Making the ULTIMATE 40k Battle Mat (Rolls up for storage)

In this terrain build, I wanted to see the maximum amount of detail I can put out on a battle mat while keeping the whole thing flexible enough to roll away and store. Using some techniques I learned from making a rocky desert type mat from acrylic, I tackled this project with crisp lines and hand-carved detailing in EVA foam.
The end result speaks for itself. This is easily my biggest and most detailed project on the channel to date.
Battle mats like this work great for Warhammer 40k, Necromunda, or any other futuristic large scale tabletop game. I even got inspired by Cyberpunk in some of the design, and it would fit well with some neon teal or pink signs placed on top.
The material cost was just around $40 dollars, which is a lot cheaper than some similar sized mats you can buy online, and they are nowhere near as detailed.
Notable materials and Tools
- Drop Cloth (amzn.to/3bCSg3z)
- EVA Craft Foam (amzn.to/3bFbs0s)
- Drywall Mesh Tape (amzn.to/3rBBYgP)
- Heat Gun. I used the Furno 500 (amzn.to/35JZcIf)
- 300 Pack of XActo blades (amzn.to/3sqJfR4) Buy em cheap and in bulk!
A lot of the techniques in this build come in from the prop and cosplay crafting world. They use EVA foam extensively for it’s flexible property and the ease at which you can add sharp details.
There's tons of cool tutorials on prop building out there which I’ve been getting inspired by, so go check some of them out if you haven’t already!
Punished Props Academy - / @punishedprops
Kamui Cosplay - / mogrymillian
00:00 Intro
00:55 Dropcloth
01:10 Test Piece
02:57 Drawing Layout
03:23 Conduit Detail
04:01 Acrylic Caulk Spread
04:34 EVA Panel Layout
05:37 EVA Detailing & Heat Gun Trick
06:33 Painting & Weathering
09:11 Cutting mat to Size
09:47 Finished Mat & Showcase

[@KnarbMakes]

If you enjoyed this video and want to support me in making more like it! Please consider signing up for one of the Tiers on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/knarbmakes. Hope to have you as a part of my community! Cheers and stay tuned for more awesome terrain crafting videos.

[@KnarbMakes]

@@FelixSteffensen Thanks for dropping by, and great suggestion! I have some scatter terrain plans in mind for the future, I'll see if I can showcase some of it.

[@RPRsChannel]

This was really clever. We're gunna see a LOT of people in the game terrain hobby copy this.

[@aerodave1]

@@FelixSteffensen had

[@theezekarion164]

Nice When U Salimg Me One?

[@dominiclee696]

Not sure if you will see this but could you give an update on how well the EVA has stayed on the matt? and whether you have a preference for long term survivability?

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Cool build

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks Emil!

[@Terrainosaur]

Oh look at Mr. Pro Video Producer here! With his great thumbnail, ULTIMATE caps in title, flashy intro, bright lighting, speed changes, jumpcuts, talking to cam, transparent PNG graphics, personal asides, story telling, nice. The patreon spin was HOT. The heat gun shocked me. And the idea is BRILLIANT. Possibly my favourite terrain video EVAR.

[@KnarbMakes]

A bit too clickbait maybe? I feel like it delivers pretty well. 😜

[@Terrainosaur]

@@KnarbMakes No. It's perfectly normal for KZbin. Since I've never seen this before, you have a right to punch up the title.

[@killerpinkart6173]

For real. This video is superb quality. No BS man. Great production value, great presentation. I aspire to be this good one day.

[@blairbird8022]

That bit with the heat gun was my favourite part of this video.

[@KnarbMakes]

Mine too!

[@devileanblack]

I've been searching for DIY battle mats for over a year and this is by far the best DIY battle mat craft ever.

[@Berserkerworks]

Amazing! You've taken DIY battle mats, and cranked it 11.

[@KnarbMakes]

🤘

[@DanielGurule1959]

Beautiful! Well done. Yes I am inspired.

[@KnarbMakes]

Thank you! 😊

[@FacilityD20]

had to watch this twice! Dude you killed this, I have never seem someone make a matt like this. My mind is now spinning about making a smaller d&d version for a city!

[@KnarbMakes]

You can absolutely do cobblestone/brickwork patterns and wood grain instead of what I carved up!

