Terrain Mat using Fleece and Static Grass

The Problem

I've been pleased with the fleece wargame mat that I had got printed with a subtle 60 mm hex grid. However, given the standard width of my units is 60mm, this doesn't leave much wriggle room to place units. I've now updated the rules to use a 70mm grid which is the same as I have used for the EVA hex modules. I wasn't entirely happy with the look of the EVA hexes so I was looking to update my fleece mat to 70mm hexes.

The Solution

I had an old length of polar fleece (2.5m x 1.5m) in a beige colour, and a lot of unused static grass. Having tried a lot of different techniques to put subtle hexes onto the wargame table, I decided that the simplest and most effective method was to lightly ink in a grid after flocking the entire mat. I also wanted a more flexible solution for rivers, so tis gave me an opportunity to reuse the hex terrain boards under this new mat. These boards are 49cm hexagon boards each 7 hexes across, giving 70mm per hex.

Making the Terrain Mat

Using a watered down fabric glue (3:1 water:glue), I brushed on the glue in sections then sifted the static grass onto the glue and gently patted it down. The first attempt at this was a dismal failure as most of the static grass didn't stick. I think the glue was too watered down and soaked into the fleece before I got the grass on.



I tried a second pass with tacky glue (2:1 water:glue), and brushed on in smaller sections, getting the grass on before the glue soaked in. This time the grass stuck much better. I also think that the first pass, sealed the surface, making the second pass more successful.



There were still a number of barer patches, so I tried a spray adhesive to fix them up. The spray adhesive worked incredibly well! Nearly all the static grass stuck. In hindsight, I should have used the spray adhesive from the start as it is full-strength and sits nicely on the surface of the fleece. It also requires much less static grass.

The end result is good, although the mat is a bit stiffer than I would have liked. Using the spray adhesive only would have solved this. However, it does look good and will roll up nicely. I just don't think I can fold it like the other fleece mat.

Conclusion

While the look and texture of this mat is fantastic, the grass has not properly stuck to the fleece. In addition, the spray adhesive is still 'sticky' weeks later.
I'm not sure it will fold away without more grass coming off.
So, where does that leave the never-ending quest for the perfect wargame table terrain?
I'm confident that the mat concept with feint hexes is the right way to go. I have ordered a test sample of various hex thicknesses and colours on a fleece cloth from a fabric printer. I will avoid putting static grass on the mat and hope that the base image on the print comes out ok.