"GW Battle Mat- any good?" Topic

I'm looking to get a quick, easy, cheap mat to turn the dining table into a battlefield between meals until I can afford my own mansion with gaming room! Is the GW item any good, or are there any UK available alternatives, as it usually pains me to give GW money? (Although it's always fun to answer 'SS Das Reich Panzer Division!' when the ingratiating assistant badgers you about what you are painting as a precursor to whipping out the latest 'must have' add- on from GW with a view to trying to sell you it!)

If it's the green static grassed covered deal that sells for about $30 USD then it's worth it. That's comparably priced with other mfr's mats that I've seen and it works a treat. Have one spread over my garage battlescape now (playing Dirtside 2).

It has a quite flexible black cloth backing, much more flexible than others I've used. It still has a bit of trouble lying flat at the creases. The flock is stuck very nicely.

A cheaper alternative is to get some brownish green felt and using spray paint or air brush, discolor in patches with various earth colors.

The new Citadel one they are selling in GW stores is very nice. You can iron the creases out using the permanent press setting (iron from the back, though) and it cuts nicely with a stanley knife (you'll need an extra set of hands to keep it taut, though). It also matches the static grass GW sells--one of the few GW products I think is really quite good.

It's a very good product. The only problem that I see is that the grass is a little darker than the previous (with paper back). So if you have old hills, they will look light green on it.

Some pictures with the new battle mat
link

A game with the old (light green) ones and hills
link

Olivier

Nothing wrong with hills being a lighter color than the ground level,in fact,during warmer weather,it naturally occurs that way,d/t loss of moisture.

I like it a lot. I bought 2. If you read my previous threads, I did have some trouble with creases. However, a bit of ironing and hanging fixed those. Be sure to you the steam function if you have it.

Steve
Cavalcade Wargames
cavalcadewargames.com

I've had it for years, still use it almost weekly at my games.

I've also heard that a hair dryer will help remove the wrinkles with out the danger of an iron set on too high of a temperature melting/burning it.

IMHO the Battlemat is very good indeed. It is the only GW item I own, but well worth the investment.

Actually you don't even need hills on top of the mat. I place all of my hills underneath and the flexibility of the mat makes for smooth contours. The hills you place underneath are better when they have a smooth transition on them and a nice gentle angle, but even rough cut out hills from styrofoam will work underneath this mat because of how well it takes contours.

I own two of them and they are the best mat I have ever owned. You will be surprised how well they take contours once you start putting hills underneath. They are the only mat I have found to do this so well.

Also, if you want to use a different mat such as desert and still want the smooth contours, put the GW underneath and the other mat on top and you can still have the nice smooth contours the GW mat provides.

Besides paint, this is also the only GW thing I own.

Sounds worth a spend then!

Now- where is a single man going to find a hair dryer and an ironing board to get rid of all those creases?!! :O)

Buy a heat gun with an adjustable temperature setting and use it on low. For an ironing board, use a board or table with a towel over it.

Well worth the buy – use mine all the time

I dont worry about those creases.Somehow,once the game starts,we seem to forget all about them. We do try to fold against the old fold when putting away,though,that way nothing permanent sets in. The only problem that I have encountered with mine,is I have one tiny little spot that looks like it had some wearing on it,and the material is discolored. No big deal,and I still reccommend the product,especially for the price,its a nice mat.

It's a great product. Maybe one day GW will bring out desert and snow mats?

Good piece of kit although the change in colour from their earlier versions spoils it for me somewhat. On the plus side a few sprays with an aerosol soon breaks up the golf course look.

I bought one a while back & was dismayed to find creases in the material pill where it was folded & squeezed into its small box. However, after leaving it rolled as a tube for a while, the creasing seems to have relaxed and mostly gone.

I bought one from Totalwargamer.co.uk who were very helpful and fast at delivering.

It did have a few creases when taken out of the box but a lot went on a steam iron on the reverse. I might store it rolled up rather than folded and see if that helps.

Overall it does seem like a very good mat and fits my dining table nicely, and I'm looking forward to finally fighting a few battle on it! :O)

What? Is no-one going to mention how much these things moult? After using one I always find my table covered with flock, I'm not sure where it all comes from as the mat always seems to have a thick covering…

Fantastic product though, well worth the money.

not experienced any loss of fibres !

The new GW one, two actually, use have not had any molting going on. Are you sure you are talking about the same one?