Games mat

Following the success of my initial experiments, plans are proceeding apace with my games mat.

Fabric Warehouse on Swan Lane in Norwich can do me 1.4m wide brown leatherette at £6 per metre length.  I reckon that if I get 2m I'll end up with a 6½ x 4½ foot playing surface.  If I trim it to a 6x4 sheet which will be big enough for all my games, I'll have enough in the off-cuts to make over 30 2x12 inch tracks or a mixture of tracks and ploughed fields or whatever I fancy.

Based on the coverage I achieved on my trial muddy track sections, I think another 3 tubes of brown frame sealant will be enough to cover the main gaming mat so a quick trip to "QD" at the same time will give me all I need.  I've got plenty of plasticard scraps which I can turn into scupting tools to create tracks, wheel-ruts and other low relief featuures.

A 6x4 Zuzzy mat would certainly be far superior in detail and quality of finish, but at £32.96 (according to currency converter) plus an additional 22% postage it would be more expensive than my budget substitute which should come in at less than £18 (circa $28).  Neither of these prices includes paint, but that would work out the same in each case.  With my home-made gaming surface I won't mind so much if the painting goes wrong because it should be easy to fix without the worry of damaging an expensive mail order item that I'd have to re-order from the US!

I'll also have the satisfaction of having made it myself, and that chance for creativity is one of the main reasons that I enjoy making scenery and painting models.

If everything goes according to plan, I have ideas for another games matt fro urban games with a low-relief road and pavement layout into which I can drop my existing urban scenery (which has been built using a 10x10cm grid).