Make Your Own Battlemats - Easy DIY Battlemats for Wargaming Terrain and Tabletop Games

In this Wargaming Terrain Tutorial this week I'll go through how to simply make your own custom battlemats. This project uses cheap and easy to find materials to make really effective battlemats of any size for your tabletop games and wargaming terrain. The setup for this project is quite quick and easy, and the hardest part is really waiting for the surface to dry. I'll show in the video how to get a quick playable surface painted up with some rattle cans, and also how to bring up some finer details to get a really great custom battlemat for any of your games. I'll be using this battlemat in the Walking Dead All Out War tabletop game, which does fit with a fair bit of the terrain I've built on the channel so far. You'll see in the video that it's easy to take this in any direction, whether you need one for Star Wars Legion, Warhammer 40k, or Dungeons and Dragons. Don't forget to like and subscribe if you enjoy this video, and if you would like to support the channel please see my Patreon link below.
/ @rfdhobby
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PATREON:
/ rfdhobby
DONATE:You can donate to the channel via Paypal and I'll send out my Patreon posts via email as well (this helps to avoid sales tax), just remember to send me an email via [e-mail] to ensure I add you to the mailing list:
paypal.me/RFDHobby

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks everyone for watching. This was a really fun and rewarding build and I highly recommend it if you have a need for something like this. Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions. If you'd like to see how I did the piles of rubble, you can check out this video here... kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKLWq4yGn9Z1ars . If you're wondering about the buildings I've got in the pictures, you should check out my terrain playlist here... kzbin.info/aero/PLe_8I2r9DImvVVHtI-RZDyh08h338OnZ2

[@tsundre]

Can these roll up for transport?

[@RFDHobby]

@@tsundre it rolls up fine, you can see in the video when I remove it from the bench, it's quite flexible. I'm going to test and see if it will still roll out flat after being stored rolled up for a period of time and update in the next battle mat video.

[@tsundre]

@@RFDHobby excellent

[@W.edgewargames]

Well there goes ever buying another "battle mat" again, and they can be modular. So grateful to have found this.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks very much for the comment. I've just finished off another one of these at a larger size. The first one is still holding up really well, with no issues at all so far. Glad you enjoyed it mate.

[@oldschoolfrp2326]

Really evocative, sets the scene for wasteland bandits or zombie hordes. With lots of skirmish games using small play areas, I could see making different little pattern mats becoming addictive

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you. The only problem with this mat was that it was too small haha. Although it was made for The Walking Dead board game, which uses a 20 x 20 square mat, so it is the correct size. But I could see this being a fun theme to build out to a much larger surface.

[@onkelgroen]

I should do some of these for Gaslands! 1x1 foot with roads in different layouts. Thanks for the inspiration and tutorial.

[@RFDHobby]

I thought of this as I was putting down the road details, I've had a few people comment regarding Gaslands, and checking out some videos of it recently I think it would work great. Good luck if you have a go. I highly recommend trying it, was nice and easy. Thanks for your comment.

[@whiterabbit1632]

This is the best vid I have seen so far on this topic!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@NatesMiniatures]

Such an easy build, I was surprised with how great it looked from the materials you used. This is on the to do list now, thanks for the entertaining video Shawn.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Nate. I was probably as surprised as you mate. Cheers for watching and for the comment!

[@ronec2092]

Looks great.

[@mxkinist]

Simply wow. I am still in awe at how professional and clean looking this turned comsidering how cheap the materials are! Thank you so much.

[@RFDHobby]

No problem mate. They're a great, cheap and easy project to do as well. Mine have held up really well since I made them, and I still have plans for a couple more. I did another video of a slightly larger Battlemat more recently, and I found that water worked just as well as the ISO alcohol to thin the mixture, so you can save a few more bucks there if you decide to try it out. Cheers for the comment, really appreciated.

[@mxkinist]

@@RFDHobby Thanks for the tips! They're greatly appreciated. Keep up the phenomenal work!

