Sired's Map project - Updated- 4/16 - files available see first post

Hi @Timothy-Gengarella, I never found good printable artillery files for A&A so I drew up a few, including a generic “Advanced Artillery” piece for use in systems that use them, including GW36.

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Shot you a PM with some details :)

I just wanted to say that I printed out a very large map size at 2440mm x 1118mm ( roughly 8 foot x 4 foot) on a digital printed transparency with a matt laminate and it has turned out fantastic. The quality was amazing. I searched everywhere to see if it could upscale and could not find the answers. Hopefully this will help someone who is thinking of doing the same.
I have built a custom table with magnets sunken into the table to hold the map in place. I wanted to use the table to play other games so the map had to roll up.
I also wanted to use the table for Global War 1936 and the magnets work well

I have been playing around with different configurations for a custom table and wanted to note some things I’ve landed on that I really like. A main one thing is having the map mounted so that it can slide around as needed on top of a bigger playing area. My table is 65” x 95” in total with a 5.5” arm rest around the outside and the middle is a recessed neoprene surface. I have the OOB Global map mounted on 1/2” rigid foam with a 1/2” aluminum frame around it. This allows the map to slide up close to whoever’s turn it is, but then be in the middle so both players can roll dice In front of them without disturbing the map and in easy view of the other player. (Plus we like lots of room to roll the bones). This ability to adjust the surface along with a standing height, makes it comfortable for long uses because you can move around more and don’t feel as tied down.
Things I’ve learned and changed from original design - I originally used too big of a frame for the map and mounted it on too high of a foam block (you can see these pictures at the bottom) - it made it hard to see the other player’s dice and the big frame took up too much real estate. My global map is mounted on much thinner foam (the framing is bad, you can see if you look closely) but I also used much thinner aluminum angle for the frame. This gives just enough grip when needing to move the map around (I use furniture slides on the bottom, which glide very nicely on the neoprene) but doesn’t make the whole thing too bulky. Having it an inch or so off the surface keeps the dice off, but isn’t so heigh that you can’t see the other player’s dice rolls. When playing other versions (such as Zombies) the board is much smaller, but it can easily swap in and out on the same table since it can move around where ever it is needed or be pushed aside.
I originally made it normal table height, but found long reaches while sitting were harder and it just felt cramped. Standing height with a bar stool is a great way to have the best of both worlds.
The 5.5” rim around the table itself gives you a nice arm rest that doesn’t interfere with the gaming surface. I’m playing with how to best add some cushion to this part - open to suggestions. Sometimes I just lay a piece of leftover neoprene on it.
Dice bounce nice on the neoprene and stay off the floor. It also feels nice and has enough give to allow things to slide but be picked up easily. Wouldn’t definitely go with neoprene again as a surface covering.
I made the drawers open to the inside of the table so you can stay hunched over the action while accessing and stowing stuff away. 50/50 on whether I would keep this if I were to do it again. If I were doing it again, I might try to build customer drawers form scratch using actual drawer glides, but that was beyond my ability when I first did this, so I just used clear plexiglass boxes with aluminum pulls mounted on them. It’s nice having them clear, and I was happy with how the pulls came out, but without glides they can be a little fussy sliding in and out of their slots.
I originally designed the table so that I could put a cover surface back on top when not in use, but find I don’t really ever do that, so if I were to do it again, I might not mess with that part (I never even finished staining those as you can see in the pictures).
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Well he did get map free. Just paid shipping costs. If he gives to you at just shipping costs probably be around 45 - 50 bucks.

Any customization is welcome on this thread.

Your other question would probably go in one or two places.

You can either ask your question on the thread, "other axis and allies variants, "  or the thread, "house rules, " which might be a better place for it.

That would be my guess, but others may have suggestions as well.

I hope that helps. :-)

John

@Imperious:

You can’t teach this because the learning curve is high for Illustrator CS, You just have to do it and struggle and it may take 10 years to be really good. I do suggest NEVER USE PAINT SHOP PRO. Their is nothing “pro” about it. It will destroy your computer from day one. Also, to save a few hundred bucks, buy an educational version ( its the same) using a student ID, you can just join the school and not even register for classes, just to get the ID and buy the program in the student store–make sure they have it in stock first.

You could register for a night class in basic Photoshop and Illustrator which would get you that student ID card and an introduction to the software.

To answer my own question, I am using the supreme map of IL now, IPC values are the same and so are the borders, although not necessarily always the shape of the country, but that is irrelevant.