1/300 Conversion in About 20 Minutes

Yesterday, I made an all out cleaning assault on my pigsty of a workbench. Despite about three hours of work, I didn't get really far, plus all the dust I kicked up made my allergies a nightmare. Under the piles of junk, I found a lone, primed, Saracen APC and a ZU-23-2 23 mm autocannon with two gunners on it. It might have a carriage for it, or it might go onto another vehicle. The APC is an old Skytrex model and the autocannon belongs to H&R. Inspiration struck! So... shaving off the MG turret, pulling out the pin vise and drilling out a hole for the gun, I now have a Saracen with a ZU-23-2 AA autocannon on top.

I think it took me all of 20 minutes to complete, including waiting for the paint to dry. The thing looks incredibly top heavy and kind of silly, but I've seen some jury-rigged technicals that looked a lot more ridiculous. One more weapon to add to the Federal Republic of Gambusia's arsenal.

Thoughts about Campain Maps

I hope this does not bore you, but I am thinking out loud here. Maybe some of you have thought about this too.

I am building my final touches on my campaign map for my Bovatopian campaign. I am not really ready to post it, but a few things that I am working on/struggling with. What I have been very deliberate as I put together this map is the need for geographical locations to be strategically important. This is the problem with my map of Gambusia. I really didn't make it with a strategic game in mind. Here are some issues that I now see with my Gambusian map:

1. Lines of Communication
Wikipedia defines lines of communication as the routes that connect an operating military unit with its supply base. First, and probably the most major problem is that there are too many lines of communication in the form of roads and to a lesser extend railroads. Armies of both sides can easily bypass various towns or cities. Urban centers have no strategic significance in terms of blocking or cutting off the enemy, or keeping lines of communication open. The only urban centers that are important are the capitals of the opposing nations.

2. Cities and Towns
In addition to too many roads, there are way too many cities and towns. It is likely that the two are related. Too many cities and towns leads to too many roads.

3. Reasons for Naval Operations
When I started my Gambusian campaign I envisioned having naval battles as well as land and air battles. I've come to notice that the two main antagonists share such a long border that there doesn't seem to be a need for any naval battles, other than some of the islands that could be contested. I suppose the two nations can blockade each other to keep supplies from coming in, but because the ports are on opposite ends of each nation, there'd be too much risk involved for each nation to set up a blockade.

How to fix the problems? Look at board games
Sadly, I got rid of many of my old Avalon Hill games a long time ago, however, I stated looking at those that I do have to see how I can set up strategically-important lines of communication. I do have VASSAL installed on my computer, though I've never figured out how to use it. I can pull up the digital versions of old wargames and see how they do things. I am using the Bovatopia campaign to resolve these issues. When I am happy with Bovatopia, I will then redo Gambusia.

Remote-Controlled Air Defense Artillery, Part 2

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

If your remember from last time, I built an MANPADS that was a behemoth and way out of proportion. I decided to give it another go. I used the ASRAD short-ranged missile launcher that is on the German Weisel 2 as a basis:

Source: http://armoredphotos.blogspot.sg/2011/09/leflasys_02.html

This time I very consciously tried to make the weapon system as small as possible to have size exaggeration.

Here is the result:



I made the missile tubes by cutting the styrene rods and then heating up a metal base with a candle. I then lightly pushed the ends against the hot plate. It widen them to look like the ends flare out. I made about eight of them and then picked the best four.

It is still a little bigger than I wanted, but not too bad. My main beef is that the launcher tubes are too far apart from each other on either side. I think that is what makes it look large. I also built a radar vehicle. Here are some shots of them painted.

It was a nice day, so after I had sprayed them a flat clear, I thought I'd take the pictures outside. Pictures show the radar dish as gray.

The missiles are deliberately generic. They can be pretty much any MANPAD.

More Federal Republic of Gambusia AFVs

I could have sworn I posted these, but I guess I have not.

