Caulked TerrAin Mat - UD 23/7 re longevity

[Vagabond]

Ah right. I understand. 

I’ve heard good reports of spray adhesive but in recent years I’ve had to avoid sprays (health issue) so it’s not something I’m ever likely to test. 

I suppose glue sniffing is going to catch up with you eventually. 

[Silent Invader]

I suppose glue sniffing is going to catch up with you eventually. 

 

[Mindenbrush]

I played in a Carnage & Glory game today at Historicon, the table was covered with 1" insulation foam sheets and then hills paced on that.
Overlaid with a cloth it gave very good terrain undulations.
Trees have a pin in the base ans stick straight through the cloth into the foam.

[Silent Invader]

 

Mats with contours beneath are popular but I’m not into the big games where such softer, flowing changes in terrain would make a difference (or could even be accommodated  ). As it happens, this mat - which uses a stiffer, vinyl backed oil cloth - will not gather and slump like a mat made from more flexible material such as a decorators cloth, and certainly not like a teddy bear fur mat, which is perhaps the most flexible type (being absent caulk and sand).

I’ve mentioned before but it bears repeating: this thread isn’t intended as a tutorial but is simply me documenting the steps so I can repeat (or vary) them when I make another. I’m certainly not promoting the caulked mat as the optimum terrain solution as what I’ve made is very specific to the type of  games that I will play on it, the table area I have, my available storage space, the other terrain items that I’m making to use with it and, of course, my preferred aesthetic. For example, big games played out on the rolling vastness of the South African Veldt or Russian Steppes can look at their best with the ‘long grass’ and underlying structure that can be achieved with teddy bear fur. For such games, a caulked mat such as I’ve made here really would be sub-optimum.

[Silent Invader]

It’s just over  a year since the mat was made and I’ve been asked some questions as to how well it’s fared.

The answer is - fine 

I have heard that sometimes with a higher quotient of sand, cracking can occur but all appears fine.



I can’t say why it hasn’t cracked but it might be because:

• it has a vinyl backing
• waterproof PVA was included in the mix with the caulk and the sand
• the surface had a thinned coat of waterproof PVA onto which the grass was scattered
• it is stored rolled on an approximately 4cm dia plastic pipe
• it is stored in a cool room out of sunlight
• or some, all or none of the above

[OSHIROmodels]

Good to know 

[Munindk]

Thanks for the follow up, very helpful information

[Pzkpfw_Steve]

I have a 12x5 mat i made using Acrylic Caulk with latex on a canvas dropsheet.  No PVA, just some additional Latex paint.  i mixed in the sand in the caulk and flocked immediately after.

its been 4 years and it has not cracked at all.  i store it on a 5.5 foot 4" diameter Cardboard tube( the heavy duty kind that bulk newsprint comes on)   I think the lack of folding is what keeps them from cracking.

[Silent Invader]

Apologies I seem to have missed that last post but thanks for the input. 

For completeness, I’ve been making some changes/enhancements to the mat, which are covered here:

https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=116169.msg1563601#msg1563601

[Silent Invader]

For completeness, I have made further changes to the mat that are detailed here:

https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=116169.msg1637437#msg1637437

[Patrice]

Wonderful results. 

Pardon my froggy-ness (although I'm a Breton) but I'm still struggling to understand what all of you intend by "caulk" ...I believed it was a shipyard term, the stuff they put between planks in the hulls of wooden boats. Do you mean the silicone or acrylic products they sell to seal joints in bathrooms etc?

[Silent Invader]

That’s exactly it!

Though a matte paintable decorators version rather than the super slick bathroom type