Building Malifaux One Table at a Time

[Omenbringer]

What did you use for the tree foliage? Looks great!

I would bet that it is dyed Polyfiber.

[Pagan Wolfe]

Yes...yes it is. Sorry, I have been doing an insane amount of demos and haven't had time to look in. Anyway, after 6 games on this table in two weeks I was getting bored, even though it can all be moved around. That, and the guy I was playing yesterday was very interested in the water tower effect (actually, so are all the kids at the club too *poke*poke* "Whats THIS!?)). He also looked through the books and noticed that some models (gups in particular) got benefits from being IN water. So as we chatted it occurred to me how many tables I have played on and how little water I have seen.
The wife and kids were busy today, so with the day to myself Perfection got a water feature!


I measured and cut some MDF in an interesting shape (once again, salvage from my good friend in the warehouse).


He also came through with some cork tiles that had been taste tested be a rat. Cork is THE holy grail of terrain construction in my book, so much tougher and natural looking than Styrofoam.


Glued and undercoated...then the waiting began. I hate waiting for paint to dry. Sticking to the rule about being portable and store-able I made the decision to make no piles more than two cork layers high. This means that I can not only flat pack it but I can add extra terrain as I choose. The only reason I even went for the second layer was to hide the seams in the tiles.


Rough colours added. By changing between the water and the land I was able to work on one while the other dried. The layers after this were light and dried very quickly.



Stippled the different layers of colour to make it dynamic and interesting.


Before adding the water effects (big bottle of scenic's stuff for $35...I used about 1/5 because I am such a tight wad and expect this bottle to last for ever...it is already 3 years and several projects old). It looks GREAT if applied in layers and those layers are shaded for depth, but on a project this size I just wanted it to glisten.



While the undercoat dried I knocked up some bridges that can be moved around (45mm wide so even the large based models can cross easily).



Perfection now has a water feature! This will help me get through the last few games this month. Later it will be part of a wilderness table too, but for now I am making some low shrubs and rocky outcrops that are small enough to be placed anywhere on the ledges.

All of the cork is pretty much decoration, just the river 'counts as' severe terrain (double movement cost). The shrubs and rocks will offer soft cover when they are done.

Yet another weekend project done. About 3 hours work (spaced out through the day) and less than $20 in paint, glue and water effects!

EDIT: Oh and yes, there is a large seam at the end, as it was built in two parts. When I get around to it I will make a second extension to replace the small one that will take the river out to 4 feet...for 'other' game systems

[Paddywhack]

Very Nice. I will probably steal this idea when I can. More please ;)

[Viruk]

Great terrain you got there, everything looks very nice. Good thing you made it flexible and all the elements can be arranged differently for the game.

[NinjaBreadMen]

Brilliant river, the detail of adding white-water realy makes it look like it's flowing - best painted, realistic looking river I've seen!
If only my local DIY store had a rat problem, the I could offer to releave them of unwanted treasures :P

[Pagan Wolfe]

Thanks guys! The trick with this is I didn't use any white. The colour on the sides is a very light blue/grey called sea spray (or something like that). Pure white is to strong on this scale (unless you are after rapids...but even then I would blend it). The black undercoat is also important as when you stipple the blue areas you cover lightly come up very dark and deep looking.
So far so good, cheap and within the skills/ideas most people could replicate.
Looking around I found huge sheets of 3mm cork for less than $15. I used small tiles that added up to less than one of these. So even without salvage this project wouldn't have cost too much.
I'll update with some game shots ASAP.
Thanks again.

[Pagan Wolfe]

Nothing too exciting...just the cover I made for the table.
I will have more time next month for bigger projects.

[Vin]

Very nice. I am pinching a few ideas.

[OldManMyke]

The river is fantastic, consider it stolen, great job

[Bayou Guildman]

The terrain is great, the only problem I have with the table is the actual surface doesn't match the basing on the terrain. Looks like a great layout, just doesn't look natural with the gray against the brown.