The Federal Republic of Gambusia (FRG) has an infantry battalion of made up of more modern APCs than old Saracens. It consists of Canadian 6-wheeled Cougars and Grizzlies. The Cougars have been modified into fire support vehicles and ATGM carriers.

I used the turret from a Scotia-Grendel Stingray light tank for the FSV. The ATGM were scratch built. Unfortunately, they all came out a little different on those. This is the best of them. These were my first conversions that I made when I plunged into modern gaming and I am quite happy with them.

Hail Bovatopia!

I have not posted in a long time....I know, my usual opening sentence. I have been working on a bunch of stuff both for my Gambusia campaign and doing a little 15mm fantasy painting.

So, I get onto PicoArmor site to order some 3mm aircraft, then I start looking at the 3mm AFVs and such.

Then, I think, "why not get some armor?"

What am I, nuts? All I need is another project! Why the madness? Well, some of my colleagues at work have sort of come up with a new fictional nation, Bovatopia.

Hail Bovatopia!

It's a running joke among us based on a student's exam essay where he described a region in the USA that has high cattle production as Bovatopia. For all we know, it might be real but I have not found anything on it on the internet. I ran with it including the flag above. Bovatopia is set in the same world as my microcontinent of Gambusia, but is on the Asian mainland. Is it the homeland for all bovines escaping persecution and the slaughter house, or is a nation whose citizens really like cows? Not really sure yet.

Instead of buying more 6mm, I thought maybe I would invest in some 3mm ground units for some battles.  I wasn't planning to put a lot of work into, though that is what I say about a lot of hobby projects. I would be a sort of side show, plus a potential ally of one of the three nations on Gambusia.

Hopefully this is a passing fancy.

Rebels in a Box

Here is my generic rebel army with most of its technicals:

Been Very Busy

I've been pretty busy with school and family. I have been able to do some work, mainly on the third nation on the mini-continent of Gambusia, the Federal Republic of Gambusia. The FRG has been a somewhat minor player in my campaign so far (such as it is), but with the new line of 80s British infantry from Heroics & Ros, I decided to make their army more complete. I couldn't figure out for the longest time what nationality of infantry I wanted to represent them. The FRG is mostly armed with British AFVs, with some French stuff thrown in. Being that they are a relatively poor nation, pretty all modern infantry on the market seemed too modern, and WWII infantry looked too dated, even at microscale. I think the 80s Brits fit the bill. I am now painting them up along with finishing their APCs and tanks.

Additionally, H&R has put out some 80s Soviet infantry, including paratroopers. My Northern Chalupistan army is pretty much complete, but they have the SPG-9 among their various support weapons. I bought a few of those and will use them instead of my homemade ones, which look huge! Fear not, the homemade ones will fall into the hands of my generic rebel army (also a work in progress) and be stuck on pickup trucks as well as be on tripods. I put too much work on those monsters for them not to be used.

I will have a post on these various things hopefully soon.

Royal Chalupastan Airforce Part 3: Fixed Wing Light Attack Aircraft

Most aircraft in the South's arsenal have multiple roles. As a developing country, their military is always looking for the most back for the cheapest buck. During the 1st Chalupastan War, the South still used aircraft of WWII vintage. During the early stages of the war, F4U Corsairs bravely attacked enemy ground units. Today, still relies on outdated and inexpensive weaponry to perform combat missions against ground targets. For the past 10 years, the South has been engaged in various rebel groups in the Central Highlands Provence, There has been for COIN operations aircraft to support troops as they engage the enemy and to disrupt supply lines coming from Northern Chalupistan (which they deny) and from the Federal Republic of Gambusia. The military is too afraid of using their expensive jet fighters, particularly the AMX ground attack jet. Instead they turn to older or relatively cheaper aircraft.

Cavalier Mustang II
  

Scoia Collectair CAUM 10

After the war the South needed to replace the WWII aircraft. A number of Cavalier Mustang IIs were purchased. They have been highly successful, but by 2000, there was need for a replacement.

