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Building a Man Cave: 1:1 Terrain

Building a Man Cave: 1:1 Terrain

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Project Blog by darkdanegan Cult of Games Member

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About the Project

The ‘room of requirement’ in our house is finally mine! Time to turn it into a hobby and gaming space!

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Making a House a Home

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Not that I was putting off moving all of my (ahem) crap into the room and spoiling its nice clean lines or anything, but I was putting off moving my (ahem) crap into the room..  So I worked on some details.

I threw a gaming mat onto the table to see how it looks.  This one was 6x4 so it hangs over the far edge, but actually looks good and is very useable without chopping it up.I threw a gaming mat onto the table to see how it looks. This one was 6x4 so it hangs over the far edge, but actually looks good and is very useable without chopping it up.
I don’t know about you but these constant Displate adverts on YouTube were starting to wind me up.  But clearly they work because when I was thinking about some artwork for the walls that’s where I headed.  Nothing sings Hobby Room like a nice piece of John Blanche art.I don’t know about you but these constant Displate adverts on YouTube were starting to wind me up. But clearly they work because when I was thinking about some artwork for the walls that’s where I headed. Nothing sings Hobby Room like a nice piece of John Blanche art.
One last long look at the neatness before I spoil it!! One last long look at the neatness before I spoil it!!
The last thing I could think of to do to put off filling the room with stuff was to build a new airbrush station.  I want to protect the furniture as best as I can so I will be more careful where my spay goes now!The last thing I could think of to do to put off filling the room with stuff was to build a new airbrush station. I want to protect the furniture as best as I can so I will be more careful where my spay goes now!
Actually a very useful piece of kit, and the drawer holds quite a bit of equipment including a couple of airbrushes.Actually a very useful piece of kit, and the drawer holds quite a bit of equipment including a couple of airbrushes.
Just one more thing: Chair!Just one more thing: Chair!

Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day (but this will be!)

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Ikea delivery drivers came and turned my room into a branch of their warehouse!Ikea delivery drivers came and turned my room into a branch of their warehouse!
Let the build commence!Let the build commence!
Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day (but this will be!)
Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day (but this will be!)
Coming together! Coming together!
Kallax Central!Kallax Central!
Table tops on, we have a gaming table!Table tops on, we have a gaming table!
Furniture Complete!Furniture Complete!

Paiiint Rack is a Little Old Place Where, Paints are Kept Tooogetheeeerrrr! Paint Rack, Bayyybeee!

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The first construction project for the new room is a paint rack.  I recently bought the Complete Set of Army Painter Fanatic paints, and I need somewhere to keep them.  I also have an odd-shaped bit of wall which is perfect for the job.

I saw something like this on the Army Painter fan page on Facebook, and thought I would give it a go.

The components were:

3x Ikea Skadis peg boards (76x56cm)
6x packs of nail polish racks (15 inch)
72x M4 nuts and bolts (12mm and 16mm both work fine)

Paiiint Rack is a Little Old Place Where, Paints are Kept Tooogetheeeerrrr!  Paint Rack, Bayyybeee!

My original plan was to use the separately purchasable connectors for the Skadis boards, and hang them all from one bracket drilled into the wall, but in the end I didn’t use the connectors.  I hung all three separately using their own wall brackets. It was super easy to line them up, and the weight would be spread out more, rather than relying on one bracket to hold the whole thing up.  Much safer!

I bolted the nail polish racks to the boards, using a bottle of paint to help get the spacing right.  (Per the above, the connector visible in this picture was later removed and not used).I bolted the nail polish racks to the boards, using a bottle of paint to help get the spacing right. (Per the above, the connector visible in this picture was later removed and not used).
Paiiint Rack is a Little Old Place Where, Paints are Kept Tooogetheeeerrrr!  Paint Rack, Bayyybeee!
The finished rack!The finished rack!

Decorating!

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This is the part where I feel like I am actually making some progress.  All the planning and prep is done and I am now creating my new room!  Again, decorating is not a natural skillset of mine, but I refused all offers of help to make sure I do this myself!

I calculated the required paint volume, and procured said paint from B&Q!I calculated the required paint volume, and procured said paint from B&Q!
Always give the paint a suspicious look - that’s very important!Always give the paint a suspicious look - that’s very important!
Finally plucked up the courage to get started!Finally plucked up the courage to get started!
I’m painting the room white, so there’s not a lot to see step by step..I’m painting the room white, so there’s not a lot to see step by step..
I was just slap-chopping at this point.  One coat of gloss was good enough.I was just slap-chopping at this point. One coat of gloss was good enough.
Replaced the horrible dangly bulb with a nice light from B&Q.Replaced the horrible dangly bulb with a nice light from B&Q.
Almost done - just need to stop people from gawping at me!Almost done - just need to stop people from gawping at me!
Finally, I replaced the window blind, there was no saving the old one - privacy restored!Finally, I replaced the window blind, there was no saving the old one - privacy restored!

