WATER / GLUE MIX

     This started out as a tip in my General Tips section.  However, I've personally found it to be so useful that I'm posting it on a page of its own!...

     There is a "trick" I've learned from model railroading to keep scenery in place -- and I've found it works VERY well in making Terrain Maker^® hexes.  You will need to mix water and Elmer's White Glue in about a 50:50 mix, with a drop or two of liquid dishwashing detergent.  (The liquid detergent helps to break what is called "surface tension", and allows the mix to flow more readily and soak into materials more easily.)  I use a two-ounce bottle I got at a local craft store for my water/glue mix.  What you will then do is to very gently dispense drops of the mix onto your scenic surface.  It will soak in to the scenic material -- and when it dries, the material will be rather securely bonded to the hex.  You want to thoroughly soak the hex -- don't worry if the hex takes on a milky, whitish look.  It will dry with a clear, flat finish.  And if you find that you've missed some spots -- just apply more of the water/glue mix and (again) allow it to dry.  When it completely dries, your scenic materials will be relatively tough and durable, and will only flake off / break off if handled rather roughly!  This durability will help give you "peace of mind" when your gaming cronies are battling over your terrain -- let them play, they're not going to tear up your hexes!

      A few notes on using this water/glue mix:

      (1)  Make sure your work surface is covered with a disposable material, such as old newspapers -- the water/glue mix will run off the sides occasionally and onto your work surface.

      (2)  If possible, use something to elevate your hex off of your work surface.  I purchased some small (two ounce) disposable plastic cups to mix putty, etc.  I use these (turned upside-down to make a larger base) to elevate the hexes off of my work surface.  This way, when the water/glue mix runs off the side, it drips onto the work surface, but does not bond the hex to the work surface!

      (3)  Take special care to soak the edges of the hexes.  This is where they are handled, where they bump up against other hexes, etc.  You really want your scenery solidly attached here!

      (4)  This water/glue mix can alter the color of your scenic materials; when first applied, the gray ballast I use to cover my roadways is a medium gray.  But after application of the water/glue mix -- when dried, the ballast is a darker shade of gray.  The slight color shift did not bother me -- but be aware that it might occur.  So far, I've not noticed any other color changes...

      (5)  Occasionally, the material being soaked with the water/glue mix will shift.  This will occur when one side of a "clump" of ground foam will soak up the water/glue mix before the other -- and in that fraction of a second, the piece will "roll over" onto its (temporarily) heavier side.  Or some material will "float" away into a depression (such as a ditch) or off the slope of a hillside.  As I see it, you have a couple of options at this point:  (a)  leave it where it lies -- after all, Nature seemingly grows at random, why shouldn't grass, bushes, etc? -- or (b) use tweezers to re-locate the shifted piece back to its intended location.  Do what looks right... but be advised that once the water/glue mix dries, your scenic materials will be bonded into position!

      (6)  One place I would not use the water/glue mix is after applying static grass.  As the water/glue mix dries, it pulls the fibers of the static grass down onto the "ground", thus losing the "standing up" effect of the static grass.  I learned this one by experience... and while the hex I made is still quite "playable", it just doesn't look the way I intended it to.  (In case you've never heard it, there is an "old saw" about experience -- "Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment!")