FMA IA 58 Pucará

Heroics & Ros ARMA 21

  The Pucara was a replacment for the Mustang. Argentina has been long time ally of Southern Chalupastan and the South got a favorable deal on them. Although they afforded the crew better protection than the Mustang and were ideal for short runways, the "Pukkies" as they are known proved to be a disappointment. Their 20mm cannon did not make up for the fewer hardpoints relative to the Mustangs. Once again, another search began to replace the Pucara.

 EMB 314 Super Tucano

Heroics & Ros UKMA 102

 In 2010, 20 Super Tucanos were delivered to the Southern Airforce. They proved to a big success having superior avionics and weapons capabilities. They are the now the main frontline light attack aircraft. 

A-37 Dragonfly

Shapeways: Prairie Hawk Gamer

At the height of the 1st Chalupastan War, the US rushed a number of weapons to the South to stem the Northern tide. Much of the equipment was left over from the Vietnam War. This included the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly.  Despite its age, the Dragonfly is still in active service. It can carry heavy weapon loads and pilots really enjoy flying them. Along with the Super Tucanoes, they have been used extensively in current COIN operations in the Central Highlands. 






Textron AirLand Scorpion

Shapeways: Prairie Hawk Gamer

On the eve of the current situation with the North, Southern Chalupastan took possession of 14 of these multi-role, light tactical fighters for evaluation and hopefully act as a replacement for the Dragonfly and to supplement the AMX.

Modelling Notes
For some strange reason, COIN aircraft fascinate me. Also, it makes sense that the nations on the mini-continent of Gambusia should have these type of aircraft; more so than some of the jet fighters that I've allowed them to have!

The payloads are from a variety of sources, GHQ, C-in-C, and seemingly out-of-business Skyraider Miniatures (this also includes the props for the Pucara). The air-to-surface rocket pods and payload racks are scratch built using tooth picks and sheet styrene. Many Prairie Hawk Gamer models come with the payloads already on them. Many years ago, Skyraider was the only company I knew of that made the Dragonfly. I do have them somewhere in a box but never bothered to paint them. Skyraider's aircraft lack any kind of of detail.

I am pretty happy with Prairie Hawk Gamer's models. I like his models and he is willing to produce more obscure aircraft. To me, why make another MIG-21 when just about every company that makes airplanes makes a MIG-21, and the detail is generally better? Also, his prices are a lot more reasonable than other 3D designers.   I don't want to complain too much about the prices of these 3D printed models because I have no idea how Shapeways charges to get products to be made, but to me, the prices that some companies charge are outrageous.

The Super Tucano is really a model of the British Short Tucano, but until someone makes a dedicated Super Tucano, this will do. Modern gun pods don't look like the ones I put on the upper Tucano, but it looks at more bad ass with the longer barrels.

Finally, you might notice that all the planes now have roundels on their wings. These are simply made of thin paper that was punched out. I glued them on and then painted them. I used a super fine Sharpy pen to make the eagle in the middle (no, its not a swastika!). I could have used Adobe Illustrator to design them and then printed them on decal paper. I've tried that with making heraldry designs for my 15mm knights. It was just not worth the decal paper, or the time, or the aggravation. Doing them on a inkjet printer gave so-so results. Plus, it turns out that 10 years later, even though I sprayed them with a clear coating, the designs have faded.  So, these don't look all that great, but I am happy with them. Eventually, I plan to make some smaller ones to put on the sides of the aircraft.

M 113 Upgrades

 On the eve of the Second Chalupistan War, Southern Chalupastan wanted to upgrade the firepower of their M 113 APCs so that they were more like an infantry fighting vehicle. They added 20 mm Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh 202 automatic cannon turret; the same as is found on the Marder 1 IVF. Time ran out long before many could be converted, but enough were to be distributed to at least one platoon per company of the 2nd Royal Guard Dragoons and the 2nd Armored Infantry battalion.

 

Additionally, some M 113s had a remote weapon station installed with a 7.62mm MG.

