW1 tanks at Cambrai. In many ways that was what started me off on scratchbuilding wargaming stuff as (and no violins at this point) money was tight when I was a boy. It is cracking fun though and I remember eating a lot of construction ideas from Blue Peter.
All the best,
DC
Hello there Steve J,
“For my current needs?” I see what you did there....
It will suffice for the present for sure!
All the best,
DC
You must have had it tough if you were reduced to eating construction ideas 😉 (cue the Hovis music)
Hello there nundanket,
😂 😂 😂
All the best,
DC
Looks good and cost next ot nothing - that is a result. I think the blue is just right for the slightly stylised ships you are using. And you have some terrain too - it's all good!
Hello there David in Suffolk,
If I had the choice I would have painted it but the end result looked OK as a stop gap. You are right about the colour as well - it really ‘pops’ with the ships.
So far so good!
All the best,
DC
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