"Terrain mat w/ static grass- Anyone ever try this?" Topic

Hi all,

I'm thinking about slapping another mat together and I wanted to use static grasses so that they'll match my basing system. I can't recall anyone eveyr doing such a mat with static grass before, and my own past attempts have all used the finely ground sort of flock. I was wondering if the traditional brown-latex caulk technique would work with flock, or if glue could be used, or what might work.

Thanks!

I've seen something like this done in the past, though I think it was Anne of those mats for railroaders. Over time the mat got matted down by gamers putting their hand down to reach across the table, figure bases, etc. it looked good, even with the matting.

Go for it

I have used standard white glue for several mats and board.

Paint the mat a ground colour, let dry and dry brush a lighter shade. You really do not need to cover the entire mat, but leaving small bald spots would give it a natural appearance,

timuilank- I was thinking about going with white glue on teh mat as it's a lot easier and cheaper than the latex caulk. Plus it's clear when it dries. Any issues with shrinking when you use white glue? I'd imagine it needs to be fastened down before you work on it, right?

I used standard linoleum (2mm) with a rubber "waffle" underside. The beige coloured surface was painted in earth tones, and the white glue offered no shrinkage problem.

After application of the static grass, I covered the mat with newspaper and pressed the grass to give it a secure hold.

Thirty minutes later I tapped the backside to let the loose grass fall off.

The hills, road, river and fields are made with the same material.

Cheers,

Timurilank,

How did you get the roll of linoleum to lie flat?

I just does.

If left rolled up for long periods (months) the mat will lie flat after 5 or 10 minutes.

That looks a good solution – thank you, I think I will be doing that.

I imagine it just needs a warm room to lay flat and lose the roll effect

timuralank- Thanks! That's just the info I was looking for. I have a nice cloth to try it out with tonight. I'ma doa few steps differently because my cloth is the wrong color, but it's good tos ee that static grass can be used successfully. I want a really neat backdrop for my Blucher brigades!

"I imagine it just needs a warm room to lay flat and lose the roll effect"

That might help, but I found if you roll the mat loose or relaxed, as in the photo, this will help a lot.

Good luck,

I have used coloured flock glue quite successfully with static grass.