[@karldeverinne7877]

Bloody awesome and yeah...it worked!

[@RFDHobby]

Cheers mate. Can't wait to do a couple more, it's holding up really well too. Thanks for the comment Karl.

[@Mr.G_stay_cat]

Incredible! WOW, great job!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks so much mate!

[@MikeDavison]

This is brilliant! I need to give this a go.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Mike. Glad you enjoyed it, highly recommend having a go at this if you need one, it was really simple and very effective.

[@chasonlapointe]

Great technique, I can't wait to give it a try!

[@RFDHobby]

Good luck with it if you have a go, it's a really fun project. Thank you for watching and commenting.

[@victoryspath4116]

This is awesome. Can't wait to build my own.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks. Good luck with your build mate.

[@BrendanPace]

This could save a ton of money, amazing that it comes out as well as it does!

[@ericaltmann5711]

Hey dude, mt u at Carl’s earlier today. I did subscribe as your content is right down my alley.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Eric. I checked out a couple of videos on Traveller and it looks awesome. I'll definitely be watching some more. Cheers.

[@benjenkins2855]

That's absolutely fantastic. Thank you for doing this.

[@RFDHobby]

No worries Ben, I had fun doing it. Really pleased with the result, I'll be doing a couple of larger ones soon too. Appreciate the comment mate.

[@krash_override]

fantastic build, very well done!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks very much.

[@Esanssi10]

Great, detailed tutorial. It's been a bit over a year at this point, would be interesting to hear how the paintjob's held up after some time!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate. I'll try to do a short update video on these soon, but they've held up really well, still going strong.

[@fritzlocke2622]

Awesome work mate, going through your catalogue of videos and this was another good one I cant wait to do personally

[@kirkforthman2884]

Wow! Super cool tutorial!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate. I appreciate the comment.

[@ravensgategames1912]

Great video mate! Definitely going to be trying this out!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks very much. Good luck with your build mate.

[@creaturescavernscrafting2929]

Love this video! May have to try this for my wasteland games.

[@RFDHobby]

Good luck with it if you do, it's really quite simple and effective. Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@toysoldier68]

Fantastic idea!

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you. I've done another video showing a slightly larger battlemat build, and in that one I used water instead of ISO alcohol to thin the mix, and this worked out fine. So if you do decide to give this a go, you can save yourself a few $$$ by substituting the ISO with water. Thank you for your comment!

[@johnkelley9877]

Excellent build tutorial and mat! Thanks for sharing this.

[@RFDHobby]

No worries John. Thanks very much. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@locolarkin8529]

Great video. Great job. It Will be great to see a ruined city or trench terrain board. Keep this way

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks very much. Yeah I'm working on filling out a table soon, some trenches would be cool to do, I might have to see if I can fit that in down the track. Thanks for the comment.

[@senorcapitandiogenes2068]

I never thought that you could actually make these yourself. Thanks, m8. Now I have something to do during the weekend

[@RFDHobby]

No problem man. Good luck with the build!

[@hexc0nn392]

Really good video. Very entertaining.

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@CCGlazier]

Nice one. Good step-by-step. Thanks.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.

[@Karlmakesstuff]

Neat! Looks really straightforward, but the end result is great. Thanks for the video.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks for watching and for the comment. Glad you enjoyed it Karl.

[@mlabuguen]

I really hope you plan to do more battlemats! would love to see that, this is great!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate. I do have a couple more planned, I'm going to be doing 2 more in the coming months at a larger size and different theme. I also want to make a couple more at this size of 20x20 so I can do some testing, as quite a few people have been asking if this mat will last and how it holds up with being stored rolled up, so I will have some updates on that one when I release the next videos. Thanks for the comment.

[@mscandlex]

just awesome. Gotta keep an eye out for those things next time I go to home depot

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate. Yeah it's been a bit of an eye opener for me, was really surprised how good this one turned out. Thank you for the comment too.

