"Roads 15mm - Buy or Make Yourself" Topic

Roads in 15mm. Do you buy them or make your own? What is the correct width to use for the average ACW road?

Make 'em. My roads are 20mm wide.

I make mine. One inch wide to accommodate most of my 15mm bases.

If you're crafty and have the time, make them. There are some good roads out there for sale, if you're not! I use a thin spread of silicone caulk on saran wrap and press the dirt into it. Then I use a properly scaled wagon wheel to roll ruts through it. If you want more details, write me at rndtopmin@yahoo.com My roads look great and have lasted over 20 years so far with no visible deterioration.

I find 98% of the pre-made stuff to small and looks sad when a wagon only has one wheel on the road and one off the side. or 4 troops standing abreast don't fit in them.

Roads are always a real challenge.

Most roads on ACW battlefields would be pretty small. As wide as a wagon, maybe two for some of the major pikes out East. So a road should be what – 20' wide? And if your ground scale is 1"=50 yards, it should be about 1/8". And then they need to be in scale with your buildings or you have roads wider than houses which always looks wonky.

I'm not a fan of resin roads because they never really lie flat, and are often very thick so there's a huge "berm" on either side.

I've seen some nice looking one on felt but even that is a bit thick.

My preferred method for dirt roads is to use…dirt. I have a tub of very fine baseball infield dirt. I strained it to get out the pebbles. I simply lay it down on my cloth with a spoon. When the game is over, just shake it off.

Wargammers terrain makes the best roads. The are durable, flexible, and look amazing. There customer service is second to none as well. My vote is for them all the way!

Make mine out of thin felt and caulk. Use brown cloth, brown caulk, sprinkle them with sand while wet and you may not even feel the need to paint!

Use Roofing shingles. They have texture and different colors. You can also paint and flock them. They are also flexible and you can carve wagon wheel tracks in them. They are also cheap and sometimes you can go to a construction site and get some that are being discarded.

For dirt roads I just buy brown model railroad ballast and pour the roads on the tabletop. At the end of gaming I pick most of it up and then shake the little bit thats left out of the cloth.

@Fire Zouave: sounds like a great idea, I may need to "borrow" it!

I use brown felt 40mm wide. It's easy to roll up and it sticks fairly well to most surfaces. I'm experimenting with drybrushing paint on the felt but haven't gotten an effect I like yet.

I have roads, and rivers from Wargamers Terrain great stuff, and outstanding service.

Lion in the Stars, if you want to try it, write me. There are important details to follow to get it right. rndtopmin@yahoo.com

I should try to find a pic of my roads or take some new pics.

I make my own out of jay cloths and grouting.

I use brown felt. Cut 1" wide. Spray with spray adhesive. Coat in fine dirt. Push dirt in with roller. Let dry. Spray paint. Actually, I airbrush with Tamiya Buff for roads, and Matt Earth for trails. Edge the felt with rubber cement and flock with grass to match your gaming cloth/mat.

I made a tub full of roads and trails using this method. Complete with odd shapes, crossroads, roads that connect with trails, bends, and curves. I'm set for life. And the felt will conform to any hill or terrain shape.

Thanks everyone! Great suggestions and ideas. I decided to go with Wargamers' Terrain. I have to report that I am very pleased. Excellent roads that look great and are very flexible. They arrived expertly packaged in a very nice storage box. Each piece is handmade and unique.

The customer service was outstanding! I have 20 years of retail sales experience and I am VERY picky when it comes to customer service. I would highly recommend this company.

I use a homemade "War Artisan" style terrain cloth with pre-marked roads. Have the cloth bigger than your table, use different arrangement of cloth and hills you get lots of variations.