[@Jayster94]

What a fantastic idea to use the foam and the heat gun for the tiles!

[@KnarbMakes]

It's my favorite part of the build. I got a heat gun just for this.

[@Godonstilts]

The moment you got the heat gun out and warped the eva, my mind was blown!! Epic. Well done man

[@Visigoth_]

*Trial-and-error!* cool build.

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks for watching!

[@Slajar196]

This EVA foam looks nice. I've never heard of it. Thanks!

[@KnarbMakes]

You can get it at any craft store. Look for "Craft Foam" in the kids crafting section.

[@Zodd83]

Gorgeous: first 40K battlemat I've ever seen that I like and promises a good play! Bravo!

[@KnarbMakes]

Thank you kindly!

[@lordwolkenstein9339]

the effect with the heat gun - holy moly!

[@DarkMatterWorkshop]

Great job! An improvement over the regular, typical DIY mat.

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks, hope this gets more people making battle mats!

[@toddslanga5262]

This is probably the most original take on DIY gaming mats that I’ve seen. Outstanding job!

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks Todd!

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

This... THIS! This is AWESOME. HOW have I never thought of this. I hope you'll be making more of vids of custom 3d battlemats.

[@KnarbMakes]

More to come!

[@roberthermosillo5727]

Simply incredible. You've set a new bar for hobbiests. Gonna hear the phrase "Knarb-style" terrain in every youtube video now.

[@em3sis]

All the pieces look perfect and natural together on the mat. 10/10

[@oktoberbabyfee]

That is totally the most awesome battlemat out there! Seriously man, it's brilliant! The terrain is awesome, too.

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks. I had a lot of fun making it!

[@ninjamel_official5730]

HOW DID I NOT FIND THIS CHANNEL UNTIL NOW?!?!?! THIS IS PROBABLY THE ONLY GOOD KZbin RECOMMENDATION EVER!!! SERIOUSLY THO....

[@KnarbMakes]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I ALSO CAN'T FIND A WAY TO TURN OFF CAPS LOCK!

[@rebeccafitzpatrick2233]

When you started using the heat gun my mind expanded like the cuts you made in the foam. Really creative build.

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks so much!

[@HacksawsHobbyBunker]

This project answered some questions I have been pondering for a while, as well as illuminated some techniques that I would never have thought of (the heat gun especially). Brilliant!

[@KnarbMakes]

It's a super popular/old technique used in the prop making world. They love EVA foam for crafting all that costume stuff. Probably used in movie industry too.

[@FidoBlogers]

i've watched A LOT of mat tutorials, and this is BY FAR the most amazing looking DIY MAT that i've seen ever!!

[@benweinberg3819]

This is one of the most ingenious builds I've seen, wholly unique! The experimentation phase was good to see what NOT to do as well. Excited to try this out

[@KnarbMakes]

I mess up so you don't have to!

[@ValtanoftheLight]

Amazing job, left me quite speechless

[@KnarbMakes]

Glad you enjoyed it!😀

[@flumpet38]

Awesome build, it looks fantastic! Also, thank you for sharing the pitfalls you encountered. Lots of makers only show the successes, and sometimes knowing what won't work is equally important!

[@KnarbMakes]

Absolutely, hope it was useful for others to learn from my mistakes.

[@johannisson77]

So good, great video, great project and beutiful mat. The heat gun trick just made me drop my jaw in awe. You sir have my subscription!

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks, Glad you found it enjoyable! More awesome builds coming up!

[@bofdar]

EVA is a severely underused tool in terrain making. The heat gun technique is used in Cosplay all the time and seems almost magical!

[@KnarbMakes]

That's where I picked it up from! We need to use it more in terrain building.

[@BattleHardenedGames]

@@KnarbMakes do you know if EVA will take patterns from rollers pretty effectively? I mean the terrain rollers from places like greenstuffworld or etsy.

[@KnarbMakes]

@@BattleHardenedGames it can, but you need to heat the EVA first before rolling. And them take care afterwards as the pattern can be lost if you heat it again. Press really hard and maybe score some of the lines with a blade afterward to make them more pronounced.

[@zombfi]

One of the best creative tutorials I have seen. Well done. 🤘

[@KnarbMakes]

Wow, thanks!

