Setting a Great table, with the Killing Fields

If you’ve read some of my articles about ESR (Et Sans Resultat) a Napoleonic ruleset, you might have noticed the amazing looking mat used in the pictures.

This mat is the “Classic Grasslands Mat” . It goes for $60 and it’s not some stretch of teddy bear fur. The mat is 5’x7′ in size (54×78?) and has 3 layers of colors to really give it that field of grass look.

The look of the mat I find just amazing and pretty much right out of a painting.

Just for comparison, here’s a picture I took on the battlefield during the 200th anniversary of Waterloo. This mat really looks that good!

Another feature of the mat that I really appreciate is the ability to put things under it to simulate hills. For ESR where the individual stands don’t weigh much, dish rags were under this mat to give the area terrain and they work perfectly. This mat was setup in a game store, so this wasn’t some studio photoshoot, this was setup and play!

Naturally for metal miniatures like you’d use for Flames of War or akin, you’d want something more beefy under the mat, but you definitely get the idea that this mat can be draped over your hills.

Last I’ll close with a 15mm miniature to give you an idea of how the mat works with a larger scale. As you can see, the larger scale fits perfectly and the feel of the sweeping grasslands of Russia sure come across.