Can someone identify this for me?

This is a self healing cutting matt of I don't know which brand but there is many of those on the market.  You can use knives on this matt without leaving scratches or anything.  A very usefull article for any modeler and you can buy those at any Stapple store for around $20.

And for any question on images, have a look here:

http://www.finescale.com/FSM/CS/forums/33867/ShowPost.aspx

to the above and Home

Bud

I also and say with a

Shell

I'm just getting started modeling again too (armor models). When I saw the cutting mat in some of the photos I figured it was a good idea and ordered one off the internet. The next week I saw a selection of four or five sizes at walmart in the sewing section of the store and they were of course cheaper.

And thanks for asking about posting the photos, I have been searching all over this forum for directions on how to do that.

jeramieb wrote:

I am glad my post could help more people than just me. I was actually kind of wishing I could have some one identify the actual mat in the picture. I have seen a few online but none with the information like this one. Anyone have any kind of information on this?

Try this one...

http://www.hobbico.com/tools/hcar0454.html

As with any cutting mat it looks nice and pretty when it's new. First spill of liquid cement or lacquer thinners and you can say "bye bye" to the nice print work though.

bilbirk wrote:

Now this may be a dumb question but could'nt you use a simple cutting board. I have seen a lot of modelers use these. I went to the local kitchen store and picked up several boards. So am I missing out on something? Thanks all

If you're refering to cutting boards for vegetable, you might want to reconsider your choice cause those will get scratched overtime.  If you need just a surface not to damage the counter you're working on and you want to use it just to glue the parts together, it might be fine but if you want to play with tinny PE parts or if you do some scratchbuilding where you'll need a good clean cutting surface, you will find that the scratches can be very awefull.

Those self healing matts will remains undamaged if you use them as a ctting surfac only.  You are right about the "vegetable" cutting boards if you want a building surface that will receive blobs of glue and liquid cement or putty. 

The best is to have both and use that self healing matt for cutting purposes only.  That's what I will do when I replace the one I have.  (It is now damaged because of liquid cement and glue)

My wife has some plastic cutting "sheets" that are thin , tough plastic and are 10 x 20 " . I stole one from her and i put it over my new matt when i do any glue or putty work . Saves my new matt. When i'm done working i slide it under my matt . That protects it and also hides it from the wife . 

Phil_H wrote:

jeramieb wrote: I am glad my post could help more people than just me. I was actually kind of wishing I could have some one identify the actual mat in the picture. I have seen a few online but none with the information like this one. Anyone have any kind of information on this? Try this one... http://www.hobbico.com/tools/hcar0454.html As with any cutting mat it looks nice and pretty when it's new. First spill of liquid cement or lacquer thinners and you can say "bye bye" to the nice print work though.

jwb wrote:

I use a ceramic bathroom tile I picked up at Lowe's for a few cents. Smooth top, compact and solid- and nothing I've thrown at it hasn't been scraped off.

That got me to thinking Jon... 

When I was a kid, my mom gave me her old marble cutting board to use for my modeling. I did everything on it, cut my plastics, painted, glued, etc... It was a bit tough on the razor blades as it would dull them a bit quicker, but cleanup was a breeze. I'd let the paint and glue dry and scrap it off with a single-edge razor blade.

Something else now to add to my Xmas list! That might prolong the life of my self-sealing cutting mat.