A thread on TMP (http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=263114) started with an excellent tutorial helped me decide to try this method to make a cloth for my upcoming Little Wars game.
The method is to spread flexible caulk over a canvas sheet, and then color with flock. The Lion of the North's tutorial on the method is here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76935015@N03/sets/72157629346115756/with/6886926400/), and I recommend it. Elliot's tutorial is also useful (http://www.flickr.com/photos/36331979@N00/sets/72157610259987470/). Finally, Jeff's games can be seen here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/war_artisan/collections/72157606732184920/).
My cloth was a learning experience, but I am pleased with it. I made a 6' by 9' peice, with a river along the portion of one edge. There is a road intersection, with clearly cultivated areas then other areas. It was a weekend project.
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| Working on the first section in -- you can see a line of lose flocking in the foreground |
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| In the process of removing all the lose flocking before moving on to the next strip. |
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| Same section, with all the lose flocking removed. |
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| Overview of the table, set up for the Viking - Irish game. |
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| Close up of part of the battle. |
What I like about it is the clarity of the ground -- terrain features are clearly delineated with a minimum of effort, and the way my bases go with it. Since I used flock on both the game matt and my figures bases they are better integrated than with my standard green gaming matt.
I am looking forward to using it in convention games, and comparing it to other matts used.





Pretty sweet looking. So roughly what did it cost to create? I've thought about doing one for a long time but was reluctent to take the plunge.
ReplyDeleteBy memory, the cloth was $10 to 15, the caulk another $45, the tools i needed were $10, and the flocking must have been $40 to $50. Putting the roads in restricts it somewhat, but I know you could add fields, woods, hills etc., so the cloth could be made to be either more or less generic.
ReplyDeleteI do think it looks good, and it matches my bases very well.