This is a 4 foot by 8 foot gaming table I built on contract for WizKids' nifty new game, Mechwarrior: Dark Age. The table was first seen at Gen Con 2002 (and hopefully will be seen again and again...) This is the largest single undertaking I have tackled yet (followed closely by the Thunderhawk). This is also the first time I have built something for contract (outside of a couple buildings for Armorcast I did in exchange for some of their product).
With less than a month to complete it, and with a 2 year old and a newborn running the house, this project was not undertaken lightly. Only through the aid of friends (and lack of sleep) was I able to complete it on time. Special thanks go out to Chris Cates, Robert Calfee (and Mari too), and Ed Huettl for their contributions to construction, materials, painting, photography, and moral support. I owe you all a lunch, or something!
The only direction I received from WizKids (aside from the dimensions) was that the table be "non-urban". (as I correctly guessed, this was due to the fact that WizKids already had a nice 4x6' city table in their posession). As is probably obvious from the picture, I went with a rocky desert theme with industrial refinery elements. I wanted to avoid trees due to time constraints, but wanted to work in at least a couple industrial elements since that is my main area of expertise, hoping that "non-urban" didn't mean "no buildings". Fortunately, my table looked totally unique compared to their city table (which included trees!), but two other tables that were used for Mechwarrior in the open gaming hall bore a surprisingly similar theme to mine. Well, maybe next time I'll get better information...
The table itself is two 4x4 foot square sections that bolt together, and three seperate refinery structures that are removeable for transportation. Two of the structures and part of the pipeline help cover the gap between the two halves. Click here to find out how it was built!
AND NOW..... MORE PICTURES!
(Use your Back button to return here after viewing)
The table in the WizKids booth at Gen Con 2002
(71 k) Found this pic on Kinnison
Kludy's coverage of GenCon. Since I wasn't able to fly
myself out to Milwaukee, I was at the mercy of the net for finding pics
of the table there...
And here's a shot of people actually playing
on the table! Wow! (80 k) Thanks to Dr.
Faust's Painting Clinic for this shot (be sure to visit!).
A shot of the table from the "south" end (70
k) The building in the foreground can be placed anywhere on the
table (that there's room that is).
A shot of the "middle" of the table (110 k)
You can really see the how the pipeline cuts through the terrain
in this shot. Road detail is clear here too.
Anice big shot of the entire table- taking up
most of my living room (120 k) Needless to say, we only brought
it out here at night after my sons went to bed...
How the Table was Built
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