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.
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