making a hex mat

[anevilgiraffe]

ok, space combat beckons, have rules, have slowly accummulated some models, but need a hex mat... obviously, some lovely mats are available commercially, but I am budgeting on this, so I forsee a black sheet and a white paint pen in my future...

however, how do I go about it? suggestions? I have pondered printing a sheet out and somehow pinning it to use as a stencil, or I have some plywood hexs and I could make those as a rather chunky stencil... I don't really want a complete hex, just enough to show clearly...

any thoughts folks?

[Braz]

Interested in the solutions that will be provided as I'm planning on doing this myself on one side of my space mat.

I'm considering on getting a thin sheet of hardboard, printing out a hex dot sheet of the correct size (http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/) and drilling 1/8 to 1/4 inch holes in the mdf to make a template then spray or paint pen each dot. If spraying I'd leave a good edge around the template without holes to protect from overspray or tape on a paper shield. Make sure to let dry completely between each application of the template to avoid smudges. You can use the dry already painted dots to align the template for your next application.
I just haven't decided on what size hexes (nor have the time at the moment) and whether to go plain white or with a darker, low contrast to the mat colour(dark red or a blue).

Not for you as you are on a budget but Litko does have some templates, a bit $ in IMO. http://www.litko.net/categories/Stencils/

Please post pics of your finished mat when completed.
Cheers

[Cherno]

I made a 4x4 felt gaming mat with hexes a while ago for pirate gaming. Here'S how I did it:

I bought a large sheet of transparent 2mm plastic from the local hardware store (I guess the size and transparence are not reall needed but help things).
Then I marked where the corners of the hexes would be (I think I printed out a template for this or something)
After that I just drilled through the marked points (I used an electric screwdriver with drill, it was enough to go throgh the hard plastic)
Finally, I laid out my felt mat and then put my plastic stencil over it. I first tried spraypainting the whole stencil so the spray paint would go through the holes, but it was just messy and the felt soaked up the weak spray so it was almost invisible. Instead, I just used a brush with a glob of paint on it and stuck it through each hole :]

[Oldben1]

Michaels sells a roughly 1 inch hexagon stencil under the Martha Stewart brand.  I used it for my gladiator arena.  It runs for around 6 dollars with a coupon.

[6milPhil]

Perhaps try Fernis to laser beam a stencil?

[anevilgiraffe]

I've asked Ian 

But it wouldn't be much cheaper because of the fiddly small holes and such... however is looking like Vistaprint may be an option and there is this on cafe press
http://www.cafepress.co.uk/+15in_hex_starfield_mat_small_canvas,574830180#./+15in_hex_starfield_mat_small_poster%2C574830180?&_suid=1379424148755004421722140642098

[Gunbird]

How big a hex do you need? I purchased a template in ply from Litko many moons ago and used that for my airwar in 1/72 gamesmat (though since then I gave up on that and purchased several hexmats from Hotz instead)

Mine is a 40mm hex and it is for sale.

[anevilgiraffe]

nah, looks like Vista print is a cheap enough option, just need to tinker in photoshop for the image to be used...

[fastolfrus]

Cut a big stack of cardboard hexes, lay them on your black sheet with slight gaps between (maybe use grouting spacers), and lightly spray over the gaps with a variety of contrasting colours.

[dijit]

Have a look at this site:
http://www.incompetech.com/graphpaper/hexagonal/
You could easily photoshop (or equivalent) and swop the colours and stick a load of them together or alternatively make a template/stensil out of one of them. If you're going out of your way you could get one of those nice hi-res NASA photos and in p'shop layer the grid over the top of that and get in printed. Most photo shop have options for printing large sized pictures and many can print 4' square.

[redzed]

Cut a big stack of cardboard hexes, lay them on your black sheet with slight gaps between (maybe use grouting spacers), and lightly spray over the gaps with a variety of contrasting colours.

I like the sound of that

[Maj Guiscard]

Sorry for the late reply, I just saw this thread.

I have converted all of my tabletops to hexed surfaces.

Hexes are essentially circles, I use rows of offset plastic cups for 3" hexes and offset rows of plastic bowls for 6" hexes.  It takes about 2 hours for a 4'x8' top using my method.

Here is a link for how I usually do it.
http://govgensectorsix.blogspot.com/2013/03/hexing-mat.html

Other blog entries show my 6" hex tops.