Tables for modular towns ? Any advice for a UK AFOL ?

[Amiko]

Hi.

I've recently given up resisting and have started buying modular buildings, which has led to a small town's worth of buildings that is already too big for my current furniture.

It looks like I've been sucked into the project and am now looking for suitable ways to display the town. I have a fair bit of room but little idea of what other town planners use to put their streets on. I'm hoping to make more room for tables by storing my Lego underneath in the plastic tubs / drawers that currently line one wall of my room. What does everyone else use in the way of tables ? Where's a good place to start looking ? Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I'm looking forward to showing everyone pics of the town as and when I can display it.

[tikicult]

I built custom tables from plywood and lumber. For $30 I can make two tables, one 3x6 and one 3x3 (measured in baseplates). I chose this method because I could get the exact size I wanted, and its easy to expand/modify to obtain different configurations.

[Off the wall]

The best set up I've seen is a large square table with the buildings facing inwards towards what amounts to a town square/park. You should be able to construct that type of table with plywood and some supporting pieces of wood. Right now, I'm using office tables that are about six feet wide and thirty inches deep. I'm not happy with that set up and want to eventually have one large square table in the center of the room where I can go with the town square design.

Of course, one needs a room to devote to mostly lego stuff to make this design work.

[kibosh]

I built custom tables from plywood and lumber. For $30 I can make two tables, one 3x6 and one 3x3 (measured in baseplates). I chose this method because I could get the exact size I wanted, and its easy to expand/modify to obtain different configurations.

Can you post pictures of your designs? I need to build some tables as well. Because I want to do LUG displays at various locations, I'm looking for something light.

[tedbeard]

Here is one version: http://www.baylug.org/zonker/tables/building.html

[kibosh]

Here is one version: http://www.baylug.or...s/building.html

Thanks. I have seen these plans, and these are what my LUG uses. I'm looking for a lighter alternative for being able to do solos shows. Lighter, and easier to transport that is.

I wonder if I could use PVC pipe for the legs?

[SalvoBrick]

There are the ADLIS legs from Ikea that should be good for your needs.

[Capn Frank]

You could check out the Town Layout Index. There's also an old index that is no longer maintainedI, but it could give you some ideas for a layout and then what you'd need for table(s).

[Amiko]

This is a brilliant and informative start everyone. Thanks for your thoughts. I'll have a search and a think using your ideas as a starting point. If I find anything interesting or useful, I'll post back here. It sounds like I might have to look into making my own ... scary, as wood doesn't quite fit together as easily as LEGO... lol. Thanks again.

[kibosh]

There are the ADLIS legs from Ikea that should be good for your needs.

Very cool. Thanks for the suggestion. And to the OP, so sorry for hijacking your thread, but hopefully my questions will help you as well!

I'm going to need several cheap, light, easy to transport tables. Those legs would be great, but I'd need a quick way to attach them to my table tops.

[tman684]

Right now I have an old diningroom table, with the leaflets inserted, which gives me an area of about 4x9 (baseplate), and then an old folding table against that, which drops down two inches, but lets me use "hill" baseplates and houses with basements on that level.

[Xyver]

We just use 6 foot bi-fold trestle tables. These are generally 180cmx75cm which equates to 7x3 32x32 baseplates with only a couple of studs overhang on the width. You should be able to find them at any larger office supply store or hardware store. They are relatively cheep, saves you having to make something yourself and easily transportable as they fold up. This does sometimes cause some issue though as some of them don't quite sit level, but that's what you get for ease of use.

Custom built tables would be great, we have used them in the past, but they require assembly at each show if you make them small and portable, or you have trouble transporting them if you make them too large. We did try a large plywood table top that sat on smaller tables, but transporting it proved too much of a hassle due to the size and just settled on trestle tables instead. We do 4-5 shows a year, so something easy to transport is important.

If I was to have a permanent display, a custom built table would be the way to go. I do have a couple of plywood raised sections that I use on my display to vary heights, they work great.

[Amiko]

Thanks again for more ideas. I've been looking into IKEA solutions as they're cheap, relatively near to me and global enough to have some online ideas floating around concerning Lego. Lack tables used to be exactly 2 32x32 baseplates wide / deep and could therefore be used in a modular fashion to design, then expand a town. The trouble is, IKEA appear to have changed the dimensions. Has anyone had experience of the smaller Lack tables recently ? They're only five pounds each, so if they're still the right size then I think they would at least get me going for under fifty quid.