I’m a scenic designer for Chicago theatre, and sometimes I need carpet or linoleum samples to show a director. Big-box stores like Menards, Lowe’s, and Home Depot, as well as carpet stores, give free samples that are usually in the open; you can help yourself. The samples I get are about 6" x 5". You can also put several together or mix them up for dioramas, model display, figure bases, and so on. There are many varieties of color, pile, texture, and even several grass colors. Many linoleum samples have stone designs. If you find one that you want, just glue it to your base and you’re ready to display. Or, you can use the carpet or linoleum as a base and go over it with groundwork or some other surface.
Tip submitted by:
Charles PaliaLisle, Illinois