[Poor Man's Table] Infinity Outpost

[Athanadros]

The best way I can put it is, That's just a table full of win!!
The concept of this whole thread is brilliant. It lets terrain naysayers know that you can have a table that is quality and it not cost you much. Then you up the bar with very creative and imaginative layouts for your buildings and give plans on how to make them!!! When this project is done could you condense it and put it in the tutorials section? I think it would be a valuable addition to that section.

Bravo Marc, from one scratch builder to another this is inspiring.

[MARC C]

The best way I can put it is, That's just a table full of win!!
The concept of this whole thread is brilliant. It lets terrain naysayers know that you can have a table that is quality and it not cost you much. Then you up the bar with very creative and imaginative layouts for your buildings and give plans on how to make them!!! When this project is done could you condense it and put it in the tutorials section? I think it would be a valuable addition to that section.

Bravo Marc, from one scratch builder to another this is inspiring.

My concept for the PDF is to included all the instructions to build the models (How To). Not just the plans.

[Athanadros]

My concept for the PDF is to included all the instructions to build the models (How To). Not just the plans.

See now thats even better and all the more reason this should go into the tutorials section.

[MARC C]

Reactor Core

[red harvest]

Ah, non-right angles . Now you're talking my language.

The doorway slides up/down?

[MARC C]

Ah, non-right angles . Now you're talking my language.

The doorway slides up/down?

No more fear of the triangles!
Door: Good idea. I don't like the model I will modify it soon.

[MARC C]

Remodelling is under way : (with sliding doors)

[MARC C]

The power core


90% done !!! Only one building to go

[Jenkins]

Very Kool there MARC C very kool

Really digging the " how to " then seeing the whole thing come together in that last photo, so simple yet very effective and looks amazeballs

Cheers

Jenkins

[Section9]

My God, it's full of WIN!

[MARC C]

Tx everyone for the kind comments. It certainly helps me to stay motivated.

FINAL COST
$36 - 4 sheets cardboard
$09 - Xacto blade dispenser (20)
$05 - Wood glue bottle
$10 - 2 bottle of GW paint (gray, orange)
$0.5 - Clear acetate sheet
-----
$60.50 CAD/US

Proof of concept that its possible to have a modular cinematic table that rivals MDF products for a minimal price.
Also the buildings are light weight (transport) and can be repaired easily.

TIME BUDGET
I didn't tally the hours because I was designing the stuff as I went along. Which takes longer than just executing models from plans. It took me a month to get the table done. During that time I continued to watched my TV shows, read 2 sci-fi books and enjoyed life in general. As long as you are willing to put some time into such a project you can save a lot of cash.

When I think back at the time and money I spent on my MDF table it was more «expensive» in terms of budget and time. The only point in favour of MDF is that it comes pre-cut and some of the kits a really gorgeous.

[btw I'm working on the final building - comm centre. Should be finished this weekend]

Marc C

[MARC C]

The last piece of the puzzle : The comm centre



99% finished :









[The 1% is 2 hours of paint and touch ups]

[Mob of Blondes]

$10 - 2 bottle of GW paint (gray, orange)
...
minimal price.

[red harvest]

Top notch work. A distinct and readily playable table. The power core is my favorite piece. I'd say hang up the "mission accomplished" banner, but...

We're going to need a batrep of the first game on it before that's possible

The GW paint. Gotta use it before it dries out. That's like 3-4 weeks?

[Oreet]

The GW paint. Gotta use it before it dries out. That's like 3-4 weeks?

I've never understood this. Do people just not close their paints all the way? I've got GW paint pots I've bought and used for over two years now and it's still good. Or do people just have bad luck and end up with a bad batch? Or am I extremely lucky?

[MARC C]

The GW paint. Gotta use it before it dries out. That's like 3-4 weeks?

I've never understood this. Do people just not close their paints all the way? I've got GW paint pots I've bought and used for over two years now and it's still good. Or do people just have bad luck and end up with a bad batch? Or am I extremely lucky?

I agree with you Oreet. My pots last along time.

[Mob of Blondes]

GW has gone over multiple pot designs, with varied results. Original GW pots (same than P3, Coat and others) last decades, just make sure the edge is not completly dirty. I think newest GW pots also use a slightly flexible cap. But in between they had rigid ones.

You can see the first 4 pot styles (labels and colors varied, so you could say there was Mk1a, Mk1b, etc I remember seen Mk1 with black cap) and the newer pots. I think we are at Mk7 based in that analisys: 3 and 4 would be Mk5 (Mk5a and Mk5b?), 5 and 7 would be Mk6, and 6 would be Mk7. Or maybe we are at Mk9 if 3-7 really vary. And even with the newest ones, some prefer first generation.

