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In-Box Review
135
Late Summer, stony
Grass Mat, Late Summer Medium Calc Stones
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by: Charles Reading [ CREADING ]

Introduction

This is a pre-made 7”X11” (17.78cmX27.94cm) landscape mat from Model Scene, complete with grass, grass clumps, weeds and rocks.

review

This is an interesting product that can be used as a stand-alone base for figures and vehicles, or can be cut and sectioned like other ‘grassland’ type materials.

The “Late Summer” grass mat comes with yellow/green grass of varying heights from low to large tufts. Interspersed are various low, shrub like bushes and weeds. There are various sized rocks indicating a dry creek bed type geography.

The review item “Late Summer, Medium Calc Stones” is one of about twenty two grass mats offered by Model Scene. There are three versions of the ’Late Summer’ with small, medium (reviewed here) and large stones.

‘Early Summer’ which hosts the deeper green of grass that hasn’t yet been dried out by the sun and again, offered with different stone sizes.
I particularly like the ’Steppe’ mat with its low green turf interspersed with low lavender flowering bushes.

Conclusion

Whether you use this mat ‘as is’ and create a 7”X11” base to set your models on, or if you ‘customize’ a diorama base with sections of these turf mats, you are going to have a nice looking display with realistic ground work.

If you consider the cost of all the individual groundwork products that you would need to create this from scratch (static grass, tufts, shrubs etc.) the overall cost of these mats is not overly expensive.
SUMMARY
Highs: Very high quality materials that look very good right out of the box. The person who just can’t get their groundwork to look right will appreciate this product.
Lows: The person who likes to create their own unique groundwork will probably prefer to start with a blank base, add static grass, add tufts, add shrubs and rocks.
Verdict: If you don’t have the time or inclination to build your groundwork up from the base, this will make your diorama building life a lot easier. These mats look good even without any figures or vehicles on them!
Percentage Rating
90%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: F723
  Suggested Retail: $23.99
  Related Link: manufacturers website
  PUBLISHED: May 25, 2010
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 87.80%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 95.18%

Our Thanks to TankRat's AFV Depot!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Charles Reading (CReading)
FROM: CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES

I live in the mountains north of Santa Cruz California. I have been building now since the early 1990's when I rediscovered modeling. Most of my kits are built with dioramas in mind. I took a "creative block" hiatis for a couple years - 2011 to 2013. I wasn't active in the modeling world. During tha...

Copyright ©2021 text by Charles Reading [ CREADING ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

Looks good but for me a tad high in price. A good review.
MAY 24, 2010 - 02:37 PM
Very interesting item Charles .. thanks for the introduction and the review. At first glance, it does look very good and realistic. Wonder how difficult it would be to place a tracked vehicle (most common item built) on this mat? Could be difficult to get it to conform to the ground ... or at least create a lot of extra work involving articulating the running gear over the stones and pre-laid grass.
MAY 24, 2010 - 03:52 PM
Hi Frank, I don't think it would be too difficult to place a tracked vehicle. You'd sort of have to do a 'reverse build' in that once you decided where to put the vehicle, you'd have to pick out grass and flatten the path of the vehicle, maybe add some mud or dirt with pigments etc. The actual mat seems pretty sturdy in that you could cut or pick grass out of a specific area without too much problem. There seems to be room for all sorts of experimentation. Although the rocks are set in place with some sort of glue and don't fall off or come loose, they are pretty easy to pull off if you want to move them or just want to get rid of some. All in all it seems pretty versatile. Cheers, Charles
MAY 24, 2010 - 04:36 PM
I thnk this mat is awesome, I know how long it can take to make something and make it look real. This is great and I do not think the price is to hihg at all - 23.99 is reasonable. If you had to make a huge diorama and buy 10 of these, than maybe it is? Depends on who can afford it or not.
MAY 24, 2010 - 07:10 PM
I saw a vendor at AMPs last month had several of these on sale at the show. I just cannot remenber who it was. Anyway, they look great and would make for a Great addition to any vignette or Dio. milvehfan
MAY 25, 2010 - 04:33 AM
Hi Charles, Thanks for the product review, looks very interesting. Al
MAY 26, 2010 - 08:25 AM
I have mixed feelings about it. It looks pretty good and does save time, especially for those of us who are slow builders. To me, getting into a lot of prebuilt stuff turns what we do, from a hobby into a collection. While to some ,collecting is a hobby, to me to create from kits and materials is more the way to go. This particular pre made matt does seem very nice though, if you like that kind of thing.....Al
JUN 07, 2010 - 08:29 AM
   
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