Possible Neoprene Overlays?

[Cat]

Originally Posted by Bowser

I must admit (somewhat sheepishly) that I have five sets of all of the mapsheets.

* bows in respect *

Originally Posted by sparky00

From what I gather, whats being discussed is a potential 24" X 24" neoprene mat of various terrain features/map mods. The intent appears to be to print and sell the mat, then the customer would cut out the individual hexes to make overlays. Is that correct?

Correct. Cutting apart any of the existing mats would include a lot of wastage whereas a bespoke overlay mat would have much more content value for overlays.

I've never worked much with rubber-backed neoprene. How is it to cut? Does it cut cleanly with sharp scissors, or does it require a different tool/technique? Do you get nice clean edges & corners, or does it curl & frey?

I have cut neoprene before with no problems, but not with the tight inside corners of hex patterns. So, I just pulled out an old mousepad and did a test.

The neoprene on the mousepad is twice as thick as that on the Ogre mats, and cut just fine with an XActo knife.

Using a cork-backed steel ruler for a straight edge worked superbly, never slid a bit out of place on the fabric cover.

No peeling at all of the fabric from the neoprene. The factory gluing process with an industrial press makes a very secure and uniform bond.

There were some little bits of ragged fabric along the cut, particularly at the outside corners. This trimmed up quick and easily with scissors.

The cut edge of the fabric stood out with a white edge, so I covered it up with a magic marker.

Photo over here on BGG in a discussion on using markers on the mats (especially for errata corrections for the first printing of M1):
https://boardgamegeek.com/article/32683163#32683163

[Buzzardo]

What about cloth overlays with no backing, so that they are thin (thinner than cardboard and much thinner than the mats)?

[Cat]

Originally Posted by Buzzardo

What about cloth overlays with no backing, so that they are thin (thinner than cardboard and much thinner than the mats)?

No, not a good solution. In the interim, I've been making my own felt overlays and those aren't as non-skid as neoprene. They have better traction than plain cloth would, but they are light enough that they get knocked around during play. Felt overlays on the edge of the board and the edge of the table have a tendency to wind up on the floor. Neoprene has much better traction to stay in place.