Narrative Gamer’s 30k/40k Table

Managed to find dedicated time to push the project forward a bit.

First, my cast rocks turned out fine. Glued them on and started with the modelling compound to build up the rock faces.

I also started placing few detail bits here and there. I’ve lot of consoles, hatches, vents, grilles etc I can use to add details. Really going with the flow as I add the surface material, sticking some detail in.

The bridge piece connecting the pieces got more or less built to day.

An older TerrainTutor video series came to my mind where he was building large rock faces, quite similar to what I’m doing.

I have few of Woodland Scenics rock moulds at hand. Casting a set of these in DAS clay to be glued on the rock faces for genuine texture.

Day 3.

I cut the bases to shape and sanded the edges. The big styrofoam pieces got glued on top using PVA and reinforcing with filler.

I continued shaping the styrofoam, both with blade and a hot air gun, at the same time glue on additional bits on top to break up the surfaces and filling in the cracks. To fill the hollow parts I used sprayed urethane foam. Once all solidified I’ll continue shaping it further. Super happy to have the basic shape there.

Plan is to add human made bits to it, which will include parts of the GW kit. Started here with a drink can and a piece of pipe which got integrated into the rock.

While stuff was drying, I completed the builds of  most of the plastic kits.

And while I was working, so was my printer.

These are prints from Miscast sci-fi greebles set https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-miscast-s-sci-fi-greebles-bits-kit-vol1-360963

I started off cracking open the boxes and cleaning up and gluing together some of the plastic kits.

The Nachmund building are rather straightforward and will go to the board as a set on pieces. They don’t even need bases.

For the other kits I pretty quickly realised I don’t want to build them as described in the instructions or the box art. Rather do few subassemblies and see how to integrate them into my custom built pieces.

I also found this Mantic terrain crate box, which would fit the set very well.

To figure out the layout, I pulled some random styrofoam pieces and started arranging them on a 6’x4′ table. And with a bit of shuffling around an ideas started to form.

This could be an Imperium/Mechanicum mining colony where they are mining off of a mesa type of hill or cliffs. I’d make the bigger pieces in two chunks for storing and they would probably be set on pieces instead of full on sculpted boards. So after all this would become fairly modular set.

Oh, and I definitely want to build a tunnel and a bridge. Imagine the heavy heresy era tanks rolling through! (more modern Land Raider for scale).

I started off sculpting the story foam pieces and breaking them off a bit to get rid of the straight angles. Messy business (gotta have the hoover at hand!) but fairly quick once you get going. I plan to stuff the hollow bits of the styro foam with crunched up newspaper for some support without adding weights. And all of it will need a good coat of modelling compound (messy business part deus) to solidify and cover for painting.

Already cut the bases from Foamalux PVC sheet, so there will be something very sturdy to build on which is also warping free.

I got my grunt work laid out, hoping to find few free evenings to push this forward.

A year ago, I built an aircraft crash terrain board (https://www.ontabletop.com/project/1840185). Turned out some dudes on the internet liked it and I received delivery from Northern Ireland…

Now, these are the same kits Justin used for his 2023 Terrain Fest “True Gamer’s table” (https://www.ontabletop.com/project/1839253)

Conveniently during the last year, I did happen to rekindle my love of 40k — and also got into Horus Heresy big time. So these kits definitely have a use for my but…

… I’m not a “True Gamer” as Justin. I’m a 100% narrative, figure painting, terrain building, play-few-times-a-year hobbyist. I don’t care about “balance” or “firing lanes” or “modularity”, it’s all about the visual spectacle for me.

So I thought, for the 2024 Terrain Fest, I will reverse the polarity* on the kits chosen by Justin and do the opposite — Narrative Gamer’s Visual Spectacle Anti-Tournament 30k/40k table!

*leave a comment if you got the reference

The initial goals for the project:

• Use the 2023 Terrain Fest prize kits, except the Orky one (I’ll save it for something else).
• Avoid buying anything new. I’ve got loads of materials, I shouldn’t need anything new. Standard modelling supplies excluded.
• Complete it for Terrain Fest 2024. Scope down if I’m in danger of running out of time.
• No need for modularity, but I need to be able to store it reasonably.
• Match the style to my Horus Heresy basing scheme.