on the road again...

Carrying on with my terrain-making for the War of 1812 and the French and Indian War, next up some roads. For many years I've been using a variety of materials for quick and easy roads, none of which were completely satisfactory. Part of the problem was finding a material that could be easily worked and looked good (and wouldn't warp when texturing or glue is applied). Of course, the other part was actually getting around to doing something about it...

A recent trip to Home Depot garnered several of these PVC(?) textured garage floor tiles. The texture is perfect!

For those interested, the product code. 

The tiles are easily cut with a heavy-duty exacto knife. The edges were then bevelled (a decidedly messy and tedious exercise). I also picked up some brown silicon caulking for the wheel ruts (be sure to get the paintable version). This is spread out with a finger and the wheel ruts scored in with a small wooden matchstick. Tip: wait a full 24 hrs for the caulking to cure completely before proceeding.

The caulking has been spread and the pieces ready for a variety of dry-brush coats and washes. You can see the original test pieces finished. The straight pieces (of various lengths) were easy to cut. The curves and junctions, not so much.

And the entire batch completed. A lot of work for what seems a small batch but all told it would stretch about 12 feet.

The rubber is flexible but only with some effort. These are not meant to be draped over hills or depressions but will conform to slight variations. If they're not stored flat, it takes only a few minutes for the rubber to settle flat when on a table.

And some action shots...