How to build your own City of Death table
By pathwinder14
Theme-
The first thing you need to do for your City of Death table is to figure out your theme. Is it going to be an Imperial, Tau, Tyranid, Eldar, etc? Will it be ruined, intact, or some combination of the two? What flavor is your COD table going to have? For mine I chose a partially ruined Imperial city on a forge world.
Plans-
Always, always make a plan when you have a project this large to work on. First you want to start by figuring out how large you want it. Mine is 8 feet x 4 feet. Whatever size you decide upon make sure it is storable. I leave mine permanently set up I my basement but you may not have that option.
Does it need to be modular? For storage do you need to be able to take the buildings down and store them somewhere? Think about all of this as you make your plans.
After you have the storage and size figured out you will need to draw up a plot map of the city. I suggest dividing the map into either 2 x 2 sections or 1 x 1 sections. Note: this is just the plot map, not the actual table itself. You do this so you can break the city up into chunks and get a section done at a time.
If you’re going to have roads, I’d suggest you make them wide enough for a Land Raider to travel down comfortably. This will ensure that all other vehicles will be able to fit nicely on the roads.
Materials-
This is where the fun begins. Start collecting your materials. Think about your buildings and what you want them to look like. Your materials should reflect the theme of the table. Egg cartons look very organic while wire mesh looks very industrial.
You can use Cities of Death scenery if you want. I personally used a box of it to give my city a more imperial gothic look. All sorts of things can be used for buildings. Foam core is a wonderful old stand by. Pre-made card boxes work well to form basic building walls. I strongly recommend using either MDF or Foam core to create your building footprints.
The Base-
After you have your theme, map, and materials taken care of the building process begins. You should start by building the table’s base. I used several different sheets of thick insulation foam to effect “street level”. You could also use a sheet of plywood. You start by aligning your foam to be the desired size of the table. Then draw out your plot map right on top of it. This will give you a visual reference as you build, and will let you see what you have left as your work progresses.
After your plot map is marked out on your table base, start working on the roads first. These will form a sort of grid that will frame the footprints of your buildings. I created sidewalks on my table by using 1” wide strips of foam core but you don’t have to have sidewalks if you don’t want.
Sections-
Now the fun begins. Remember those 2 x 2 sections you created on your plot map and on the table base. Use these as increments of work. Build (Note that is build, not paint) an entire base section at a time.
Slowly work your way around the table constructing one section at a time till they are all built.
Buildings-
Make 2D mockups of your buildings. I personally use a paint program as it is quick and easy but anything you want to use is fine. Draw out what you want the building to look like and it will give you some better concept of what the table or section of table will look like.
Painting-
Once the table is built you can begin painting. First, remove all buildings from the table. Paint the table base first. I used a brush on latex paint to protect the foam. Then I used spray paints on top of that. You can use spray paints in a technique called “dusting” to accomplish an “industrial grey” look and feel. Simply hold the can 8-10 inches from the desired area and spray a small section lightly. Then use another color to give it highlights or shades.
On my table I sprayed a lot of areas black then dusted grey and white over it to give it that “industrial grey” color and texture.
Once the base is painted it’s time to start the buildings. Once again, use the sections you divided the plot map into and go through the same process when you were building. Paint up one section, then paint another. This will get the table painted and done…for the most part.
Details-
It’s all about the details. Build details into the table and add details after its done being painted. Break your details down into two types. Those are pre built details and post painted details.
Pre built details would be things you’re going to build into the table or buildings during the construction process. These are things such as broken pipes or room debris.
Post painted details are things you will add after the table has been painted. These are things such as posters, graffiti, broken glass, etc.
Look around your everyday life for all sorts of details you can add to the table. Take time to really think about one of your buildings. Create a history for it in your mind. This will let you add m ore details you hadn’t thought of.
Below are two pre-created lists exampling pre built and post painted details:
Pre built Details include things like broken pipes, rubble, exposed iron girders, room debris such as broken furniture, lost weapons, body parts, vehicle bits or equipment, craters, large cracks in the street with exposed pipes, collapsed ceilings, fallen street signs,
Post Painted Details include things like posters, flags, graffiti, burned out windows, broken glass, puddles, vermin (rats), tank track marks on the street, empty artillery shells, titan foot prints, toxic waste, caution tape, lamp posts, burn marks on walls, divots and holes in walls or the ground, burnt trees and foliage, electrical wires and power cables, dirt/dust, blood stains, oil drums, mold or moss, containers, various stains, empty ammo casings, smoke, fires, icons, barbed wire, tank traps, street markings, rust
|