"Table mat or cover for NWF - suggestions" Topic

Hi,

I am trying to figure out what would be the best table cover for my NWF games – I have a massive amount of hills – which are a reddish, greyish brown (if you can imagine that). I just have been unable to find anything that matches – the area to be covered are 9 feet x 5 feet (ping pong table) and a smaller table about 8 x 4 feet. Any suggestions greatly appreciates

Thanks,
Frank

You can always paint a mat to match. Just use house paint.

Hi

Check out mel's way of making desert cloths

YouTube link

I would use Harbor Freight rubber floor mats, painted with 4-6 colors of craft paint, using natural sponge applicators. Be sure to wet blend the colors. Fast, easy, great looking, scalable, and amazingly modular. Cheers!

I would use Harbor Freight rubber floor mats, painted with 4-6 colors of craft paint, using natural sponge applicators.

A couple things about this:

1. Those are not rubber, they're EVA foam. That's a good thing: latex paints and various types of terrain-building caulking stick to EVA foam pretty well (on the dull, flat side, not the shiny textured side). I don't know anything that will adhere to cured rubber.
   
2. I would worry about craft paints on EVA foam. Acrylic tends to lack sufficient flexibility and will probably craze, crack¸ and (eventually) flake off. I painted my sea mats with the cheapest available household latex paint, and they're still in good shape after years of use. Caulking is also flexible enough to be permanently durable.

I love these EVA foam floor mats as terrain, and I've been using them as a sea surface for years now.

I'm also impressed with canvas, either caulked and flocked or painted with latex mixed with sand. You could either try to make the cloth a close color match to your hills, or redecorate the hills with the same materials you use to decorate the cloth.

- Ix

Thanks for the input gents. I am leaning toward using cloth or fabric.

Frank,
Go classic, use tan felt.

Whatever material you end up using, I would recommend you choose a darker, rather than lighter, shade. While much of Afghanistan is desert, I think a darker value will set off your hills as well as your miniatures better. Have you checked out: link He has some great terrain.