[@AndrevwZA]

Nice trick with the heatgun. What I learned from painting banners in the the sign industry, we always rolled them up with the paint on the outside. Paint stretches easier than it compresses.

[@KnarbMakes]

Great tip!

[@jacobhope6164]

Wow! What an amazing looking mat! I admire your willingness to take risks and experiment.

[@tk-eva72minis]

A new twist to the DIY battle mats. I love the raised texture on the surface, which is great for WH40K. I've used EVA before in cosplays, so I'm definitely going to have a crack at this. A great informative video. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@KnarbMakes]

EVA is starting to be one of my new favorite materials.

[@V0LK0V]

This is legitimately amazing. Going to have to consider something like this.

[@jurgenweingand9190]

Wow, this is amazing, I will build a Terrain for Infinity and your technic is perfekt.

[@KnarbMakes]

Go for it!

[@davethepak]

Absolutely amazing. One side note - acrylic caulk with latex also provides a very flexible adhesive and texturing. thanks for sharing - love your design and execution - and very good production quality (clear shots, good lighting, etc.). thanks again for the video.

[@charleyedwards2121]

that whole table is just amazing man every part of it

[@matthiasg.3645]

That heat gun technique - absolutely amazing, very impressive!

[@alrethianscraftsbattles]

Fantastic video again man! The heat gun to bring out the EVA foam is a great trick i didn't know about yet, thank you for that :). Binging and building alot of your video's as i just got into Kill Team. I play alot of Warcry & Age of Sigmar and wanted to switch things up. Always looking forward to your contents. Keep them coming and keep up the amazing work ;)

[@KnarbMakes]

I used to play a lot more fantasy setting stuff, it's fun to tackle on crisp lines and futuristic materials.

[@kylewilliam487]

This is amazing. Cant wait to try this. I loved when you hit the eva with the heat gun and all the detail came out. Great work!

[@idiotluggage]

I've been meaning to try making a battle mat. I hadn't thought of doing it like this. Thanks for sharing.

[@domshen]

This is awesome! I really liked that you showed your test process and showed what didn't work as well as what did end up working. It will really help people possibly avoid some of those pit falls. I have been super torn on if I want to use necromunda tiles or a battle mat. I think I may make a battle mat that looks like the purchased tiles!!

[@KnarbMakes]

Yeah, going from an initial idea to a final product has some ups and downs, and experimenting with different materials, glues and ways to combine them is always going into uncharted territories.

[@woshstudios]

Omg that heat gun foam trick is incredible!

[@KnarbMakes]

It's my favorite part!

[@JustMe-gz4pu]

Watching the heat gun do it’s job was like magic.

[@JakeDogg-RIP]

The coloured Eva on the board makes me think of an infinity board! 😁 looks great, very cool idea, might need to try it myself. If h work out a way to make a roll up desert board with crackle paste please share it!!! 😊

[@KnarbMakes]

I've seen other KZbin videos covering the topic quite well for desert boards. Here's one of my favourites from Eric's Hobby Workshop: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIubaICFfN6Aj5I

[@JakeDogg-RIP]

@@KnarbMakes thanks, I did see his, it’s more flat tho, like u said in this one they just aren’t “3D” enough for my liking... I’m wondering if the rocks and stuff could be built up, even just a lil bit using eva foam like u did on this one, maybe add the cracks like u did with the roads also! 🤔 I think it could look really good, but still be soft enough to roll away 🤷‍♂️😊

[@KnarbMakes]

​@@JakeDogg-RIP Oh I see what you mean. Yeah that's very doable. One tip I saw someone doing (I forget who now) if you want some easy 3D elevation across an existing battle mat, is just put some pairs of socks underneath at various spots. It creates these subtle rolling hills which work well for natural landscapes.

[@JakeDogg-RIP]

@@KnarbMakes that’s a good idea but subtle rolling hills aren’t as appealing as jagged rocks and cliffs etc 😉😊

[@toadpope2522]

The detail emerging with the heat gun is pure magic 😍

[@MMadjansen]

Woah, this is awesome! Awesome tutorial and fantastic results. Thanks for sharing and for explaining your process with all the tools and materials in such detail - super educational.

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks for tuning in! Hope to see other people give this a try.

[@khimbar123]

KZbin recommended this. 20 seconds in, instant sub. Amazing!