[@CraftsAndMinis]

Wow! Learned a lot from this. Thanks so much!!

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you. I hope you have a go, it's a really cheap and simple solution.

[@johnramirez1704]

Subbed and this is Phenomenal - look fwd to other builds.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks very much John. More coming soon.

[@karlb6273]

I agree. It DID turn out fantastic!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Karl!

[@shotou]

Dude, that's awesome, if only I had room to do something like this.

[@RFDHobby]

Glad you like it mate, and there's never enough room no matter how much you have. I hope you find a way to try this out, it's really a nice simple project with a great result. Thanks for the comment.

[@DoctorMobius]

That texture is gorgeous...

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Neal. Glad you liked it mate.

[@Taking20]

Bravo! Absolutely awesome sir. +1

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate.

[@whyisthereaholeinmybutt4274]

Welp...know what my fall project is gonna be now! Great video 🙌🏻

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you. Good luck with the build mate.

[@jasonmoreno8179]

This was an amazing video, that gave me some good ideas. I now know how I want to make my roads. This is going to be great on my 12x12 tiles for Crisis Protocol. I can't thank you enough. I subscribed immediately after watching the video. Can't wait to see what other projects you have in store.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Jason. Glad you enjoyed it. Good luck with your builds mate.

[@RLBndR]

Phenomenal build. I have been trying to figure out how to do this for a while and not make a mess with sawdust!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Ryan. I was really surprised at how easy this turned out to be as well. Definitely worth a go. Cheers for your comment.

[@Wulferic1]

This popped up in my "Recommended" list... I watched it and passed it on to my Local Legion/X-wing friends... This is an amazing thing and I've not seen anything like it (And being a fellow Aussie, recognising the materials will make this SO easy) ... I have a feeling I'm going to end up with a Shelf filled with Various Battlemats thanks to this. YOU GET A SUB! :D

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks very much mate. Glad you enjoyed it and I hope you guys have a go, it turned out really well. I already have plans for more, so I think I'll be clearing some room to store a few of these as well. Cheers

[@CraftNicks]

Nice work for sure.. blown away by the result... very talented

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks very much mate. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@mr.m1703]

What an amazing build! Brilliant work, and great execution on those details - the car park and curb shading look spectacular. I can't wait to give this a try! Thanks for another incredible tutorial!

[@RFDHobby]

No worries at all. It was really fun to do. Good luck with your build. Thank you for watching and commenting.

[@darthcraw7192]

Inspiring. Thanks for sharing this :)

[@RFDHobby]

You're very welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it and thank you for commenting!

[@danepatterson8107]

Excellent work on the mat and excellent production in the video. I will give this a try!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Dane, good luck mate. Let me know if you have any questions.

[@jingles009]

This is a really nice idea.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate. It turned out really well in the end. I have plans for a couple more larger ones soon. Thanks for watching.

[@dungeonsanddioramas8068]

This is brilliant! I may borrow some of these tips to make a mat for a board game I'm working on putting together. Thank you for making this video!

[@zid_just_zid]

Just found your channel, excellent stuff! Wish i had seen this vid before i made my own caulk mat, knowing that isoprop being able to thin and reducing stickiness would have reduced the mess and increased build speed! Thanks!

[@RFDHobby]

Glad you're enjoying the channel mate. Yeah, the caulking can get messy and the alcohol does help. Thanks for the comment.

[@DirkBernauOppendorfGrindhouse]

great idea, thx for that

[@RFDHobby]

No worries at all Dirk. So glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for leaving a comment, I really appreciate it mate.

[@mariobaleywah1260]

This was an awesome video!!!

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. I have another video coming out in a day or two showing another one of these being made. Bigger and better hopefully, and in a different theme than this one. I appreciate the comment mate.

