Making Terrain Boards Part 6: Grass and Vegetation

I was tempted to leave my terrain boards in their barren, desert-like state, but eventually forged on and added grass, shrubs and vegetation. Check out my technique after the jump.

If you missed my previous progress, you can check out my build logs here:

• Terrain Boards Part 1: Planning
• Terrain Boards Part 2: Base and Edges
• Terrain Boards Part 3: Cutting the River
• Terrain Boards Part 4: Building Hills
• Terrain Boards Part 5: Dirt and Stone

I started by assembling my raw materials. The unflocked terrain boards:

... and flocking material. Some I had on hand and others I had recently picked up.

First I created a basic flock blend to apply to the entire board.

Basic Flock Recipe

• Flock and Turf Green Grass Blend (3 cups)
• Flock and Turf Farm Pasture Blend (1 cup)
• Woodland Scenics Blended Turf (1 cup)
• Noch 2mm-6mm Summer Field Static Grass (1/2 cup)

Applying the Flock Base

I used a paint brush to cover the terrain board with matte medium scenic cement. I didn't want my terrain boards to look like a finely manicured golf course, so to introduce some color variation I sprinkled patches of single color flock on various parts of the boards, afterwards sprinkling my basic flock on top.

After the matte medium dried, I tipped each board to shake off excess and then sprayed matte medium over everything to secure it.

Blending the Roads

The edges of the paths were a bit too stark and manicured, so I used a mix of Flock and Turf Earth Blend and Early Autumn Blend to smooth the transition from dirt to grass along the road areas. I was really happy with the effect the Earth Blend created.

In progress. You can see I'm working from right to left adding the Earth Blend.

After shaking off extra and doing some final blending with various flocks.

I also used the Earth Blend along the banks of the river and around the eroded stones.

Layering Flock

The boards were shaping up, with a smooth, fluffy coating of flock.

It was a bit too manicured, so I began layering extra flock and texture on top. I started with some autumn blends to bring in some yellow and brown, but the color difference was too extreme and I quickly backed out of that option.

Next I used an overspray of scenic cement and sprinkled straight Summer Field Grass static grass. This looked great! Even without an electro static gun to make the grass stand up, the static grass added a lot of texture, and the lighter shade of green of the static grass over the darker base flock added depth to the vegetation.

Once the static grass was dry I experimented with some other textures. I used some Silfor static grass, but they were lost within overall grassy areas, and stood out too much when used on the edges of the roads. Those Silfor tufts are pricey and I decided the effect wasn't worth it on the terrain boards.

Instead, I added a mix of Woodland Scenics Underbrush and Burnt Grass sporadically over the boards to simulate thicker areas of brush and bushes.

Finishing Up

I could have continued adding bushes, heather, long grass and flowers but I was concerned about keeping the terrain boards playable.

Overall I was pretty pleased with the final flocked terrain boards. I think I'll be able to get a few games in on these now, but I still need to add water to the river. Having never tackled faux-water, it's a bit daunting. If you have any tips or suggestions on adding water to these terrain boards, please let me know in the comments!