With a lot of folks down-sizing, I bet you could find a "free" tabletop for a layout. There's always someone trying to unload an old ping-pong table which makes a nice starter foundation for a nice sized layout. Even if you only used half of a ping-pong table, that would make a great starter layout. I would laminate some pink or blue insulation board to the surface and you're ready to start. Insulation board is around 12.00 a sheet at Home Depot or Lowes. I would go with a minimum of a 1 inch thick board.