[@mariobaleywah1260]

@@RFDHobby Was curious how you could make something like this for Heroclix. They have that grid for movement.... anyway I'm jumping ahead of myself. Awesome vid!!! Easy to follow.

[@RFDHobby]

@@mariobaleywah1260 I think the best option may be to draw on the grid system once everything else has been painted on there. You could press in the grid system into the acrylic before it dries, but I'm not sure it would stand out, and you may run into issues while doing itas the acrylic dries fairly quickly. But with pen or marker, you could easily add a grid to this sort of thing. Hope this helps mate.

[@orcpaintshop355]

Hell ya another amazing project

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Ryan. Glad you liked it.

[@23nacho23]

Very cool

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you!

[@TGWRoughneck]

This is great!! Thanks

[@RFDHobby]

No problem. Thanks for watching and commenting. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@caringcommissar4600]

Liked and subbed great tutorial 👍👍

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Robert. Glad you enjoyed it and I appreciate the sub mate.

[@aequanimus63247]

I searched for this yesterday on youtube and many of the results looked meh. But this looks fantastic! I'm gonna go for it. Thanks man. Can't wait to see what you do with the larger mats. (+1 sub)

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks. Spending a bit of time working on some finer details for this will make a big difference in the end. I had a heap of fun with this build, good luck with yours, I hope it works out. Let me know if you have any questions at all. Thanks for the comment!

[@1quackquack1]

Man this is really cool and interesting I'm interested to see how it holds up in the long term, but you have most definitely gotten my sub :D

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Owen. I'll see how this holds up and post an update as time goes on. Appreciate the sub and comment mate.

[@1quackquack1]

@@RFDHobby good stuff man I've just picked up so acrylic caulking to mess about with myself lol

[@TeamSpartanAJ]

Love it! Might knock myself one up with a Ruined town type look, Streets and building areas for actual terrain.

[@RFDHobby]

Great idea. I still have a bunch of ideas for more of these in different themes. Once you've made one, you'll realize how easy and how effective these are, and you'll want more haha. Good luck with it. Thanks for watching and commenting mate.

[@robertmorton38]

Greetings from Canada, I really got a lot out of the tutorial and your talent is most inspiring. I really have to give this a go. I will be off to the hardware store this morning. I as well am now subscribing. 👍🇨🇦

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Robert. I'm glad you enjoyed the video, and hopefully you like the rest as well. I'll be trying out some larger sized mats in the future in different themes and I'll provide some updates on how they hold up over time. This is definitely one of my favorite builds so far. Worth having a go. Good luck mate. Thanks for the sub!

[@Berserkerworks]

All the extra painted details are a nice touch, add alot of depth. BTW, if you thin the caulk with iso before you add anything else you will have a much easier time mixing all the texture. Looking forward to what other styles of mats you come up with.

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you for the tip mate. I have a few more ideas for these, I was surprised how well it turned out.

[@Khether0001]

That is really fantastic!!! Loved it! Remember you can use a single strip of tape to fix a newspaper sheet or any other large sheet to cover the large areas of your projects from over-spraying

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Nelson. Great idea with the extra masking, I think in my excitement to get this mat off the workbench I just powered through it knowing I would add more paint later, but that's a good tip. Cheers.

[@xGamermonkeyx]

Bloody ripper video mate. Gonna have to grab some of these materials to try and make something of this size but maybe at about 6mm scale for my Battletech/Alpha Strike board cityscapes.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate. I hope it works out for you, let me know how you go or if you have any questions or suggestions. Cheers.

[@DevsDice]

Really awesome Shawn! Good on you mate! 🤘

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Leif.

[@agaig9812]

Excellent, how to video🎉

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks!

[@valack03]

Good method to make mats. Seen it a few places. They last a while and are durable.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks, glad to hear they last, lots of people have been asking about that. Cheers.

[@jacobmurphy3045]

Fantastic

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you.

[@liesureleeminis8268]

This is awesome!

