On the edge...of fields

Sometimes the simplest of things can make the biggest difference when it comes to a realistic terrain set up. I thought I would share an interesting little idea I had that has worked out quite well for creating a fairly good looking battlefield with a minimum of effort and cost.
First, let's take a look at a typical starting point -- a green mat with no terrain. Here, some of my colonial militia march down what appears to be the 18th fairway at Augusta National Golf Course.



Not exactly the most realistic looking field, is it? Here are the basic things you need to fix this: Some cheap latex paint (brown, green or tan, doesn't really matter that much), some cheap school rulers (pick these up during the big school supply sales for like 25 cents each), and some basic green flock (I use Woodland Scenics green blend). You'll also need some white glue and some other flock types, mainly the coarse turf variety, also by Woodland Scenics.



The first step is to give the rulers a heavy coat of the latex paint.



While the paint is still wet, dump a liberal dose of the flock over it.



We now have the base ready for the next step. I used a mix of three different colors of coarse turf, plus some yellow dried moss (available from Michael's or any craft shop) cut with scissors to shorten the pieces, along with some miscellaneous chunks of clump foliage (also Woodland Scenics).



I started by mixing a small pile of the different coarse turf and moss into a big pile.



Next, put a liberal dose of white glue all along the ruler and then take pinches of the pile mix and start sticking it or sprinkling it into the glue. Then take some of your clump foliage and place pieces in random places along the ruler. We are looking for chaos here. The edges of fields are lines of random types of vegetation all fighting one another for light and resources, so you get a lot of colors and textures. Once I had the ruler mostly covered, I sprinkled a bit more coarse turf and even a little more flock over the top of everything.




You can seal all of this stuff on by misting the whole thing with wet water (water with a few drops of soap in it to break the surface tension so that it soaks into everything and doesn't just puddle on top) then dribbling drops of Woodland Scenics landscape cement (or diluted white glue) across it. Be warned, the rulers will probably warp a little if you do seal it because of the water that somehow gets into the wood. Maybe an extra layer of paint would have helped, or maybe it's the paint that's actually warping it, who knows. But even if it does warp, the little metal band that's implanted in the ruler is your friend -- you can gently bend the ruler back to form and the metal band helps it hold its shape. Some of the ones I've done, I just haven't bothered to seal and they've held up fine, so the choice is yours.

Now, let's take a look at how these simple rulers can transform our battlefield. One other note before we look at the photos -- the "fields" of different colors that are between the edging are nothing more than the Woodland Scenics "project sheets". These are small vinyl mats that are preflocked and precut to about 14x14 square inches.







Now we have something that looks like some farmland and not a golf course. I use these field dividers to denote rolling terrain as well. A common problem with wargame terrain is that real terrain gently rolls and even "flat" ground can have quite a few dips and minor hills that at a distance can effectively hide a body of men or equipment. That effect is hard to model on the wargames table. What I do, is randomly layout these dividers on the table, sometimes dicing for how many in a row there are or whatever, and use them to mark the edges of a given minor elevation. They count as view blocks, meaning unless a unit is touching the edge of the field, it cannot see past it. This would represent the unit's view being blocked by a combination of the vegetation along the edge of the field and the gentle undulation of the ground. It helps bring some "roll" to what is otherwise a flat table.
One other way I use them is to denote sunken roads. When a road is bordered by field dividers on both sides, it's a sunken road. Here's a couple more shots:




As you can probably tell from all the photos, I also use the rulers to mount my fences and walls on. Also, the addition of a few scrub trees adds to the effect, and I've also done one with a row of tall trees. The variety is limitless, and by using rulers, you are getting a uniform length to all your dividers no matter what you put on them.

There was a question whether these would work with 15mm troops (the ones in the prior pictures are 1/72 scale which comes out to about 23mm). I think so, but here are some photos of Old Glory 15mm Prussians (reserve infantry followed by some hussars) -- draw your own conclusions.




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