Desert Rock Outcrop

Hello There! While looking through a number of desert photographs I noticed the rocky features that played an important part in many of the clashes that took place in North Africa.

Especially in the Gazala battles these higher areas were seized by the Axis forces and caused the Commonwealth forces countless headaches and losses as they used penny packets of, sometimes, untrained and unacclimatized forces to recapture the high ground.

I wanted to avoid making some special to type terrain, as this may have been very large and caused me some real storage problems. I would also have been unable to change the size and shape of the high ground and could not change the high ground to include or exclude trenches or dug in positions.

I thought out a system of modular tiles which could allow replacement of the type of high ground or, if no high ground was needed I could use as a back ground.

This a basic plan to show what I envisage. The two central, plain squares are 600mm x 600mm flat desert tiles which can easily be replaced with times with trenches or positions in.

Each of the surrounding tiles are 600mm x 300mm and have a rock face along all or part of one side. Each of the four corners have a turn in the rock face and can match up with the tile next to it. They can also be swapped round as they are modular.

Three of the above tiles have slopes to aid access.

Here is a cross section of the tiles. The central higher tile on the left sits on a 2" thick sheet of polystyrene. The surrounding tiles have the timber edge extended to the same height as the raised central tile.

I have started to make some of these already.

One thing I have learnt, is how to cut the plaster rock face moulds. I did not want many repeated rock formations and I was limited to four Woodland Scenics moulds. After experimenting with layers of the smaller rock moulds, here. I decided to use the larger rock casts but cut them to the required height. At first I scored a line with a craft knife and continued during this until the cast snapped. Then I realised I could cut them with a general purpose saw and it was a lot faster.

I have started from one side and worked across to the other. I also try to over lap the castings to make them look more natural.

This close up shows that more clearly.

I deliberately model a curve into the face of the styrene so that the rock face does not look flat and unrealistic.

This tile includes one of those access slope I mentioned earlier.

The slope is also bordered by rock castings but cutting the larger rock casting down to the height that is required means that you now have double the shapes to build up you scenery.

 

Hougoumont Gardens

Hello here! I recently saw some previous work, I had done for my local wargames club. I may have posted it on this blog, but it was a very long time ago, so I thought I would post them on here.

The model of Hougoumont is the Hovels, resin, offering. It did not come with a walled garden but does have the walls. It always looked a bit sparse, when used by the club for its regular Waterloo refight, so I decided to build one.

At the same time I made a garden for the gardeners house next to it.

There are plenty of examples of what the garden looked like, on the internet. I had to separate a wargamers 'best guess' from contemporary painting made just after the battle. Source material, for even such a well read and studied battle, can be misleading.

Here is a close up of the garden. The cabbages are white roses from Hobbycraft scrape booking accessories and painted green and dry brushed a lighter green. The taller vegetation is coconut bristles from a broom head.

The raised beds are thin plywood faced with Slaters Scenics blockwork and then filled in with layers of plaster. Doing one thick layer takes a very long time to set so many thinner layers are better. The triangular plants are a mixture of coconut bristles again and sweet chestnut casings, soaked in glycerine, to preserve them, painted and model railway ballast glued to the top and painted different colours. 

The other part of the flower beads are Woodland Scenics clump foliage soaked in PVA mixed with water, so that they go hard.

The gravel path is, again, model railway ballast.

Desert Roads

 Hello There! With the weather taking a very cold turn, I have started to add to the blog again. I have done some work on the roads for the desert terrain.

I purchased the latex flexible roads from Early War Miniatures, here.

I have a scratch built collection of  rutted roads which I use for my bocage scenery, but this tarmac road was to be used for the desert. There were roads connecting passes and oasis in North Africa but the only tarmac road was the Via Balba. I wanted a smooth surface to the roads and they had to be pliable enough to conform to the uneven surface of the desert terrain I have already made.

Here is the smooth road on the left with a unpainted cobbled road on the right. This is the first time I have used latex roads so they were a bit of a learning curve for me.

I found that they roads tended to stick to each other very easily. I had to consistently peel them apart every time I put them to one side, I would suggest, in the future that if you purchase these, paint and seal them immediately, to stop this happening. This is not a complaint, just an observation as it is a side effect of using latex items.

The other thing I noticed is that if you do not store these flat, both before and after painting, that they can maintain a crease in them. I found this but after a couple of nights sandwiched between two pieces of plywood with a weight on top this was reduced. I presume that a longer period of time would remove any creases. 

With the tarmac roads I air brushed them in Vallejo Model Air 028 sand yellow. Them edged them in yellow ochre artist paint, the same colour as the desert scenery.

About here I noticed that after a few days the roads, if they were not left flat, the paint would start to crack. It was very cold at the time and I did have to put the heater on in the cabin. The roads were not in the direct path of the air heater so were not heated to a great degree.

I would paint soft plastic Airfix figures in a coat of PVA, many years ago, in an effort to stop the paint peeling off them. Here I had already painted the tarmac roads but have added a couple of layers of watered down PVA to both sides of them.

I have since covered the cobbled roads in a PVA and water mix as well.

 

After coating the roads in PVA, I wanted to 'rough' the surface up a bit. The desert environment can easily cover any surface so I decided to use AK dry ground. The road on the left has been stippled with dry ground while the one on the right has some applied at the top, to compare the difference.

 

This is as far as I  have progressed. I am going to monitor the cracking in the paint, to see if it gets worse. I am also considering a further layer of PVA. I will update you on further discoveries.