Clearing, Cleaning and Repairing the Room

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These may not be the most interesting couple of sections, but this is quite a big deal for me.  I am not handy, I don’t do much DIY, and the only room I have painted in my life is a small bathroom in my first flat.  Also 10 years of real-life Skaven inhabitance left the room..erm..kind of….erm..skanky.  I’ll summarise the steps across two posts.  First clearing, cleaning and fixing the room.

I took apart all the rat cages and took them to the dump.I took apart all the rat cages and took them to the dump.
I used masking take to mock up the layout to make sure my Visio calculations were correct.I used masking take to mock up the layout to make sure my Visio calculations were correct.
Checked there was indeed going to be enough room for people to play at the tableChecked there was indeed going to be enough room for people to play at the table
Cleared the roomCleared the room
Scrubbed, scrubbed, SCRUBBED the room!Scrubbed, scrubbed, SCRUBBED the room!
Cleaned up my masking tape from the floor, and filled the holes in the walls (you can see two square bits on the right where I had to fill holes where baby rats had literally chewed the plaster from inside their cages!)Cleaned up my masking tape from the floor, and filled the holes in the walls (you can see two square bits on the right where I had to fill holes where baby rats had literally chewed the plaster from inside their cages!)

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

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Any excuse to break out Visio and do some planning right?

Early on I decided that it was likely going to be Ikea all the way in terms of furniture.  It just works. It’s easily available, in plentiful supply, and all the dimensions are clearly shown to allow me to configure to the space available.

As I was playing around with Visio, the main dilemma became what size gaming table to have.  I had envisioned that it would have to be a small one because I always knew that storage would be my key requirement.  3×3 games minimum but realistically to play a 3×3 game you need a 4×4 table.  4×4 fits ok, there is just enough room to get a person either side.  Which also means there isn’t any room for storage along those walls, and there is no way around that, even if the table was 3×3, so may as well maximise the space and use the full 4 foot.

I had written off 6×4 quite quickly.  It wasn’t impossible to fit, but it would be a huge waste of space to have 6×4 set up permanently.  So I looked into whether I could have a 4×4 extendable to 6×4.  But even that would limit storage space, otherwise with 6×4 extended you wouldn’t be able to physically get around the table.  So not an option.  4×4 it is.  Or is it?

Like all good ideas that come in the shower, it dawned on me that not all “6×4” games are actually 6×4 these days.  Warhammer for example.  GW have moved both 40K and AoS to 44×60 inches.  That’s basically 5×4.  And now that is a standard gaming size, there are gaming mats etc readily available at that size.  And I suspect even games that are still designed for 6×4 are going to work just as well at 44×60.  Also, 4×4 games aren’t super common, but if you are playing at that size you would ideally want extra space for cards  and gubbins etc.  Again 5×4 would be ideal.  Hmm. So the choices became 4×4 or 5×4…

Back to Visio..

Room layout with a 4x4 gaming tableRoom layout with a 4x4 gaming table
Room layout with a 5x4 gaming tableRoom layout with a 5x4 gaming table

I guess I should explain now that the ‘cabinets’ around the edge of the room are Billy Bookcases.  4 full size (80cm wide) ones in the first picture, and 3 full size and a half size (40cm) ones in the second picture.  The desk is a 142x50cm ‘Micke’ desk.

So the difference in the two layouts is that I lose half a Billy Bookcase with the larger table. Whether I can live with that is the question, given I have stated that storage space is a priority?

Another shower epiphany later (I am not sure why it takes running warm water to make my brain work like a normal person’s!!) and I realised that I can gain storage space due to the larger table.  If I use Kallax units as the base of the table, using IKEA table tops as the, er, tabletop, then bigger table = more Kallax = more storage.  Pro’s and con’s.  But what actually is the difference?

Time for some maths.  No shower this time, I needed an Excel spreadsheet for this and my computer is not water resistant!

Long story short, it turned out that by calculating the internal dimensions of the storage space in each layout, there was LESS THAN ONE PERCENT (1%) difference between the two!  Game on!  Big table! Bosh!

Reclaiming the Skaven Den

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For the past 10 years, a room in our house has been overrun with rats.  Real life 1:1 Skaven.  Intentionally I must add.  My wife kept and bred pet rats which kept herself and myriad adult customers and their children happy for many years.  I can’t put my hands on any pictures of the full room, but imagine two large double decker cages on wheels in which dwelt a dozen or so adult rats, 2 or 3 smaller cages for the rearing of many more tiny fluffballs, and all the associated paraphernalia.

All good things come to an end, as they do, and with the dissolution of the Skaven empire earlier this year, my lovely wife suggested that it was my turn to use the ‘room of requirement’ for myself.

Cue intense plotting of how I might finally have my own hobby room, with hopefully some space for gaming as well..

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