Having decided to play a wider variety of card table games this winter, and having just rebased all those ACW figures, I found myself eyeing in near despair the number of 25mm armies now based on 40mm or 80mm wide bases, which don't fit the 3"/76mm wide squares. I had tried 4"/100mm squares but there just wasn't room for enough squares on my board. I really didn't feel like doing any more re-basing, especially of recently re-based armies! Really didn't!
Suddenly I remembered the canvas grid I had done as a travelling game board for my RCW figures. The grid on it was sized to fit the base on my tchanka, 9cm! A few minutes of testing determined that it would work with any of my existing armies in every scale and that an 8 x 10 square grid would fit my card table board. A few minutes later with scissors, the roll of excess canvass, felt pen and paint, and I had a mock up of a new card table board.
The Turanian hosts of King Rossius the Unknown approach a pass held by Queen Sharazhad of Marakanda with a small force. (coming soon to a Gathering of Hosts near you)
Needs a bit of work on the graphics to improve the look but it was cheap and easy to make. There is a big roll of canvas in the cupboard and I can see me doing a bunch of these, an Autumn board, a Winter board, specific scenarios or historical battle boards with appropriate painted rivers, roads etc., and no need to rebase any of my current 25mm armies! Win, win, win!
The board looks cool Ross!
ReplyDeleteI like the turn keeping track at the bottom too...
The ideal of season/specific battle cloths seems a great way forward.
I really must get my arty daughters to have a go at this for me...
Cheers
Alan
'll confess to being quite excited at the prospects.
DeleteBeing one project away from having everything rebased to what I think are permanent standards, I can sympathize about the rebasing issues...
ReplyDeleteThe real issue with the ACW was that I had to try to sort 800 figures based and painted by various people for 4 different systems (including my old ones) into new units that would look ok together and, to avoid throwing out a bunch of bases and buying new one, reclaim some of the old ones which were fragile-ish balsa. Just need to paint the last 50 or so bases and I'm done with the infantry.
DeleteSo we're not rebasing the 16thC again? an 8cm frontage would be nice....:)
ok.
I've experimented in the past with various textiles but it was more a case of dyeing rather than painting, so control of colour was difficult. Whereas of course canvas is used by traditional oil painters!
ReplyDeleteYou say "doh" Ross but sometimes the simplest and, with hindsight, most obvious ideas are the most elusive - so well done and thanks, lots of potential.