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@chrishorne5855]

Great build will definitely do this one 🇦🇺👍🏻

[@RFDHobby]

Good luck with it. There is another video I have done of a slightly larger mat, in that one I use water instead of ISO alcohol, and got great results. Might save a few bucks. Here's the link for that one mate... kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYKam4BpmLhol9k Let me know if you have any questions. Happy to help if I can.

[@johnstevens6063]

ive got to give this a go

[@RFDHobby]

You absolutely should John, it's really a very simple process and it can be as detailed or as simple as you like with the finish and theme. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment mate.

[@vengefulelf659]

Nice very good video.

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you so much!

[@keldon_champion]

The build looks good, it seams more durable than I was expecting because when I saw the coating I was concerned about the paint or coating cracking when rolled but it looks pretty solid. The paint job could use some work but the concept is solid and really only limited by ability to paint it.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks. It is really durable and takes paint really well. This one was more of a test to see how it would hold up. I've since done another that I made larger and put a bit more effort into the painting (theres another video for that one). Really worth the time for how good these turn out. Cheers.

[@AirCrude]

Welp there goes my weekend !🤣 Awesome video

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate. You won't regret spending the time doing this!

[@borakistbenoit6583]

Impressive. Most impressive

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate. I appreciate the comment.

[@borakistbenoit6583]

I’ve made a few battle mats myself. This is well done.

[@RFDHobby]

@@borakistbenoit6583 Thank you again. It was definitely a rewarding build, can't wait to do a few more.

[@trennaman]

Great seeing another great video. I new here but i wanted to say, I REALLY enjoy how you delivery your information, especially vocally. Clear and to the point. Keep up the great work and look forward to more and more.

[@RFDHobby]

Welcome aboard! Thanks so much for your comment Trent. If you ever have any questions about anything, don't hesitate to let me know. I'm happy to help anyway I can. Take care mate.

[@trennaman]

@@RFDHobby no thank you! Keep it all up. Have you ever made a larger mat this way too. 6*4? I keep thinking of getting a battle mat online but I wonder if I should make one. I mainly play legion and I have a table that's all sand and versatile. But a grassy mat, urban mat and a snow mat would be something I really want to do!

[@RFDHobby]

@@trennaman I did this other one here at 3*3... kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYKam4BpmLhol9k , it's really easy to scale this project up to whatever you need. I do plan on making a 6*4, but I don't think I'll need to change anything about the process, other than more materials. Seeing as they seem to store well rolled up, I'll be making some more of these for sure.

[@trennaman]

@@RFDHobby yes I had seen this one, really informative too even explaining how you feel about it through the process. Outside of that, what would your opinion be on 6*4 mats, so would you rather do say 2 X 3*4 mats or something like that?

[@RFDHobby]

@@trennaman I don't think I'd have any issue going with a 6*4 mat as far as the process and the materials go. I can't see there being any issues with that size. It just comes down to storage and a place to lay it out haha. I'm going to build a 6*4 for Legion as well, I think I'd prefer one big mat rather than two myself.

[@Huter2142]

Following your guidance on this, and having totalled up the matts i need (not including the paints and tools i already have), for less than half the cost of one "professionally made" mat, i'll be getting materials to make 4 2x2' mats for A Billion Suns, 2 3x3' mats for SW Legion, and a 6x4' mat for general gaming in other systems like flames or 40k, thanks man, this is such a nicely put together video, really clear and concise on the process and techniques, absolute breeze to follow :)

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Thomas. Just a heads up, on the more recent video I did (where I made a 3x3 mat), I was able to swap out the ISO alcohol for water to thin the mixture down. I found no difference in the outcome, but it might also make this project a bit cheaper for you. Good luck with it, let me know if you have any other questions. Cheers mate.

[@Huter2142]

@@RFDHobby I did indeed find it, and tbh I buy iso in bulk anyway for my 3d printing, so I can reasonably do either :)

[@fugg8529]

Even though I already have a battle mat this is very cool and cheep

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Cameron, I appreciate the comment mate.