The M 113s and the Marder 20mm turrets were from C in C. C-in-C's M 113 model is nice as it has a gunner manning the 50 cal MG. I can always use them for something else. I am not sure what to do with the Marder bodies. They also come with a rear mounted, remote controlled MG. Unlike GHQ, which pretty much gives you five of everything, C in C varies the number of vehicles per pack. There was one more M 113 than there were Marders. I had a spare remote weapons station from a pack of Heroics & Ros Australian Bushmasters, so I stuck that on the remaining M 113.

Royal Chalupastan Airforce Part 2: Helicopters

The title is a misnomer. Helicopters are not under Southern Chalupastan's airforce, but rather the army. But I thought I'd keep a running theme in the title, so shoot me.

The South witnessed what helicopters could accomplish not only during the Vietnam War, but during the First Chalupastan War. The North's successful invasion of the South included the capturing of key roads and towns with airborne troops. During the big, post-war, military rebulding program, the South received help from the USA to put together several airborne battalions that employed helicopters. They also bought several attack helicopters from South Africa to be used against any further aggression by the North.

Although they have not been tested against the North, the airborne units have been used extensively to battle against various rebel groups. This includes several clandestine operations just over the border in Northern Chalupistan. 

Bell UH-1 Huey

CinC Huey

GHQ Huey

Heroics & Ros Huey

The UH-1 is the work horse of the helicopter fleet. Many are former veterans of the Vietnam War transferred from the USA. They are meticulously maintained. Their primary function is to carry troops into combat situations and evacuate the wounded. From a modelling perspective, the rotor assembly on the C in C models were next to impossible to put together, so I made them out of scratch. 

CH-47 Chinook

GHQ Chinook

In addition to the Hueys, the South operates the Chinook heavy lift helicopter. They, too, are used for dropping off troops, but also for airlifting supplies. The GHQ model was a recent purchase. It was pretty easy to assemble. The widows are pretty small, so I put a dot of light blue paint in the middle of them to make them stand out more. I still need to glue on its magnet and have not decided whether or not to give it a black wash.

Denel Rooivalk

Heroics & Ros Rooivalk

Front view

Fearing another armored invasion by the North, the Army ordered a number of Rooivalk attack helicopters from South Africa. They are armed with a 20mm cannon and anti-tank guided missiles, but can be fitted with rocket pods. They have been used only occasionally to fight the rebels. The Army feels that they are too valuable and fears that will be shot down. This is a pretty nice model. The weapons payload went together better than I expected. Sorry about the bent rotors. I didn't realize how bent up they were until after I took the pictures. In reality, there weren't that many Rooivalks built (according to Wikipedia), but I figured that Chalupastan's order spurred production on.

Royal Chalupistan Airforce Part 1: Fighter Jets

 Prior to the First Chalupistan War, Southern Chalupistan's airforce consisted of a number of WWII and Korean War-era aircraft. The most modern air-superiority fighter was the F-86 Sabre. Their valiant efforts were no match the Soviet-trained, MiG 21 jets of the North. At the peak of the crisis, the USA rushed much needed weaponry to the beleaguered South. This included a number of F-100 Super Sabres. One squadron of them still remains today.

F-5E Tiger II

 In addition to the Super Sabres, the US supplied the South with the F-5E Tiger II. After the war, Southern Chalupistan ordered more F-5E's and well as RF-5E Tigereye reconnaissance planes. Until recently, the F-5E made up the backbone of the South's fighter squadrons. Currently, they are being replaced, but still make up three fighter squadrons.


Kfir C.7

After the "Line of Death" incident in 2007, the South decided to upgrade their front line fighters. Trade agreements with Israel allowed for the purchase of Kfir C.7 fighters. Only 14 have been delivered. Two have already been shot down during the opening hours of the Second Chalupistan War.

AMX

Learning lessons from the First Chalupistan War, the South decided that they needed a dedicated ground-attack aircraft to counter armor and mechanized forces. They were initially going to purchase the A-7 Corsair II, but this fell through. In 2004, a treaty and trade agreement with Brazil brought in a number of various weapon systems, including the AMX ground-attack fighter. The South has a number of light aircraft used in COIN operations against various rebel groups, but role of the AMX is dedicated to air support and interdiction roles against the mechanized armies of Northern Chalupastan.