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks for watching!

[@alexanderz8052]

Id love to see you tackle building a city fight board the traditional way: with modular tiles with sculpted on detail and maybe modular elevation Id also like to see your take on a zone mortalis board with walls and floor tiles (without the laser cutter)

[@TryChillBalloo]

Please make more battlmats in the future. would be intrested in flocking and cobblestone tutorials for mats cheers

[@KnarbMakes]

I plan on making a fantasy/medieval mat in the future. Stay tuned!

[@TryChillBalloo]

@@KnarbMakes Thats awesome, Thank you! Your channel is pure gold, i am sure it will grow quickly! would be great to see also some water effects tutorials like these ones: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f33Wfp5shZmfnJI

[@40kwarriortuber92]

I dont think I have ever seen a video as detailed as this about mats. Great job. This has inspired me to create some terrain.

[@jonbauml225]

Never seen a build like this! So amazing!

[@bengamingames5002]

The heat gun trick blew me away! Can't wait to try it!

[@RLBndR]

Definitely one of the most unique builds I've ever seen on youtube. I hope this video goes viral. Absolutely original content. And congratulations on the patron!!

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks for the continued support Ryan. This is one of my favorite builds so far.

[@FrankyDCrafter]

@@KnarbMakes this completely blew me away! The possibilities are endless!!!!!

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks Franky! You can totally adapt this to any kind of texture you can think of.

[@RLBndR]

@@KnarbMakes you should try to colab with Franky d crafter 🤣

[@KnarbMakes]

@@FrankyDCrafter Interest in doing a build with me? I have some ideas floating around I think you would like. Shoot me an email or Instagram DM, not quite sure how to reach you.

[@zeldakitsch]

Great video, really enjoyed it and not something I had seen before. I loved that you included the pitfalls/mistakes, and the fact you are using construction materials and not necessarily traditional crafting materials, excellent job

[@frankling.robertsiii6811]

This was an awesome tutorial! I can see making quite a few of these for convention games… I’ll be making one for my future games of Stargrave myself.

[@StrangeAether]

Oh my God, a new rising star of tabletop terrain!

[@CampaignTerrain]

Super nice! Now... I just need to figure out how to "medievalize" some town roads, or similar. If I ever take up the grim future side of our hobby, I'm coming over to your house to play XD

[@KnarbMakes]

Id love to see your take on this for a fantasy setting.

[@jack0lantern03]

Seems like a lot of people liked the rainbow, lol. And thank you Knarb, for making me discover yet another aspect of tabletop crafting, and also for making me discover your channel.

[@KnarbMakes]

Happy to see it! Thanks for watching.

[@Stefan-yz5lr]

Awesome, I'd say this is the best diy battlemat I've come across.

[@adamp3229]

One of the best battle mats I've ever seen

[@LouieLovesMinis]

Latex paint is smart. Good way to secure everything down

[@daringdarius5686]

I just found your channel today, I have been just back to back binging your content while trying to workout (working off the corona fat as hopefully I will soon qualify for the vaccine). Seriously, well edited, clear, concise and great tips, where have you been the past 5 years of my life xD

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks Darius! Hope you can get the vaccine soon! Thanks for watching.

[@giovanni23048]

Wow this looks great af, thanks youtube for the recommend

[@BonsaiBear27]

My son and I have only just started on our Warhammer journey but seeing your creative genius has encouraged us even more! Great video 👍.

[@KnarbMakes]

That's great to hear! Have a good time, it's loads of fun.

[@MeGaShaHeS]

Class man,I've never seen anything like this.The heat gun on the eva form is satisfying af.

[@billdefranza4927]

This is really impressive! The technique with the heat gun on the foam is very cool.

[@robertmadejski5690]

Wow, so much effort! Great result. Thank you for making such a fantastic video.

[@goblinry]

This is stunningly beautiful.

[@castingscenics2143]

Awesome! Yarn can work well for wires or pipes too! This is a terrific looking mat!

[@KnarbMakes]

Someone else suggested shoe strings in a comment thread! Really good ideas coming out this comment section. Thanks for watching!

[@jherazob]

This has to be my favorite variation on homemade battlemats to date, great result! Good idea to go with EVA, very flexible and the heat gun trick cosplayers use so much works like magic in this context, very nice!