[@VirtuosityB]

Nice looking build. I've been experimenting with self made cloth battle mats. So far I've done 2 different woodland/forest ones and 1 snowy one for Frostgrave. Also posted a short vid about them but will maybe make a tutorial also. Your techniques differ quite much from my own.

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you very much. I'm glad you found the video helpful.

[@corvusboreus2072]

Cool tutorial, subscribed. I have previously been using water to thin acrylic caulk, but will try isopropyl alcohol. My only added suggestion would be to check out fabric stores for the base material, rather than DIY stores. You can find a variety of backed canvases which are generally cheaper as the don't have stitched edges, and you can have the fabric cut to desired length rather than buying a whole dropsheet.

[@RFDHobby]

This is great information! Thanks very much. I'll check out the other options as this canvas wasn't as cheap as I'd like. Cheers.

[@amidark6518]

Freaking amazing!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks so much!

[@colossalbigfoot256]

Cool. There’s this stuff they use in rock tumblers that has a ultra realistic asphalt you could use. I’m constantly lookin for an alternative to all interactive asphalt. Ima give this a try.

[@RFDHobby]

This worked really well, but there are a few alternatives. I've seen people using sandpaper with really good effect. Cork actually gives a decent effect as well, and it makes adding in actual cracks really easy and they look amazing.

[@B4miniatureworld5300]

Bro super 😍

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate.

[@nev72tep]

I'm gonna have to try this. I have to.

[@RFDHobby]

Good luck with it mate. It's really worth having a go. Thanks.

[@ThomasSanjurjo]

Got my sub.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Thomas.

[@terratorment2940]

I could see doing this for a fantasy setting and just using the same green as the hills I made but for the whole thing. Maybe green with patches of brown

[@RFDHobby]

Absolutely, I might try something like this down the track, but I think it would work well with green and brown as you mention, add some trees and rocks and such, would look great. Thanks for the comment.

[@Terrain_Craft_Chronicles]

Such a great build, not sure how accessible the canvas backdrop is in the UK but I am sure with a little research I can find something similar. The crazy thing is I hadn’t ever considered homebrewed battle mats 😂... I’m inspired!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Sean, it was surprising how effective this was. I highly recommend you having a go if you can locate similar materials. This canvas drop cloth has a plastic backing, this is supposed to prevent liquid getting through, but looking around it seems there are some cloth sheets that are able to do this without having the plastic backing, so it may not be necessary. I hope this helps, and thanks for the comment.

[@TheGamingLoft22]

Great stuff! Oh, and Sean, Screwfix do these sheets: £10 for a 12' x 9' sheet - that's a lot of gaming mats! Steve 🙂

[@Terrain_Craft_Chronicles]

Nexusstevie oh right... well I have some other stuff to pick up from Screwfix so I will add that to my list... thanks for the info 👍

[@markbrown8154]

Well stocked Art stores in Australia, and around the world for that matter, sell various grades of canvas on the roll, which you can purchase by the desired length. I just go for the cheapest one, which is about 150 cm wide. And it has no creases.

[@RFDHobby]

Great idea Mark. I'll have to check mine out and see what the cost looks like compared to what I got. The creases weren't really an issue in the end, but who loves ironing right? Thanks for the comment mate.

[@ollep9142]

Neat and simple, just the way we want it! Two questions: 1. Why the emphasis on having a perfect square with the exact dimensions? For most wargames "big enough" is good enough. 2. What's the purpose of adding sand to the filler? What happens if you don't?

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks for watching. I felt like having it neat and clean was fairly important, it's probably more important for me than it is required generally though. Adding sand to the filler will help with adding a texture to the finish. You could leave this out, however you will likely end up with a very smooth finish on the board. The sand doesn't make it gritty as such, but helps to give it a slightly rough surface. Both of these things are essentially optional I guess, but the small details will help to sell the idea when you're finished. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[@timomatic6226]

Holy Emperor. I have never even considered this method 😲 It looks absolutely fantastic 🙂 How much time would you say this took?

