0Update 17/08/12: John has fnished his table and sent us the first snaps of his French 1/35th scale army:
I have finished laying the cloth on to my table but I have not set it up for a game yet. I am in the process of taking photos of each on my FoW Companies and the first is the French. Attached are some photographs of my French Compagnie de Fusiliers-Voltigeurs (Active) and with small changes could be a French Compagnie de Fusiliers-Voltigeurs (Colonical). All my Artillery uses the Across the Volga Rules and for the French they have 4 X 75 mm 1897 Guns and 2 X 105 mm Howitzers
Model Husband John ( 
– see below) was good enough to send us some photos of the wargames table he’s building in his garage for his supersized 1/35th games of Flames of War. I thought John’s project would be of interest and he kindly agreed to explain what he was up to:
‘I live with my wife in a small 2 bedroom unit/flat of a block of 6 units/flats and we have no children. This has been my hobby for many years and I have always dreamed of a wargames room for myself, but that never happened. So, I’ve had to compromise and build a portable games table in our garage.
The other reason I wanted my own table is that there is no club near me and I want to be at home with my wife and not in a club with other gamers. You have to realise that if you are wargaming solo your games will be different. You learn the rules in private and the game becomes a personal affair.
The standard games table is 6 x 4 feet (1.8 x 1.2 metres). I wanted something bigger for my larger scale (1/35th) but something that I could also put in the car to take to hobby shows. Some websites mention 2 foot square pieces for wargames tables but that’s a lot of work for fixed terrain. I wanted to be more flexible with terrain that would be suitable for a variety of fronts and went for larger pieces but not too big to carry somewhere.
First step was to measure the car to determine the size of the board that I wanted. I found that 1200 X 900mm was a good size and this was readily availabe in 3mm MDF sheets at a reasonable price. Next I wanted a frame to put it on and I found some 70 x 35mm cheap pine studs that are used for wall framing. With this info I sketched up a plan to determine the amount of timber I’d require. I brought enough timber and screws for one frame and measured and cut the timber myself:
After making the four frames I purchased the bolts and nuts then bolted the frames together. When not in use the frames are unbolted and stacked against the wall to put the car back into the garage:
During the next weekend that I have free from family duties I will screw the MDF to the frame and then sheet the frame with some green fabric that I brought earlier, this is the material that you see on the table from my earlier wargame.
If you like I will send more photos of each stage of the project and then some of the games that I will be playing on the table.
All the best from OZ John
PS – In the background of one of the photos you will also see some of my models.’
Any tips or comments from John? I’m sure he’d appreciate the feedback…
I was interested in John’s perspective on solo wargaming and it reminded me of the venerable Charles Stewart Grant’s ‘Programmed Wargames Scenarios’ - battles and campagins for solo or multiplayer games with programmed enemy deployment, orders and responses for one or both sides. I dust off my old copy and had a look at it this morning. Any one else remember or use(d) this?
Firstly, that table looks pretty sturdy – I wish my woodworking skills were as good as John’s. I look forward to seeing more of this table as it is built – should be great to see a table in 1/35 scale!
Also, that ‘Programmed Wargame Scenarios’ book looks pretty interesting. Would the solo gaming concepts in the book be compatible with FOW?
I would certainly like to see the ongoing progress on the terrain boards. They definitely look sturdy but I think they are going to be pretty heavy when the MDF is screwed down on them. I still have my copy Programmed Wargames Scenarios as well as his other two books on Wargame Scenarios.
Is he going to do more with the boards than put down the cloth? If he is then I would recommend working out some kind of layout that will allow him to re-arrange the boards. I’m not sure how possible that will be since it would require that the bolts all have been located in exactly the same place.
Justin,
I do not have that book but I have Scenarios for Wargames by Chales Grant
and Solo-Wargaming and Skirmish Wargaming by Donald Featherstone.
I have played solo games for many years as I am the only player with the 1/35th scale vehicles. I am thinking of calling my games ‘Skirmish FoW’. It is easy to play sols as one side becomes the defender in fixed positions and the other the attacker that has all the movement to capture the objectives. The dice controls the flow of the game and FoW helps by setting up the Scenarios.
Harvey and Kris,
As I sent to Justin FoW actually help us if we want to play solo gaming as they provide scenarios for us to use and if you play historical games that gives you the attacker and defender. I have put the MDF sheets on the frames and bolted them together and the table is very study and heavy which is what I wanted as I do not want the table to collapse when I lean on it to move my models.
After I finish the table I will be placing the terrain pieces on the table and here FoW provide a Terrain Table that you can use for the different battlefronts and if you can dig up some of the old books you can copy the layout of the scenarios.
A great looking start to what I am sure will be an exciting table. If you keep us updated with progress and pictures we can publish them. This practical article will be a great help to folks building their own tables .
Chris from Model Dads
Thank you all for your comments.
I have finished the table and now all I need are a few French type buildings to provide some structures other than trees and roads.
Lets have alook then
I have large amount of 1/35th modern for sale. Can anybody steer me in the right direction.