[@KnarbMakes]

It's my favorite part of the process.

[@OriginPainting]

That's awesome, the addition of depth and texture is a great touch.

[@KnarbMakes]

Thank you very much!

[@E40kGeek_Tactical]

Love your content man this is impressive! Makes me want to get out there and make a mat for my buddies and I. We are getting tired of gaming on the same 3 mats

[@KnarbMakes]

You can never have too many mats!

[@m3verse]

Great looking mat! I'm certainly going to be using some of these tricks. Thanks for sharing

[@KnarbMakes]

You bet!

[@rubiolouis]

Man, I loved it!! The colors, the details

[@marcwittkowski5146]

Holy crap, this is beautiful! I love it!

[@michaelkopstein2779]

One of the most important videos on KZbin

[@kallisto9166]

That's a great idea! Really original, solidly made and nicely shot. Well done! Frankly, you should consider building a Kickstarter around that concept. I would love to see how much more you can do with it, especially with natural terrain surfaces.

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks for the suggestion. Ill try and see what I can come up with and if this is feasible to mass produce.

[@ryanyuhr2087]

Great build, loved the trouble shooting.

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks, I hope it helps others make stuff armed with knowledge 😀

[@hammerofgodminiatures]

Awesome job and that's a sick table 👍👍👍👍

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks 👍

[@darthcraw7192]

Great idea with the eva foam! Looking forward for the next one 😉

[@KnarbMakes]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@rottenkittystudios4127]

Gotta search for my eyes on the floor. Dang, dem silly things popped out of my skull staring at this stroke of genius. 👀💀

[@KnarbMakes]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@AddamsFactory69]

Why has the algorithm kept you away from me for so long! Brilliant job, well done 😀 (liked, subbed etc, good luck with your channel!)

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks for the sub!

[@robertocosimi2404]

Beautiful work!!

[@simeonbrown3712]

WOW. seen a few mat builds done and done a few myself and nothing I've seen tops this one. love the hot air gun on the foam to make the scoring pop. looks like i have another project on the list. time to order some supplies.

[@KnarbMakes]

For sure! Try a smaller one first, It's still useful as small sections too.

[@chwbcc]

Cool Build, Here is a suggestion to improve and replicate these. Get the design CNC'd on a sheet of MDF, put a frame around the board and then pour in some tinted Silicone. Pull the sheet out and cast another one, and another one, and sell these bad boys! Great job!

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks Jerry! Some other commenters have suggested similar approaches. I do want to try my hand at casting something, and that would be one giant mold, so maybe it would work better split into several sections! Maybe some day I can build up to it, but I'll likely start on smaller scales first. Cheers!

[@SteveFamine]

This is a flex. Looks great

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks Steve!

[@OverboardDM]

Love the mat.

[@danc6524]

Beautiful work! i don't play this games but i'm an action figures collector , and you work really inspired me to do a GiJoe diorama.

[@nova3k]

This is really cool. However I would like to see you leave it rolled up after a couple months and then unroll it and see how it holds up. One thing that dawned on me to try is leaving some cloth on one of the short ends and installing some grommets so you can hang the mat on a wall without needing to roll it up. You could hang several together on a 4' space on your wall.

[@KnarbMakes]

Awesome idea! I was considering doing something like that. I have rolled it up for about 2 weeks and it unrolls just fine so far. Time will tell...

[@ArtJeremiah]

I meant to watch this the other day. This is pretty freaking amazing man!

[@KnarbMakes]

Thanks so much Jeremiah! I'm really enjoying your dungeon builds. I'll be doing some medieval style terrain coming up inspired by some of your work.

[@HesteBremse]

Looks really great, and the map being so flexible is simply awesome 👍👍👍

[@zxc1972]

brilliant, just what i was looking for!

[@DirkBernauOppendorfGrindhouse]

looks great, good job

[@martinspinosa6035]

Increible todo!

[@shikemil2201]

Never see something like this ! Congrat' !

[@manuellaslo1282]

looks great

[@andiwandfahren7876]

Just subbed. This will make a fine addition to my lockdown projects.

[@richardthomas8415]

Outstanding creativity man...Bravo!!👏👏👏

[@KnarbMakes]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@whydoineedahandlewtf]

Wow this is amazing!