Change of Residence and New Painting Area

 Recently made a new home purchase and got a really spacious basement for wargaming.

Still in the process of getting things set up but here a few pics of the work in progress . . .

Painting area with reclaimed cabinets to the left . . . 

Painting area with reclaimed cabinets to the right . . . 

Storage shelves . . . . 

what will eventually be the gaming area.  Can easily setup 5x12 tables. But need to add some ceiling panel LED lighting.

Terrain storage cases along back wall.  Also needs more lighting.

Not pictured is the room for miniature storage.  That needs shelves and cabinets to be presentable.

I am fortunate to have this amount of space and can't wait to get the gaming area "lit up" so we can start gaming!

Hasty Breastworks for ACW

 Currently producing a bunch of hasty breastworks for use with 28mm ACW figures.  Each piece is 10cm wide (infantry bases are 40mm wide).  Base is expanded PVC sheet, air dry clay piled on and shaped, Logs and posts pressed and glued into place.  Ballast added for ground cover; I went with the red ballast so I get the "red Georgia clay" look.  I plan on fighting a lot of the Chickamauga battles.  Brown and Sepia over all, some grey on the logs followed by light grey highlight on logs and sand highlight on ballast.  A little flocking and some other foliage details.  Varnish and viola.  Should have about seven feet of breastworks when I finish up in a few days.  

Snake Rail Fences

 So I cranked out 12 feet of snake rail fences in the style shown on the Tactical Painter blog.  They worked out well I thought, good enough for me anyhow.

Terrain Tiles for 15mm Wargaimng

 In between other projects I wanted to make some terrain tiles for 15mm table top.  Below is one sample.  the base is clear plastic, 6" square,  with a coat of gesso.  Then spackle compound, PVA glue, and fine ballast.  the buildings were onces I already had.  

The fences were the new creation.  I created the fences by using a dremel cutting disc to cut into the tops of the fences and to score a line down the basswood stick.  Painted it a light brown and then a dark walnut stain to show off the score marks that delineate the "planks" in the fence.  Then dry brushed on some highlights and glued it to the template.  

Not the best terrain tile but also fairly simple to make and I'll crank out a few more.

Easy ACW Fences . . .Which is more better?

I need more wood fences for 10mm ACW battlefields.  I don't want to buy, I want to make.  And I want simple . . . not fiddly and fragile fences made from individual sticks.

So I have crafted three alternatives from popsicle sticks and other bits.  

#1 Easy to make

#2 Easier to make

#3 Easiest to make

I'm thinking I'll go with #1 and if that gets to fiddly I can always drop to #2.

Battle for Atlanta, Fire and Fury Style

A few of us got together to refight the Battle for Atlanta using Fire and Fury miniature wargaming rules.  Battle finds the Yankees thick in their trench lines facing the (off-table) Confeds in their trench lines.

When suddenly out the trees on the Yankee flank a horde of yellin' rebels appear, a la Chancellorsville.  "Remember Hood's Leg," they are yelling, or something like that.

Yankee rearguards falls back and the Yankee left collapses.  Gen. Blair is pulling Yankees out of the trenches to stop the flanking rebels, but this just entices another corps of rebels to come at the trench line.  It is murder first of the Rebels but then they get through the Yankee line and start their own round of murder.

The Yankees are hard pressed and begin falling back though the Confeds are already in their rear.

A last desperate attempt by the Yankees will be made to secure their line of communication or else it will be a Rebel victory.  We still need to play a few more turns.

Roxanne Patton prepared the terrain using blue foam and dremel router.  Needs so finishing touches and then I suspect it will be convention bound.    Spaghetti dinner courtesy Scott Bishop.  Big bottle of red wine by Roxanne.

Road Signs

Miniatures by Architects of War for 28mm.

Battlefront Barricades

Pictures of barricades from Battlefront for 15mm.

Forest Templates for Wargaming

The last few weeks I've been constructing forest terrain as shown in the "Architect's of War" How-To site.  These are sized for 15mm miniatures using 2 1/2" roofing nails.  Basic process is cutting the the top and bottom templates, spreading caulk on the ground template, securing the nails, adding sand/grit/pebbles and allowing to dry.  Build the canopy template next by hot gluing Woodland Scenics "clumps" to the black foamboard.  Then I lightly spray the clumps with 3M spray adhesive and sprinkle on a little flocking.  Going back to the now dry ground template I paint with dark to light shades of brown followed by dark gray over the "tree trunks" and a light gray drybrush over the rocks and trunks.  Done.

Terrain Items

Just built several barbed wire obstacles (Spanish Rider or Knife Rests or something like that . . . ).    Used Battlefield Accessories barbed wire and bass wood sticks.  Base is plastic sheet with Durham Rock Hard putty mixed with suitably sized gravel.  Wood structure stuck into putty and when it dries it holds the "X" shaped rests.  I wrapped the barbed wire around the lateral beam and glued the beam down.  Painted wire with black gesso and then a rusty shade of brown.

Hay stacks were my other creation.  I'm working with some faux fur for fields (say that real fast several times) and what I shave off the fur can be pressed into a ball, sprayed with varnish, stuck to cardboard and shaped some as the varnish dries.  Cover the cardboard base with your choice of basing materials.  One other tip, I dry brush the fur with a highlighting paint to not only highlight the fur field but also to make it easier to shave or trim.  Otherwise you have the fur sticking everywhere.  Painted, it tends to clump together when cut and that is where I got the idea of making hay stacks.