How to Make a Warhammer Gaming Terrain Board

Pictured: The Necrons Codex for GW`s Warhammer 40K.



by: Matthew Glanfield



The first thing to consider in continuing a Warhammer gaming hobby is to construct a terrain board that will fit all your models. This will give you a fun and exciting place to put all you Warhammer games on which is much better place to play on rather than on the kitchen table or on the floor.

It will also provide you more options on your terrain pieces and create more terrain pieces that will fit on the your table, creating a gaming environment that appears and feels impressive and realistic. It will also enhance your gaming experience and allows you to play more with its wide space area depending on the size you will be doing.

This article is a step-by-step guide on how to make your own gaming boards. There are many options in creating your own gaming boards, it includes the materials to be use, but this is the one which is the easiest and the cheapest as i have found out so far.

What size board should you create?

There are a few options to choose from. They include:

-2' x 2'

-4' x 4'

-4' x 6'

-4' x 8'

(’ denotes feet - one foot = 30 cm)

The 2' x 2' boards are very flexible and allow you to create terrain that you can move around and form into various pieces, especially if you build in hills or rivers.

However, our favorite size to choose is 4' x 4' boards, as it is a very good standard board size and it is very good for battles as high as a few thousands points on each side. It is also easy to add two of these boards together to form a 4' x 8' playing area for especially large battles, whereas with the 2' x 2' boards this is a little more clumsy and creates a playing area with a lot of gaps and unsightly lines.

But in the end it is always you that will choose on what board that will best fit your gaming mood.

Materials and Tools Needed

Here is a list of materials that you will need:

-1/2 sheet of plywood (4' x 4')

-16' of 2?x1? (pine is what we use, but it doesn’t matter)

-16 x 1 1/4? screws

-power drill

-small drill bit (3/16? should work)

-measuring tape

-pencil

-saw

-sandpaper

(WARNING: You should ALWAYS have adult supervision when using any tools or power tools.)

Step 1 - Cut 2?x1? to size

Our first step that will be doing is to divide the 2?x1? into four pieces, two 4 feet long and the other two is 46 inches long.

Step 2 - Create foundation

Drill holes first on the wood before putting in any screws. This will prevent the wood from splitting. After you have drilled holes on the wood you can then screw in the screws using either your power drill if you have or simply by hand. Be sure to screw it tightly to gain enough strength on your foundation.

Step 3 - Attach Top

Attach the plywood on the top of your frame. Once again drill holes wherever you will be putting in screws to prevent splitting. Three to four screws on each sides should be fairly enough. Once you are finish in screwing down the plywood on your frame, use the sandpaper to polish all corners to get rid of any silvered wood. This will give you a smooth edge on your table for better look.

That's it after polishing all the edges and the sides be sure to check all the screws if it screwed tightly you have now your gaming board with a strong foundation. The next step is to finish the top but will be discuss in another article.


About The Author
Matthew Glanfield is the webmaster for MiniWarGaming.com, a site that strives to provide useful resources to players of the Games Workshop Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40K, and Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game.

You can visit his website at http://www.miniwargaming.com