Alarming announcement

[FierceKitty]

I have ordered me a gaming mat, reversible, with desert on one side and meadow on the other. The photographs were too enticing to be withstood (I resemble Mr Wilde in a few important ways).

So there may be some flocking happening soon. What do people say to applying wood glue and then coloured sprinkles (thinking of colouring coffee grounds)? The present bases are cardbord with a layer of epoxy glue, painted in acryllics and posters, then sprayed with artist's fixative. And on the subject of my intended flocking material, there are tales of fungusses that flourish on coffee grounds; are there fungicidal potions one could mix in while colouring the stuff?

The mat may be previewed here, though they're doing me a custom-sized one: https://warzone40k.com/double-sided-battle-mat-meadows-saraha

[d_Guy]

I'd leave them alone. Some fungi can be quite virulent.

William or Oscar?

[FierceKitty]

Ronnie, of course.

[Orcs]

I use thinned down PVA and  coat the bases with sand.

For European type terrain I then wash it with very thinned down burn umber paint. Then dry brush with a couple of suitable colours.

When this is dry a bit more thinned down PVA irregularly round the base and some conventional flock . You can get 2mm long static grass that works well with 10mm   ( See the Baccus basing system)

For Desert  I paint the sand with a little water then  paint of a suitable colour, the wick effect of the damp sand pulls the paint al round the model.

Our usual supplier of addictive substances (The Dark lord) will be able to supply all this if not available locally.


If you can get some fine sand locally its best to dry it in the oven first to kill off any bugs etc.

[fred.]

Orcs talks sense ( I rare thing I know  )

I'd avoid coffee grounds - not sure how you would colour them with them being such a dark colour to start with. Other than size I'm not sure they have much to recommend them. You can get very fine sand that will work better - and with 10mm figures you don't use that much so even if a pot costs a few pounds it will last a good few years.

[FierceKitty]

Mmmm, I'm having second thoughts about coffee grounds (though bleaching is intriguing). But there are a few timber yards in walking distance....

[Orcs]

Just checked and Leon sells three shades of 2mm static grass. Personally I would get one of each and mix them in a tub to a colour you are pleased with.  As it gets used up you then top it up and the shade changes subtlety each time but matches all your previous bases.

This means that it does not matter if you run out of a specific colour mid army.

Sawdust will work as flock, but it lacks the uniformity if you try and colour it.

If you get all three flocks and both the fine and coarse sand ( I mix them as well)  it will cost you less than £14 delivered from Pendraken.  Which is a lot les faff than trying to colour your own sawdust. 

It will be relatively cheaper if you wait until you order the Greeks Etc

[OldenBUA]

Wood glue may not be vey effective for this job. These kind of mats are very smooth and the glue may not hold and peel off after it sees some action.

Also, one of the advantages is that these mats are very smooth, which makes moving bases to a new position very easy as they just slide over. Applying flock would negate that somewhat. Time for some experimentation perhaps.

By the way, I have used coffee grounds on a gaming board made of mdf to good effect. Soaked in wood glue, does the job and never seen anything related to fungi.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

fungusses

fungusses - should be fungi surely ?  bad Kitty, Bad Kitty !!

[FierceKitty]

Not speaking Latin today.

[FierceKitty]

Wood glue may not be vey effective for this job. These kind of mats are very smooth and the glue may not hold and peel off after it sees some action.

Also, one of the advantages is that these mats are very smooth, which makes moving bases to a new position very easy as they just slide over. Applying flock would negate that somewhat. Time for some experimentation perhaps.

By the way, I have used coffee grounds on a gaming board made of mdf to good effect. Soaked in wood glue, does the job and never seen anything related to fungi.

I don't intend to flock the game mat; it's beautifully printed. I rather want my currently featureless figure bases to match better.

We keep our coffee grounds for neighbours who have gardens (high in nitrates); a lurid orange growth certainly develops over the surface at times.

[John Cook]

My bases are UPVC - several 1mm sheets of the stuff were left by Anglia Windows when they replaced my sofit and bargeboards several years ago - or mdf.  I have used card occasionally to mount buildings.  I've used PVA glue for years and report no 'side effects' of any kind with any of these materials.  The description of your bases is such that the initial work has already been done but here's my method anyway. 

1.  Paint base in a suitable earth colour.  Wait until dry.

2.  Mount figures with an adhesive of your choice.  I use a cyanoacrylate on UPVC, PVA glue on mdf and card.

3.  Paint base with PVA glue and coat in an 'earth' mix of your choice.  I use a cement/mortar mix left behind by builders - the kind used for brickwork - which is great because it dries to a light earth colour and needs no painting, and the PVA makes it set.  Anything similar of your choice, with some texture to it will do - sand seems to be popular and I have seen railway modellers recommend real soil.  Wait until dry.

4.  Paint the base if necessary.  When dry apply VA glue randomly and sprinkle on flock.  The idea is to get some of the earth showing through - battles were not usually fought on lawns!  Use mix of different colours, quantities and type of flock, depending on theatre. 

5.  When dry, spray with a fixative of some kind if you want to.  I used to use an ordinary matt spray varnish but I have found that it isn't really necessary.

Hope this helps

[FierceKitty]

Thanks.

[OldenBUA]

I don't intend to flock the game mat; it's beautifully printed.

Which makes a lot more sense of course. And it means the mat will remain smooth so prepare for the joy of sliding those bases over it.