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks. Oh it was really quick, probably 20-30 mins to get the mix onto the canvas, and then another hour or two to paint it up once it dried. I had to leave it overnight to dry once the filler was applied though.

[@stonehorsegaming]

Surprised that something that looks as high quality as the end result is made from such simple and affordable materials. Will most certainly be giving this a try. Edit, If I were to make a 6' by 4' version of this, how much filler would you recommend?

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks very much. I'd probably have at least 6 or 8 tubes of filler on hand as a just in case, but maybe mix a first batch using 3-4 of those and then gauge how much if you need a 2nd mix to finish it off. If you can get it cheap enough, I would say it's better to mix up a bit too much than not enough.

[@stonehorsegaming]

@@RFDHobby cheers, I think I have my next video project lined up! 😀

[@Zaechs]

Are you able to provide a supply list of what you used? I get this is an older video, but I love the ease of what I am seeing looking to do a couple for my Frostgrave/Stargrave/Gaslands group.

[@RFDHobby]

Sure mate. I use a cheap acrylic gap filler (the cheapest I can find), along with fine sand (sold here at the hardware store as Playground sand). In this video I used Isopropyl alchohol, although I've since completed a larger version using just water to thin the mix. Then it's just some cheap acrylic paint to color if you want too at that stage of the process. I spread this out onto a sheet of plastic backed canvas drop sheet (commonly used by painters to avoid spills and drops). I hope this helps, good luck with them, and let me know if you have any other questions at all, I'm happy to help if I can.

[@LionTree]

Thanks for the tutorial. Super nice! How does the feel of the mat compare to neoprene or headliner? Will the gap filter crack over time?

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks very much. The mat feels and weighs about what I'd expect a firm rubber mat might. Not sure about how this will go in the long term, but everything is looking good at this stage. I'm not expecting issues, but time will tell I guess. Thanks for the comment mate.

[@ShawnMM]

That looks amazing and something that I want to try. Was the paints you used outside of the spray cans, acrylic too?

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Shawn. Yes the paints I used were all acrylics mate. It's a great little project and really easy. Good luck if you decide to have a go.

[@Jondrik0]

Was just looking into doing this, thanks for the tutorial. Think static grass could be applied to this and if so how would you recommend attaching it?

[@JorgeRodriguez-zc7fc]

I do believe you can apply static grass to it. However, doing so make keep you from rolling up the mat properly. I would personally you make some scatter terrain instead with static grass. That way you can jave some grass and have an easier way of storing both without as much damage.

[@RFDHobby]

I think you could attach static grass to this, I'd probably just use PVA glue as normal, but as is mentioned below by another user, if you plan to roll this up, it may flatten the grass a fair bit. I think it could work fine otherwise. Glad you enjoyed it, best of luck if you have a go, I hope it turns out well.

[@dshowat]

That’s awesome. I want to make roads and paths for my miniature villages…can you add foliage for grass?

[@RFDHobby]

You certainly can glue on foliage or tufts of grass. I haven't for any of mine so far simply because I'm rolling them up to store them, and it would probably end up ruining the tufts and stuff. But if you're making smaller pieces, or storing it flat, it would work out fine I think. Good luck. Thank you for watching and commenting. Let me know if I can help further.

[@valiantcashcow]

great build mate. could you add spray-on varnish at the end to make it more durable or does it crack and go ugly when rolling up the mat?

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks very much. Honestly not too sure about the varnish, but I figured with the rattle can base coats and coloured filler base, a bit of wear wouldn't stand out too much, but I'll see how it goes. Thanks for the comment mate.

[@c.e.jarvis1512]

looks great Dude. Have you done any moon terrian?

