Flocked Felt Fields by Hotz Mats

I recently bought three packs of flocked felt fields from Eric Hotz at Hotz Mats to spruce up the terrain options. Fields are often a part of Napoleonic battle fields. For instance, a feature of the Quatre Bras battle field was the rye fields south of the crossroads.

I had difficulty finding some nice looking options for 10mm, I had some adequate ones made from synthetic grass. The teddy bear fur I tried was too long for 10mm, ok for 28, but not right for 10mm. I had been struggling to find exactly the right kind of door mat, that was plain brown and a rubber base.

Contents of 3 Field kits

The pictures on Erics sites looked very appealing, and the reviews were positive, so I ordered three packets of the 6mm - 15mm version. There is a discount for three packets (only $14USD each) and the postage was the same for one or three packets.

The 6mm - 15mm pack contains 6 fields in 3 different sizes. I ended up with 20 fields between the tree packs, totalling an area of 900mm x 600mm (36" x 24"). The ground scale I use is 1mm - 1 yard, so that is a lots of country under cultivation. The smallest field was 100mm x 100mm and the largest 250mm x 200mm.

They come in different colours - green, brown and a yellow which look realistic at a distance. The field is made of a matted fabric with the furrows made with flock glued on. Eric say that they are treated with a sealer to make sure it stays together. They look and feel very durable. The instructions say they can be ironed flat, but it wasn't necessary with the ones I received.

Summer fields of Belgium

They seem to stick nicely to the static grass mat, like a very light velcro feel, and conform nicely to contours. I like the flexibility they give to designing layouts.

Eric was fantastic and prompt with the service, getting from Canada to Australia in 11 days.

Overall I think they add a lot to the feel of the board and are well worth the investment. Full marks Eric.

For more details see  http://www.hotzmats.com/fields_main_page.html

Total contents of the three packs

Back of the fields showing the matted felt

More pictures after the break

Belgian Militia (Redline 10mm) marching through

Colour variation 

Red Lancers (Old Glory 10mm)  for comparison

Dutch Jaegers (Redline 10mm)

Nassau (Redline 10mm) marching into Quatre Bras

French Line Lancers (Redline 10mm) 

Compared with the synthetic grass mats

Irregular 10mm sheep and my own resin haystacks