[Edit: fixed the "newer pots" link, now the talk about newer than Mk4 makes sense.]

[Section9]

The GW paint. Gotta use it before it dries out. That's like 3-4 weeks?

I've never understood this. Do people just not close their paints all the way? I've got GW paint pots I've bought and used for over two years now and it's still good. Or do people just have bad luck and end up with a bad batch? Or am I extremely lucky?

Depends on the lids. The really old stuff (Coat d'Arms and whoever made the soft-plastic hexpots) sealed really well. The hard plastic bottles sucked ass for keeping paint wet, I have lost brand-new pots after less than 4 weeks, and I wiped the threads clean every time I used them.

I've been reasonably impressed with how long the newest GW paints last (even the thick Foundations), but now they're more $$ for half the volume of paint I can get in Vallejo or Reaper.

[red harvest]

I have GW paints still fresh that I bought in 1995. The more recent stuff, c. 2000-2003*, which I transferred to alternate containers, also is still fresh. The few which I left in the original bottles, dried. It's not the paints which are the problem, or the painters, it's the packaging.

Enough off-topic. I want to hear a review of actual table usage. When can we expect that Marc?

*The most recent GW purchases were in 2003 for me.

[MARC C]

Enough off-topic. I want to hear a review of actual table usage. When can we expect that Marc?

This coming Sunday!

[MARC C]

This is taking longer than I thought. I'll do the PDF file later.

CONTAINERS

[Maine]

The GW paint. Gotta use it before it dries out. That's like 3-4 weeks?

That's a huge issue with the old screw-top lid (which they haven't used in years). The flip top containers are don't have this issue as long as you make sure they are sealed. There are still two main issues with the pot type: the style of pot seems to encourage people to paint out of the pot (BAD PAINTER, BAD, you deserve all the paint problems you get if you do that), and it encourages people to wipe excess on the rim, causing a build-up which can interfere with the seal when closing. Neither of these are an issue with the paint itself, but with the style of pot encourages these bad habits. GW has taken off the nub to hold the lid open to discourage the practice, at least.

I much prefer Reaper and Vallejo (not just because they're about half the price by volume), but those paints have their own issues (pigment/binder separation which is exacerbated by using water to thin them; must use a medium or medium/water mix). GW's are surprisingly good at maintaining consistency as long as you do the most basic care. I still have old GW paints from the late 90s, when they were fliptop lids (the old Coat'd'arms) which are still liquid. I have P3 paints that have solidified after never being used.

Now, as for GW's superglue with the brush in the bottle, that will pretty much be a solidified block 30 days after you use it for the first time (the brush attracts moisture, which triggers a chain reaction in cyanoacrylate glue that causes it to set).

[Mob of Blondes]

So they put no nub, then one, then back to none? Maybe they had the mold for pot number 5 stored and are using again as number 7, so those would be same Mk.

[Argh, fuck, the second link, talking about Mk5, etc, was wrong. Fixed.]

[Laplace]

Awesome looking table.
What material are you using? only thick cardboard?

[MARC C]

Awesome looking table.
What material are you using? only thick cardboard?

TX!
Yes only 1/8" cardboard.

[MARC C]

STAIRCASE - 1 LEVEL

[MARC C]

INFINITY DAY with a few pictures of my table :
http://s1179.photobucket.com/user/shesh ... 2024%20nov

[VisOne]

Great looking day mate hope you had fun.

How did the table play?

Any feedback regarding density and the like?

[MARC C]

Great looking day mate hope you had fun.

How did the table play?

Any feedback regarding density and the like?

It was a fun day!
The table worked perfectly. Building density was okay. But you need to put vehicles to block the long line of sights.
I'm very satisfied with the result.

Most people commented on how the buildings look better in real compared to the pictures.
I believe its not the pictures (2D) but the fact that seeing them in 3D gives you a better understanding of the shapes.

[Mob of Blondes]

Vehicles... or shift the buildings so the streets are single block. Square grid is the thing to avoid. Quickest is to shift every other row of buildings as you move from one zone to the other, so only big lanes will form from one to the other non deployment edge. Maybe use an hexagon layout, so all the streets form Y joints.

Another table has the buildings rotated... so there are long streets anyway, just non parallel to the table sides. Maybe there is something in the streets to block LoS (more vehicles), but not visible in the photo.