[@RFDHobby]

Oh man, I'd love a moon terrain board. I've tried some craters, but they were more for this kind of setting where it was roads and grass and stuff. But I'm pretty sure they would transfer to moon terrain quite easily.

[@johnball3934]

Great video, I'll be trying my hand at a few of these. It would be helpful if you put links to the products used in the description so folks can find it by its specifications rather than name. Here in the USA, the two key components are known as poly backed (or coated) canvas drop cloths and acrylic latex caulk. "Filler" usually means similar products used for driveway cracks or wood. In the last shot, it looks like the edges are curling up, presumably from the cured latex? I wonder whether, if you didn't have the plastic backing, you could apply a thin layer of caulk to that side to offset it, in the same way you would with white glue on chipboard.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks John. Great idea for the materials, I'll try to update the description over the next week with the materials and some of the info you provided here for the folks in the U.S. As for the mat curling, it's not really noticeable at all at this stage, but I'll be keeping an eye on this one and testing a few things out before the next one, so I'll be troubleshooting any issues and providing updates in the future. Thanks again for your comment.

[@anthonysanzeri8756]

New to your channel but i absolutely have to try this one out it looks awesome. I see there is a bit of eyeballing for mixture consistency, what should the consistency end up as something akin to pancake batter or bread dough or something else?

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Anthony, make sure to check out the newer video I did of this build kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYKam4BpmLhol9k as I changed the ISO alcohol for water, and saved a few bucks. The mix is very much bit of a guessing game, you want something probably just a bit thicker than pancake mix. It shouldn't be runny, but really easy to spread around. Let me know if I can help further mate.

[@anthonysanzeri8756]

@@RFDHobby Have you experimented at all with patches that are extra rough but not the entire mat? I was thinking of sprinkling some "rock" (fish tank gravel) and sand across parts of the mat before it dries to create a rocky/grass mat (think opening terrain from Rogue one). I'm worried about the rough spots flaking off or impacting rolling up for storage, any thoughts?

[@52Miniatures]

Nice work! How do you think it would be to get some textures in there? Like a sandy gravel texture? Or some kind of crackle effect?

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Alex. I've been thinking about this, it seems like you could use a texture roller after an hour or two of drying time (to help stop the acrylic filler from being too sticky), this should hold well. I think using a course sand would bring up a gravel like texture, although may be slightly harder to spread. I'll be playing around with some different things on the next couple of mats, so I'll let you know if I come up with anything to better answer this question for you mate.

[@52Miniatures]

@@RFDHobby Yeah, that's a neat idea. Maybe a "roof stucco roller" or something. I know I've seen natural sponge rollers to at some point.

[@corvusboreus2072]

If you add too much sand, or it has too course a texture, it can cause the caulk on the surface to develop cracks. And yes, you can apply texture with things like rollers whilst the surface is 1/2 dry. I did some sections of cobbled road with a bodgied up roller (modelling clay wrapped around a jam jar then dimpled) and it came up OK.

[@denisestevens6492]

Hi there thankz for another great vid clip. I am a beginner so I am learning quiet a lot. I still need to get my foam cutting a bit more straight when cutting 😄. Q- are you in W.A. or in Oz , just wondering as alot of yr products look like mine from bunnings. Ok takecare cheerz for now. Denise W.A

[@RFDHobby]

Hey Denise. Thanks for the comment. I'm happy to answer any questions you have regarding any of the builds or processes you see in the videos. I'm actually in Queensland, so yes, you should be able to find most of the things I use locally. A lot of the stuff is from either Bunnings or Office Works, but if you aren't sure, just throw a comment on the video and I'll be sure to answer it and help out if I can. Cheers.

[@ZekaEscariot4657]

Good video man! From Brazil 🇧🇷 What happened to your project's after the house burned in fire? Did you recover some of then? Or you have lost all of then? My english are very bad, but i hope u have understanded 😅