**POSTSCRIPT**

After inviting Paul, at Early War Miniatures, to view my blog, he very kindly got back to me promptly and explained that usually the roads come with an instruction leaflet, (which I did not receive in this case, however I did order a large job of of mixed roads combined with an order from a wargaming friend).

He explained that the roads are usually brush painted. This would give the roads a thicker coating of paint, as opposed to air brushing. Also it has been very cold in the log cabin recently, (one degree Celsius over night), and cold temperatures may also contribute to this cracking in the paint work.

DAK photoshoot on the Desert Terrain

Hello There! I took the opportunity to photograph some of my DAK desert forces.

I have various plans to add to my desert collection, but I do have to start from the 'bottom up' and complete the terrain first.

I had airbrushed some dust clouds to put behind vehicles many years ago. I used some of them in the last Bir Hacheim game I put on, but I feel I need quite a few more for my first game in the cabin.

I made a large number of explosion markers in a number of variations and these go well with these models.

The commander on this model is an AB figure. A splendid figures which fits very well here.

I hope to use these explosion markers for mortar fire and to show hits on vehicles.

After Christmas I shall add some more photos of Commonwealth forces.

Visit to Hay on Wye

 Hello there! While taking the opportunity to try out the mobile home again, we passed through the second hand bookshop capital of the United Kingdom.

Hay on Wye is a great place to visit if you would like to expand your library.

I was drawn to these as they are packed with photographs of the American Civil War. I used similar sources of illustrations to make some officers and other ranks tents a few years ago. In particular these have photographs of numerous wagons and carts used by both armies and also journalists developing wagons. All potential projects for the future.

This was an addition to my Almark collection. It is very generic and broad in its remit but was in good condition for its age.

Although I have a collection of  Concord publications, I do not usually collect much material on the SS or even the conflict in Russia. I saw these, which were a vey good price. Again in very good condition and matched with a couple of future projects for North West Europe.

Modular Terrain Part Five, Trial Assembly

Hello There! I have completed enough desert terrain scenic tiles so that I can do a trial assembly. There are two reasons for this, First I would like to see if there are any glaring irregularities in my wood working skills as there maybe some corners which are out of true, or 90 degrees or the correct height, and secondly to see if there are any more shapes of scenic tiles I require to make putting the modular tiles easier.

This the overall picture. There are a number of 600 x 600 plain tiles that I have not used. The surface is gently undulating and not like a snooker table. I have read many eye witness accounts where tank crews have tried to use hull down positions to reduce their silhouette during a battle. This is not possible to represent when the wargames board is so flat.

I also wanted to compare the shades of the various tiles. I noticed some more pale variations on some tiles, here on the middle left. I can cover some of this with a coverage of sand which I also have. 

The wadi has some more additions in the pipeline but the two I have completed joined up well. I have also used a system of two inch thick polystyrene squares to allow me to make a undulating terrain. In this picture you can see in the distance that I have edged these polystyrene sheets with black gaffer tape to reduce the polystyrene balls breaking off.

Here is a close up of the edged 'riser tile'

Here is a view of the rock faces in the wadi and a rocky outcrop in the distance, which is seated on top of polystyrene sheets to make a long ridge.

The tiles are mostly square. The height of the adjoining tiles can easily be raised, using a 4mm thick piece of plywood, and lined up to cover any gaps. Here the gap on the left can easily be adjusted to hide it.

The first piece of desert terrain I ever made, which was a refurbishment of an existing item from a local wargames club, was a 600mm x 600 mm square piece of rocky high ground. here it fits well with the new modular terrain.

I also took the opportunity to compare the painting of the Cotswold Buff drop on items. Part of the colour difference in the above photo is more to do with the lighting in the cabin than the paint and dry brushing.

Then, I used a thick mixture of tetrion, water, PVA, sand and gravel to cover the existing damage to the surface of the terrain piece and then multiple paint washes and dry brushes to get a suitable finish.

Here is a close up of the surface finish. I wanted a rough, calcined finish. If you remember the introduction to the episode of the 'World at War' on the desert war, I recalled the hard rough texture of the ground.  wanted to recreate that.

In addition to the larger sloping terrain I have made a number of smaller 300mm x 300mm tiles which make a recess in the ground. I wanted a counter slope which allows for hull down positions but was not so big it took over the whole board.

Here is a closer view of the counter slope. It is 900mm x 900mm overall. 

I have made an oasis, in the past. This is the only item I have not added a timber surround to, mainly because I did not have the heart to risk ruining it! Fortunately It fits in well with with the new terrain. It does stand proud of its surrounds but this can be rectified by lifting the surrounds with a small sheet of 4mm plywood.

Overall, it does seem to be progressing well, with no glaring irregularities or problems. I have plenty of spare pieces of plywood to make some chocks to level the tiles out.

The next project which needs to be completed are the latex roads. 

Desert Wadi Part Four

 Hello There! I have taken the final dry brush to the first part of the desert wadi.

These have not had a final dry brush of white. this is done when the previous coats of paint have dried, otherwise it does not cause any raised areas to 'pop' out. It merely draws the previous colour out in that dry brush.

I have considered putting some old pale dry tufts and static grass in the corners of the cliff face. I will do that later.

Overall I am very happy with the results. The rock face casts merge in very well together and do not have any obvious repeated shaped in any of them.

I will complete a straight section, a straight section with a sloping access to the higher level, (above), a bend, a section which runs out to a flat area and a steep source of the river.