Terrain Flocking Test

'Low Rise' test piece with 15mm German WWII Grenadiers and sabot bases

This may not look like much, but it's been a very useful test piece. I wanted to try out something a bit more interesting than just sprinkling patches of grass flock on a terrain piece, so I got out a whole bunch of different flocks that I've bought or made in the past and started layering them.

I'm pretty happy with the look of the thing in the end; it has a lot more visual appeal than stuff I've done before, and I'll certainly stick with the layering technique for more ambitious terrain projects.

I've also included some 'sabot' bases I made in 2mm MDF on a laser-cutter, with magnetic sheet glued underneath. The bases are designed for use with the Flames of War rules — it's a system I don't much like and seldom play, so I don't want to commit to permanently basing figures for it. I've made sabots with variable numbers of holes and hole layouts so that there will be some visual variation on the table.

Here's the Test Thing against a plain background so it's easier to see.

I buy most of my flock from a local railway modellers' shop rather than from gaming suppliers. It's cheaper, much cheaper, and comes in much larger quantities. I make some from time to time (though generally it's 'dirt' flock rather than grass or foliage) out of MDF dust coloured with acrylics or watercolours. It's easy-peasy, though to be honest I'd probably get just as good results by sieving actual dirt.