I went to a friend's house last night for some wargaming.
.
He has a new table called "The Table of Ultimate Gaming", and it is sweet.
The table has a nice surface, suitable for use as an ordinary dining room table. The top is removable to reveal a 4 by 6 wargaming area. The pictures show his table.
The inner surface on his table is set a depth of 5/8", but it adjustable (during assembly) to a depth of 3 1/2". This got me to wondering about how useful this thing could be for an N scale layout. 3 1/2" isn't much depth, but it is usable, and the table looks good enough to use in the dining room. With the top on, no one is the wiser.
There is a smaller version 3.5 by 5 feet available also.
It is not cheap, but it just assembles like any other flat pack furniture piece. Only a screwdriver and hammer are required.
For an N scale apartment dweller this thing could be amazing. No tools to build ALL your benchwork, and it is not imposing on any space, the space for the layout is free.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Kevin, IMHO N Scale would probably be the best way to go at 3 1/2"..
My personal idea would be a seaport with warehouses set in 1950 or 1960 era. I am thinking along the lines of a railroad similar to the San Francisco Belt RR. I would probably use Atlas RS1s or their S-2.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
SeeYou190...The inner surface on his table is set a depth of 5/8", but it adjustable (during assembly) to a depth of 3 1/2". This got me to wondering about how useful this thing could be for an N scale layout. 3 1/2" isn't much depth, but it is usable, and the table looks good enough to use in the dining room. With the top on, no one is the wiser....
Well, I could certainly see an N scale layout concealed under the table top, but I can also imagine someone at the supper table, carelessly spilling the gravy and it seeping through the joints in the table and onto the layout.The first operating session would have to be from the MoW department, the Gravy Train, headed by a working rotary plow.It might also be a good idea to follow-up with a train of red/white/blue State of Maine Products boxcars, just to get any remaining vestiges of the gravy.
I also sense that there's a bit of a tie-in to your "Coast to Coast Hobby Shop Adventure", what with the dining table.
Wayne
Go for Z scale, you could build an empire in there!
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
G Paine Go for Z scale, you could build an empire in there!
In all seriousness I think you may want to downscale to Z if you keep the depth at just over 3", as you mentioned the table will go to. 3" is not much for the ups and downs which come in realistic model railroad scenery.
Even is you go will Z scale, or if you go with N, I might try to get to modify the table so you could get a bit more space. We all know realistic model railroad scenery is not a level tabletop.
Here's an idea, you could model a city, which has level ground, and then don't model the tops of tall buildings, cut them off, and then they won't go above the table top.
Or you could build a few sections out of foam that insert into the table when it is in use, and then when you want to use it as a table take them out and store them. That way you don't have to worry about hight of the layout of protecting trains from food.
Regarding the food issue, you could get a plastic table mat. I'm sure they sell something like a waterproof table cloth somewhere that could protect the trains from food spillage.
Kevin, in all seriousness, I think this is a great idea, though it may be more practical to build your own version of the table with more depth and food protection!
Regards, Isaac
I model my railroad and you model yours! I model my way and you model yours!
SPSOT fanIn all seriousness I think you may want to downscale to Z if you keep the depth at just over 3", as you mentioned the table will go to. 3" is not much for the ups and downs which come in realistic model railroad scenery.
Actually not all realistic railroad scenery is up and down.That's model railroader with blinders on in the box mundane thinking.
One needs to think outside the box for a gaming table layout like the one pictured.
With today's shoe box style industry buildings 3" will work in N Scale and those shoe box industrial buildings is easy to scatchbuild.
BRAKIE Actually not all realistic railroad scenery is up and down.That's model railroader with blinders on in the box mundane thinking. One needs to think outside the box for a gaming table layout like the one pictured. With today's shoe box style industry buildings 3" will work in N Scale and those shoe box industrial buildings is easy to scatchbuild.
Fair enough. Though I'm thinking that should you want to put in a river or something else below track level then you'd have to rase the track first. I feel like the changes in evelation wouldn't be more than an inch. that leaves 2" which is over 25 scale feet. Wikapedia reveales that the highest clearence standard for height in North America is just over 20 feet, so 2" is enough hight clearance for N scale cars.
I retract my original statements that 3" is too short, selective coiche of prototype regarding structures (pretty much anything but highrises), and scenery (just no big hills or mountains) and you should be able to make a layout with you war gaming table.
One disadvantage I just thought of is that the viewing angle for such a layout would the unrealistic birdseye view, but that isn't too major.
So we have a table for trains topic - based on a gaming table. So in the spirit of usual topic drift suggested by the info posted by the OP, before I moved to Virginia I used to have a friend who was a gaming fanatic - mainly AD&D pen and paper dungeons and dragons and he was usually the dungeon master and hosted game night in his basement.
He used long tables with folding legs like you might see set up for meals or functions - he' d set them up next to each other for a good sized table for all the players to sit around.
Keeping my post semi-related to trains, since "semi" seems to be good enough here - I suppose those long folding tables could be used for trains too. Might be even better as they are longer and you could use them singly or side by side as space allows.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
riogrande5761 Keeping my post semi-related to trains, since "semi" seems to be good enough here - I suppose those long folding tables could be used for trains too. Might be even better as they are longer and you could use them singly or side by side as space allows.
I have used a long folding table to set up a temperary switching layout. I just connected some Atlas sectional track together, hooked it up to a power pack, and ran trains. I even got fancy an added a small outhouse kit I made and a few, cheap trees to the layout.
