Display Board

With The Brawl closing in, one of the final things needed was a display board. Well I suppose it wasn't needed, but it is worth Appearance points, or a point, or something. I have never really made a display board before, so this would be my first foray into the display board world. Also, I am a crap carpenter. I can't draw a straight line with a straight edge, let alone cut straight. And I don't have an extensive tool collection either. Pretty much just my hobby tools, a tool set we got for our wedding, and like, a screw gun.

What I wanted in a display board was pretty much a place to hold my army as I moved from table to table, as well as that giant friggin tome that is the rule book. I have seen people make shelves or drawers in their display board, and I wanted to do something like that. But alas, limited tools and crap carpentry skills were going to be an obstacle. Cue MacGyver music.

This is where I started. A letter basket, a pice of beveled bass wood, some dark stain, and Gorilla glue. All said and done like $36 in supplies. Though the letter basket in the picture is actually to replace the one I had one my desk at work.

After acquiring my supplies, the first thing I did was tape off the edges of the bass wood that would serve as my display board. After that I covered the top of the display board with white glue mixed with water, then dumped concrete aggregate on top. After the white glue and water mix dried, I shook the excess concrete aggregate from the board and painted on a base layer. Between the glue and the paint, I figured the aggregate would be affixed well enough that I could do other work.

Next, I took the letter box from my desk and gorilla glued it to the bottom of the display board. What I forgot to do was stain the bottom of the display board, so there is that. I had to go in and paint around the the letter box after the fact. Even still, after setting the letter box how I wanted it, I piled a moderately heavy box on top. I let it sit over night to really solidify the bond between the display board and the box. The next morning I tested it...

So far so good.

After the stress test it was just a matter of dry brushing and washing the top of the display board to make it match the basing on my miniatures.

Lastly, a little stain on the sides, and once that dried some static grass for the display board.

And there ya go. The letter box serves as legs for the display board and a handy place to hold the tome of 40k, army lists, and a codex. As with anything, if I made another I would do things differently, mainly I would get a bigger board, as displaying my brawl army on this makes for a pretty crowded house.

Live and learn. This will be great for the end of the month, and I had fun doing it. The effect, for the effort, pays off. Outside of a lot of waiting for things to dry, the process was simple and fast.

What do you think? What do you use to display your army at tournaments?

Thanks for reading,
T