Not-So Merry England: UD 6/2 Hedge Gates

[Silent Invader]

I’ve heard, though never done this, that adding duck tape to the reverse edges flattens out any curls etc.

I think that could be a really useful tip - thank you 

[Flinty]

Thats a really nice idea, maintaining flexibility is the key I think. Plus that village tile looks spot on - this has been a real inspriation thanks!

[Vagabond]

Motoring along at a cracking pace, it's looking lovely. You've made a good job of blending the village tile in with the mat, very impressive and I like the strip fields.

Coincidentally I have your Caulked terrain mat thread open as a tab on my tablet, at the moment, I was reading it about a week ago and kept it open to make a note of the fact that you added pvc to the caulk. So I just wanted to ask you about your road and re-flocking the mat.
You said you used exterior pva and used it to glue sand to the mat. I would have expected the pva to dry quite rigid,  have you found it's flexible enough to roll the mat afterwards?
Do you mind me asking what you used to re-flock the mat with, was it the original caulk/pva or did you use something else.

I made a caulk mat about 5 years ago with a base of upholstery material and flocked it over brown caulk, I'm finding that it's still shedding flock and I'm wondering about re-flocking or just starting from scratch and maybe using spray adhesive to glue the flock down. I'd be interested in your thought.
Cheers

[Silent Invader]

Thats a really nice idea, maintaining flexibility is the key I think. Plus that village tile looks spot on - this has been a real inspriation thanks!

Is gaffer tape the same as duck tape? Anyone know? 

And thanks. 

Motoring along at a cracking pace, it's looking lovely. You've made a good job of blending the village tile in with the mat, very impressive and I like the strip fields.

Coincidentally I have your Caulked terrain mat thread open as a tab on my tablet, at the moment, I was reading it about a week ago and kept it open to make a note of the fact that you added pvc to the caulk. So I just wanted to ask you about your road and re-flocking the mat.
You said you used exterior pva and used it to glue sand to the mat. I would have expected the pva to dry quite rigid,  have you found it's flexible enough to roll the mat afterwards?
Do you mind me asking what you used to re-flock the mat with, was it the original caulk/pva or did you use something else.

I made a caulk mat about 5 years ago with a base of upholstery material and flocked it over brown caulk, I'm finding that it's still shedding flock and I'm wondering about re-flocking or just starting from scratch and maybe using spray adhesive to glue the flock down. I'd be interested in your thought.
Cheers

Thanks 

If you take a look at the detailed breakdown towards the bottom of page 2 of the other thread, what I call PVA is actually:

Resin PVA (exterior & interior) clear-drying wood glue from Tool Station

This does cure quite resin-like albeit not too hard and not too soft, as it has a degree of flex sufficient to allow a gentle roll but not a sharp bend. When I unrolled the mat to undertake the current upgrade, it didn’t shed any flock. However, a downside from a long period of storage was that while rolled the flock had compressed, thereby looking a little compacted.

Ahead of the reflocking exercise, I simply added the road and touched up the colours to match the scheme for this project. I used an undiluted exterior grade clear drying PVA-type wood glue (this time a Diall product from B&Q) with a thin scatter of fine beach sand, as I don’t want the road to constitute a rigid spine.

The actual reflocking was done with a spread of undiluted interior grade clear drying PVA-type wood glue/sealer (again by Diall) onto which the mix of static grasses and foam was scattered. As I scattered onto sections, I gently pressed it down. After 24 hours (possibly less) I brushed away the excess flock (about 1/2 of what had been applied) and shook the mat out before spraying it with a can of B&Q own brand matt sealant. I have yet to try rolling the mat (maybe later today) but having given it a good shake last night it’s not shedding.

Hope that helps. And I hope that when I come to roll it, it rolls! 

[Captain Blood]

Fabulous progress 

Is gaffer tape the same as duck tape? Anyone know? 

Pretty much Steve.
Gaffer tape is the informal generic UK term for strong, plasticised, cloth-reinforced, highly adhesive tape, commonly found in silver, black or white (other colours are available).
'Duck Tape' is a brand name. (Although in the States, I think they may use the term 'duck tape' as a generic).
There's added confusion because gaffer tape is also (more properly, I think) called 'duct tape' - because it was originally used for wrapping pipes etc in ducts.
Some get confused between the words 'duct' and 'duck'. Hence refer to 'duck tape' when what they actually mean is 'duct tape' or 'gaffer tape'.

Did the 'Duck Tape' brand emerge because of this confusion, or is it purely coincidental? It's an interesting question... 

[Silent Invader]

That Richard, is most informative and helpful. Thanks very much 

[Silent Invader]

What follows was overtaken by events as the gaffer tape was removed when the mat was put into a frame (see page 36).

*******************************

The mat is finished (I think).

I left the mat rolled for a week after which it was laid out and left overnight to settle. There were a few fine cracks across the width of the road but nothing that didn’t add to the appearance. It’s not shedding flock.



So far so good. Curling was still an issue so, as suggested by Mr.J, I turned it over and applied gaffer tape alongside the edges.



This seems to have done the trick, though the mat cannot be rolled as tightly as before, which might have an effect on creasing (of which I’ll know more in the next week).



I had applied two overlapping lines of tape alongside each edge as, when left a while, the tape separated slightly. Hopefully this won’t worsen to allow the return of curling (of which I’ll know more in the next week).

[OSHIROmodels]

Good that the flock isn’t coming off 

[Silent Invader]

Good that the flock isn’t coming off 

Indeed!!

[has.been]

Didn't hear the cry of, 'Flock off!!!!' then.

[DintheDin]

Didn't hear the cry of, 'Flock off!!!!' then.

 

[Captain Blood]

Must be about time to see the full spread then Steve? 

[Silent Invader]

Must be about time to see the full spread then Steve? 

 

Oh yes. I’ve the hedges and felled copse to show, probably later today. Plus I’m considering making a couple of small bases using my thatched medieval cottages to extend the length of the village. When  the light is adequate I’ll  set up scenes for small village, large village, farmed fields and also outlying  hills. Then - aside from a small Japanese village I’m contemplating, that’ll use most of the same basic terrain - terrain making will be done for a while and I’m going to concentrate on minis.

Basically, I’m desperate to paint minis so it can be played with!

[Silent Invader]

This gives an idea of how my thatched houses will be redeployed to create two additional bases to extend the village along the road or to use as standalone pieces.





The thatched houses need a bit of work to bring them up to the standard of the village centre

[Marine0846]

A truly wonderful thread.
Love all the detail.