Long folding tables are also what T-Trak uses. The T in T-Trak stands for table and the point is they can easily be set up on folding tables at shows and such.
And now we are hijacking Kevin's thread a bit... hope he doesn't mind!
~Eastrail
riogrande5761So we have a table for trains topic - based on a gaming table. So in the spirit of usual topic drift suggested by the info posted by the OP
The thread is about how a product made for a different hobby could be an amazing solution to a problem many N scale apartment dwellers have.
Using items intended for different purposes is at the core of Model Railroading.
Eastrail11When I read WarGaming, I thought of the developers of the game World of War Ships
Wargaming is a generic term for an entire hobby.
The fact someone actually used the name wargaming for thier company name does not change that.
It would be like if a software company made a train simulator and named themsleves ModelRailroading.
That idea came from model railroading. As a kid, i remember books having track plans for layouts built into coffee tables, dining tables, foldup layouts, temp layouts (some built on modular boards for quick assembly) and other ideas. Like the on for ising a fold up bed. That seamed to dissappear through the 90's. Same time d&d came about that led to wargaming in general. If you watch youtube how to war gaming. You will see a lot of old model railroad techniques. And some new ones we could use. Lkke a new tree technique i saw the other day. War gaming has adapted a lot of what we do and scenery materials. With space avaliability and materials costs, it is about time the hobby revisit the temp layout or built in layout.
Wolfie
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
NVSRRThat idea came from model railroading.
It is certainly not a new idea at all, but having a sturdy table like that, a useable size, that needs no power tools to build... that could be opening the door to a few new model railroaders to at least having a layout.
NVSRR Same time d&d came about that led to wargaming in general.
Same time d&d came about that led to wargaming in general.
Somewhat earlier than that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Wars
There's nothing wrong with using a wargaming table for MR or anything else. Many times I'e gone to a craft store or HD/Lowes and found something not meant for MR that I eventually used. There are plenty of tools you can use for this hobby that have multi-purposes, beyond the obvious--screwdrivers, hammers, etc.
Am I out of the loop? I used to play war games from Avalon Hill and SPI back in the 60's and 70's. Is that no longer considered wargaming?
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
Seems like a decent idea to me. If you have neither the means nor facilities to contruct benchwork, why not use a pre-built table? ANd you cna put the lid on it and cover it up to keep dust, dirt, prying fingers, and the eyes of people who don't get why you 'play with trains' off when not in use. Certainly nearly idea for a very expansive ISL set in modern times, with all those flat shoebox warehouses Brakie mentioned.
Since it's a table - the simple solution to it being too low is to sit in a chair to run it. Then it's no longer an airliner height bird's eye view.
Don;t see why this would be even remotely off topic. Just because it's marketed as a table for gamers... Look at all the other things we use, outside of the rolling stock and locos and track, how much is actually "made" for model railroading? Hydrocal is designed and sold to do detail castings, not to build model railroad scenery. Extruded foam boards are made and sold as insulation, not model train table tops. Is talking about either of those, in how to use them in a model railroad, an off topic discussion? How about ping pong tables? After the craze more or less died down, everyone had a ping pong table in the basement but no longer played the game. Hey wait, at 5x9 that makes a great model railroad, bigger than a 4x8! Is that off topic too?
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
carl425Am I out of the loop? I used to play war games from Avalon Hill and SPI back in the 60's and 70's. Is that no longer considered wargaming?
That is absolutely considered wargaming.
Generally "Board Gaming" is the newer German influenced board games like Catan, Carcassonne, 7 Wonders, Camel Up, or Lanterns.
"Miniature War Gaming" is using miniature soldier models, less rules, and more beer. Flames of War, Armarti, and De Bellis Antiquetatus are popular systems.
"Fantasy War Gaming" is similar, but with silly rules and more amazing miniatures. Warhammer is the king here with dozens of smaller systems out there.
"Chit War Gaming" is the games by Avalon Hill, SPI, HBG, etc. like you described. Advanced Squad Leader and Advanced Tobruk being the two I enjoy the most. Lots more rules, no beer.
Then you have all the hybrid systems like Axis and Allies Miniatures or playing games of Battle Cry with miniatures.
And of course there is role playing, which is not War Gaming because the scale is not there. You cannot fight a grand battle when you need to know every soldier's personal stat line.
It is all very much fun. I find it to be the perfect complimentary hobby to model railroading.
rrinker Since it's a table - the simple solution to it being too low is to sit in a chair to run it. Then it's no longer an airliner height bird's eye view.
The comapny that makes it offers three different leg heights, coffee table, standard, and high top.
SeeYou190Using items intended for different purposes is at the core of Model Railroading.
Indeed..Wargaming paint can be used for scenery..IIRC its called "Old Stone" or "Castle Stone" correction is welcome. Its ideal for stone abutments and stone walls.
There are other miniature gaming paints that can be used in our hobby.
SPSOT fanFair enough. Though I'm thinking that should you want to put in a river or something else below track level then you'd have to rase the track first. I feel like the changes in evelation wouldn't be more than an inch. that leaves 2" which is over 25 scale feet. Wikapedia reveales that the highest clearence standard for height in North America is just over 20 feet, so 2" is enough hight clearance for N scale cars.
I suppose if one really wanted a river then I would suggest a creek..The hangup is one willing to make a grove in the table for that creek? A large culvert pipe would work instead of a major bridge over the creek..
IMHO a gaming table layout like the table pictured every inch counts even in N Scale.