RESEARCHING YOUR TABLE

Okay, you know what sort of table you'll be building. Maybe it's a Desert wasteland, maybe a verdant Agri-world, or a stinking chemical dump. There's one important thing you should do, what ever it is.
RESEARCH.
I know this is sort of a dirty word. It's what you do at school when you have projects. But that doesn't;t mean it can;t be fun. It's just that at school, you're researching stuff that doesn't really interest you. Now you're researching something interesting: your terrain. Now I must agree that if you've decided to make an alien planet with alien vegetation, there's not to much point in research. However, if you're making a terrain set with any basis in reality, it's worth finding out what the real thing looks like. For instance, all you Lustrians could read up on Jungles, Khemrians can bury themselves in books on Egypt, and men of the Emprie can read up on medieval Europe. But don't stop there. Necromundans:check out industrial sites, and books on Industrial Archeology. Bolter wavers: Check out real world bunkers, like Fortress Europe!
All this research will not only give you ideas for terrain, it will also help you make your terrain more realistic. For instance, I used books and websites on Egypt, and Arabian buildings for reference. In fact, I had no idea what Khemrian buildings should look like until I looked up Arab buildings on the net. And I'd never seen a Jebel before either.
If you're lucky enough to live in a country which resembles your terrain set (lucky bastard), you can just walk out the door, and get ideas. I, however, live in Melbourne, Australia, a city which is only just over 150 years old, in a country which has no buildings over 200 years old. It's also a country so unbelievably big that I can;t just drive over to take a look at the desert. The nearest one is over the state border, at least 10 hours drive away as the crow flies. (Australian roads are designed by drunken wombats. They never go direct.) So I have to do most of my research at the local library. If you've never been to your local library (you fool!), you'll be surprised at what you can find. I've even found an old book from the '70s at Caulfield Library, which is roughly speaking, a guide to making games terrain! (it's called "Fun with Historical Projects", and it's a sort of introducing to building models of historical settlements) As long as you can think of a country which resembles your terrain, you can find reference!
Pay attention not only to buildings, but to the terrain itself. Is it rocky? is it flat, or hilly? What color is it? How dense is the ground cover? What shape is it? A little bit of research will help make you entire table look much better.
Another thing, try to get Kids books. They have more pictures, and they often use artists impressions. The difference between seeing a photograph in a serious, adult book, and a painting in a kids book is important. The Photo will be as it appears today, probably the worse for wear. The painting, on the other hand, shows it as it probably was when new. You probably want the latter.
Just to help you along a bit, here's a list of places to check out:

This list is pretty short, and by no means complete, It's only meant to get you started.
Remember: Good research makes for good terrain.