Flat gaming surfaces and non-integrated scenery question

[tin shed gamer]

  if I'm honest its got a lot to do with the camera angle.But thanks any way.
I actually use boards not mat's. I use fake fur as a mat mainly for open areas,and to cover board edge joins.I prefer a busy table,to a wide flat space.I tend to find flat open board games are number crunching dice games.I tend to use Javis tree foliage no2 to mask edges with a thin line of static grass under the lead edge.
I'm in the middle of making some scenery which doesn't mask the edges and treated the same way as figure base's.Just to see if it works.If not then nothing lost I'll just re edge them.
Thats why I'm interested in this topic.As its one I'm toying with,hidden edges that need running repairs, vs Longer lasting exposed edges, (kept as thin as possible .Chunky edges just don't work for me)

[frogimus]

Brilliant 
@Frogimus - thanks, looks better than I expected, as I am not a big fan of mats, which are two flat for my taste, but the texture here makes a big difference.

I was amazed at the texture you can get in the latex caulk.  I was even able to stamp in some cobblestones and brick on a test piece after I allowed it to set up a bit (not dry, but past the point it wanted to stick to everything) . The surface of the latex is not abrasive like doing a sanded board, so less risk of damage to miniatures.

You can make some hills by putting objects under the canvas. Some people use books but that leaves the slope without support. I've carved some sloped hills to place under it. I tend to do gradual rises to keep the mat from puckers and wrinkles.

This option will never replace a nice bespoke board. But in my case, bespoke boards would fill up my entire house because of all the different terrains I would need. I think I play too many genres.

BTW, the caulk texture is a really workable surface and would probably do well directly applied to a board if you don't want to make canvas mats.

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[Connectamabob]

I wanna say get a set of foam floor mats for the board: the sort that come in interlocking squares that are 2cm or so thick by 20cm or so on a side (I don't really know the correct measurements, but you know what I'm on about, right?). You could then break the board down and stack the squares in waterproof plastic storage tubs with a desiccant jar.

I've always like fake fur mats, even though I don't have one. I feel like with a cloth or fake fur mat and a thick foam mat underneath, you could probably put trees and other similar terrain bits (phone poles, mail boxes, scaffolds, whatever) on wire spikes instead of bases for a more seamless look. Maybe glue grass tufts and shrubs and the like around sewing pins.

Maybe check out artists/architects storage/transport tubes for the mat. Run a bead of silicon calk around the cap to make a gasket (if it doesn't come with one), and toss some desiccant in the bottom. Could probably DIY a sealed tube with a screw-off end using PVC or ABS pipe, but it would be heavier to lug about.

[Vanvlak]

Thanks Connectamabob - I think I know the type of mats you mean.
The tube and silicon suggestion is particularly interesting, I'll try that. Replacing the seal after use should not be a problem.

In the meantime, I have found a solution for one board (I need more than one setting, of course  ) - although I'm working around the problem instead of solving it: small flat sections representing a flight deck, which means no scenery problem, and relatively small storage space! Which would be dull, so I would be placing a pile of stuff you could (reasonably) find on a flight deck (I know, it should be clear of anything but aeroplanes), and which would not be integrated to it (drums, boxes, trailers, a large fuel tank, a small truck, an aeropane?!)