Tanuki | 19 Jan 2009 8:06 a.m. PST |
As the title says, I'm in the market for a new terrain mat and I rather like the look of these. Anyone got one? Pleased with your purchase or not? How durable and flexible are they? |
Plynkes | 19 Jan 2009 8:26 a.m. PST |
Yeah, I just got one, and I was a little underwhelmed by it. Looking at the pics on the website I bought it from the mat looked pretty grassy, i.e. as if it actually had grass growing on the mat, like a figure base with static grass or flocking (or whatever you call it) on it. But when mine arrived it didn't have the appearance I was expecting at all. In fact, it hardly seems any different to the felt mats I already had. Not grassy at all, just green and dead flat. I think the photos certainly give off the wrong impression. However, on closer examination of the site it seems that if you brush the things with a wire brush they fluff up and create a more grassy look. But I haven't had time to try that yet. So the jury is still deliberating as far as I'm concerned. It all might turn out well yet. Obviously can't speak of durability as I only just got it. |
Mat O War | 19 Jan 2009 8:32 a.m. PST |
Well we do have a refund option if you aint happy with it. Not sure how the pics dont relate to the mat, as the photos are of the same product, no different, not even brushed. They are not all green, their is colour variation in the mats. Some fibres are brown in tone. Here is a standard 6 x 4 green mat in use
link |
doublesix66 | 19 Jan 2009 8:46 a.m. PST |
Are these the mat that 'Antenociti's Workshop' sell as I was looking at one of these I take it they can be rolled up and can have hills put underneath? |
Tanuki | 19 Jan 2009 8:49 a.m. PST |
That's the ones I was looking at too – I notice they come in three different weights, which I suspect will affect how closely they follow the contours of any hills underneath, or support minis placed on them. |
runs with scissors | 19 Jan 2009 8:50 a.m. PST |
Any pics of the desert mat in action? I'm considering this for wild west games – the price looks good. |
Mat O War | 19 Jan 2009 8:58 a.m. PST |
They are the ones sold by Antenociti
I shipped him a few to flog! They come in three sizes, not weights. The mats are very durable, we have driven a car over one to test them and they come out fine, but part of this is a 'stiffness' when you first get them. After a few months of use they get softer and follow the contours more. We have one that we have used at the club for over a year and it sits well ontop of various things to make hills, but they do take time to unstiffen. The benefit is of course that these mats are virtually indestructible and folds drop out of them very quickly. They should last longer than the average wargamer. ;-) Desert mat in action
link link Both the links above show one of our desert mats with a quick overspray of yellow and grey car paint to give more depth
I will try and find some pics of a plain mat in use
|
Mrs Antenociti | 19 Jan 2009 9:05 a.m. PST |
The mats are really a bit too strong/tough for them to easily be used with books placed underneath them – they are nowhere near as soft and flexible as felt. (The weights are the rough postal weight btw, not a reference to different thickness') They can be shaped but there is a tendency for them to rise up and not stay in depressions and so forth. As for looks – we haven't seen anything better. That may seem blunt but compared to GW, Noch, WS and other gaming mats there is no comparison in terms of looks or durability Mat-O-War wins hands down, it isnt really a contest. If you want a "grassier" tuft look then you an wire brush up patches of them, we did try this with an are and it works – in some respects too well as then you have issues with placement of figures, figures falling over and so forth because the mat isn't flat. Which we suggest is always going to be a fundamental "issue" with any mat – some want the tufty look and put up with the issues of figures or models not sitting flat, others want the flat cloth that looks like static grass, is tough and durable. We would suggest that Mat-O-War is the very best of the later category being far tougher than any felt mat and with a look that imitates static grass right down to the multi-various hue of the fibres (one can consider it as highly compressed and "fixed" static grass really) . We do understand what Plynkes is saying though in so far as it is not "tufty" which something like a static-grass mat is. However static-grass mats shed which is their perpetual and often terminal problem. We don't think the pictures give a false impression though (they are, at the end of the day, real-life pictures of the product), however we are having a FOW game here on Thursday using the Mat-O-War so I will get Jed to take some photos of the mat in its pristine condition (non-wire brushed). We have given out some of these mats to local gaming clubs where they have received a universal thumbs up for colour and durability although, as Plynikes rightly says, the durability issue needs more time to fully assess it. |
doublesix66 | 19 Jan 2009 9:34 a.m. PST |
Thanks for the quick replies, I think I will go ahead and get one for the price. |
Tanuki | 19 Jan 2009 1:39 p.m. PST |
Missed the different weights being the result of different sized mats. That's what I get for browsing on the quiet at work. To be honest, the price is great and a recommendation from Antenociti is hard to beat. I put my order in, and I'll let you folks know what I think of it. Thanks for all your thoughts folks, negative views are always useful to hear as well as positive ones. |
Goose666 | 22 Jun 2010 3:03 a.m. PST |
I have a couple of these mats. Very nice indeed. I was not quite able to get all the creases out of mine but they are not heavily noticable. Because of the nature of the material you can even, draw, paint and mark on roads, fields, rivers tracks etc on one side and not have it show through on the other. You can also take a wire brush them and fluff them up to make long grass. It is best to store them rolled. Certainly better than things like the GW variant. Far tougher and far nicer looking. |
Goose666 | 22 Jun 2010 3:13 a.m. PST |
Anyone in the UK after them, try here; link |
Goose666 | 26 Nov 2011 8:37 a.m. PST |
It looks like Mat-o-war have gone out of business. Their website has died and they are not responding to emails any more! |
Fatco1365 | 30 Nov 2011 12:01 p.m. PST |
Yes, looks like it. Ordered mine in March, never arrived. Promised a replacement, never materialised, then offered refund. Funny enough, no refund and stopped replying to e-mails. C'est la vie. |
Marc the plastics fan | 25 Aug 2015 11:28 a.m. PST |
Back in stock. Just got me ne very stiff and creased so will see how it softens over time |