Could a plastic board cover been made by FFG to act as a method of stopping minatures from scarping the artwork on a board. Something akin to an Ipod screen protector. As I have seen plenty of stuff for cards and such but to me its pointless if the board ends up looking all manky. I have tried clear pastic sheets which work well but they tend to slip time to time and stuff ends up everywhere. Could a non-adhesive cover be made or is this all just die in the sky wishful thinking?

I'm not sure if there could be a removable cover that would be applicable to most boards, seeing as there are variations in the size and the way they fold nearly game to game. One idea that popped in my head would be a clear spray sealant (often used for miniature wargaming) which is essential a clear coat to seal in the paint job, This could provide that extra layer of protection on the board, although I'd almost recommend trying this on a game that's infrequently played to see if there's any negatives to the idea. Hope this helps a bit in the meantime.

You might check out your local art supply or drafting supply store for rolls of clear/transparent self-adhesive vinyl. They can be a pain to put on, but really provide excellent protection to the boards surface. Something else that works well with thin boards is to get a large piece of clear acetate and simply slip the boards underneath - 100% protection.

AJC

Did some digging and found an example of the film I was talking about:

www.dickblick.com/products/dura-lar-clear-adhesive-backed-film/

This item, or something similar is typically listed as a "drafting film". There are others that do not have a permanent adhesive backing (use static), which may, or may not be more to your liking.

AJC

AJ,

If I'm understanding this correctly, those are pretty much the equivalent of page sized ipod/cell phone screen covers that would protect the board. Have you ever used them in the past? Had any luck with them?

The only concern I'd have would be placing the self adhesive ones on the boards, I'd want to make sure there were no air bubbles or anything below the film, which could be frustrating depending on how adhesive the sheets are. Thats a good idea though, thanks for the link.

No direct experience with that particular product. My dad and I picked up a roll of the stuff over 15 years ago and have used it to cover/protect our war game boards (ASL in particular). The adhesive made mounting/covering somewhat tricky, but not too difficult. Original purpose of the stuff was for drafting - cutting out pieces for spraying inks. Note that my dad still has the same roll...it lasts a LONG time...

Looking at the products available today, I'm going to be ordering a non-adhesive (I agree - I think that these are like the cell phone protectors you can get) sheet and an adhesive sheet for testing. My preference would be to use the non-adhesive as it will likely be more forgiving, but am not sure about durability/peeling.

Regards,

AJC

For various games, I use sheet acrylic laid on top of the board. Lexan is also good but a tad pricier.

This is especially helpful on games which use map tiles, such as AT-43, dungeon twister, etc. But any board game where you're paranoid about ruining the board art this is useful for.

...or you could just add some small felt pads (like they make for the backs of picture frames) attached to the minis to stop them scratching the board, or anything else for that matter.

you could always do what i do and just use a sheet of 1/8 inch plexiglass