What mats are you using?

[Palmoin]

Hi there,

I'm looking for some nice 4'x4' mats suitable for greeks or romans, so I would like to know which ones you are using and if you really like them.

I was thinking about three "big" options:
- Buying some cloth and doing it myself with static grass. This would require some work and the result, if done properly, should be much nicer visually. The problem is that I don't know if the mat would resist rolling and storaging many times.
- Buying a PVC or neoprene mat from a well known manufacturer (Pwork, DeepCut Studio, etc.). This should be the most reliable solution, but the most expensive too. Around 40€ for PVC plus shipping in some cases.
- Buying a mat design from Wargame Vault and printing it from a PVC printing place. This should be around 20-25€ in total and I could use the design to print it in different sizes as well. The problem is that I don't know if I would be losing some quality since the resolution is around 150dpi. The desings look great though.

That's it! What do you think?

[Dervel]

I have made a lot mine from Duck Cloth (canvas) and water colors.

[pallard]

Dervel
This is simply Art! Very impressed.
Palmoin
Mine are Housepad Deepcut Studios. Very expensive but you are in for long time and use.
Philippe

[M.O.T.N]

Mine are Housepad Deepcut Studios. Very expensive but you are in for long time and use.

Which one in particular? I like mousepad mats and own a few but I'm struggling for a mediterranean looking one.

Thanks,

[Ogrob]

I really like PVC/vinyl mats for home gaming, I have four or five from Deepcut Studios. It takes a few minutes to lie flat after being unrolled, but it is very sturdy and can be wiped down if it gets dirty.

[pallard]

Mousepads you naughty French!!!
I use the prairie, dry field, swamp, snow, and rough ground  from memory.
Philippe

[Palmoin]

I have made a lot mine from Duck Cloth (canvas) and water colors.

I was expecting some discussion between Mousepad and PVC mats, but not these amazing cloth mats! They look great

[Dervel]

Thanks, I have also looked at PVC, they are nice, but slippery, and expensive.

I use my mats mostly for figures mounted on laser cut wood bases, I find the canvas is the right texture and stiffness to allow the figures to slide without grabbing the mat.  The mats stay flat and are very rugged.

They work great for Triumph tournament mats which is what I use most of them for, these are cut to 960mmX640mm for that purpose.  Not nearly as sexy as a fixed terrain board, but flexible for tournaments and easy to transport in mass.

[SteveBurt]

I made a 4x3 mat from felt painted with emulsion and craft paint. Double sided for Wild West and Congo games.
The Deepcut cloth mats are great; I have a 6x4 'Plains' one with a grid for To the Strongest and King and Parliament and Rommel

[CommanderBaker]

Cigar Box Battle Mats

High resolution fleece mats in many different types. Larger than what you were listing at 4x6 but they look great, store well, can be machine washed and hung to dry.

Around 70 euro but worth it IMO

http://cigarboxbattlestore.bigcartel.com/products

They also occasionally do kick-starters where the price jumps to roughly 95 euro but you get a double sided mat. and you can pick both sides. 

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

I didn't realise the Cigar Box mats were now a fleece.  Do they have a lot of texture?
I have a Killing Fields fur mat.  It suits the purpose but was disappointing; it can't easily be trimmed because the colour becomes quite brown lower down and the colour is uniform without any variation.
I had started using green garage carpet which was then flocked and had some static grass applied.  This looked quite nice but was time consuming and chewed through the static grass. I never completed it.

[FierceKitty]

Tiny Wargames mousepad with arid semi-desert on one side, meadow grass on the other.  Custom-made 8 x 4 feet, feels lovely, lies flat. An advantage over many is that there's no logo printed in the corner.

[A Lot of Gaul]

My personal preference is for flocked mats, as I think that the texture blends nicely with my flocked bases. I am currently using my 10-yer-old Citadel Battlemat. However, I am thinking of purchasing one of the new static grass battlements from Killing Fields Terrain:  https://www.killingfieldsterrain.com/sg-static-grass-battlemat.html

[blacksoilbill]

I have made a lot mine from Duck Cloth (canvas) and water colors.

Those look exceptional Dervel! Do you have a tutorial somewhere?

[Dervel]

[q]Those look exceptional Dervel! Do you have a tutorial somewhere?[/q]

Actually I had not thought about that, I initially was just making them for fun and personal use, but then started selling them to people for DBA and then Triumph mats.

Maybe I will film making some this summer, it is a summer only activity because I do this outside, in the sunshine. 

It doesn't take a lot of talent it is really slopping paint at a blank canvas, all technique not skill based.