First Purchases of GameCraft Miniatures

I just got back from a week of doing research and and eating tasty food in Mexico (heartburn to kick in, in 5...4...3...2..1...). Waiting for me at home was an order from GameCraft Miniatures. They specialize in scenery. They have a wide assortment of buildings and roads. I've been eying them for some time, but never ordered anything. This is because I like making my own buildings, no matter how crap-tastic they turn out to be. I have a few other buildings and such from other companies, like GHQ and C-in-C, but other than that C-in-C watchtower I used for the border crossing I made a few years ago, few have been painted.

My reason for ordering from GameCraft was that they have a nice looking radio tower. I've been wanting to build a radio station for part of my Gambusian campaign. A few years ago, I made an attempt at a tower with cardboard, but it looked way out of scale in terms of the thicknesses of the supports, and not that great looking. Recently, I thought about giving it a go again using styrene strips from Evergreen or Plastruct. Then I thought, why torture myself considering how I have almost no time for hobby activities these days. So, I place an order with GameCraft about a week before I left for Mexico.

Radio Tower

The communications tower comes in four parts and is made of clear acrylic plastic. Each part of the tower measures about 10.5 cm in height and 2 cm at the base. There are two little squares of plastic about 5 mm on each side. I have no idea if these are for the construction of the tower, or just scrap plastic. There is photo on the website that shows a tab on the top of the tower that I assume folds and connects the other three parts, but this may be for the cardboard version. The tower is very thin; the support beams measure just over 1mm thick.  I am not clear how I'm going to put it together as no instructions are included. I will probably make a thin base for it and then glue the four sides to the edges of the base. I think superglue will work on this, or at least I hope it does.  I also need to decide what I want to put on top of my tower to represent the radio antenna.

Italian/Mediterranean Villa

I couldn't just order the tower, besides, its sort of a waste of postage. If postage is a fixed rate and you only order one thing, sometimes the postage will be higher than the item you order. I couldn't decide what else to get, but I finally settled on the Italian villa (285ITM004). Its not as detailed as some of the buildings that GHQ makes, but its rather elegant. The roof has really nice Mediterranean tile shingles and the walls are textured to give a stucco feel. I am not clear on which is the front and back of the building. There are two large double doors on one of the shorter sides that might be the front doors, but I would think the front of the building ought to be on one of the longer sides. I am seriously thinking of incorporating it into the hacienda I want to make for my Gambusian campaign. I would use it as the main house and add on to it. I have a bunch of little, sketchy plans for my hacienda and will see how this building can fit in. The hacienda is my next project, followed by an airport, and then the radio station. Knowing me, I'll probably get sidetracked. 

Last of all...candy!

 I got a little bag of hard candies included in my order!
.

Some Day, I'll Build This

I have not posted in ages. In fact, I hadn't even thought much about my blog until Monday, when my friend and fellow gamer, Will, happened to mention it. I've been very busy with work and family since my last real project update post. Plus an unexpected and unpleasant incident occurred a month ago. It was in the form of the dismissal of one of the faculty members in my department. As department head, I've had to scramble to take up much of the slack. I am now teaching one more course, I had to find two last-minute adjuncts to fill the other two courses, and I now find my self have 20 more student advisees than I had before.  Let's just say I've had zero time for anything. Let's just say I am approaching major burn out. Fortunately, the semester is just about over!

I was cleaning up my office yesterday and found these plans I had made under a pile of papers:

It is for the Brazilian U-17 river monitor named the Parnaiba.

Source: Wikipedia

Its the oldest active warship, if you don't count some sailing ships that are still officially commissioned like the HMS Victory. Its undergone some modifications over its 75 years of service, including the addition of a helicopter landing pad.

I am not sure if my plans are 100% accurate. Its based on the few pictures I could find, plus a drawing from Shipbucket.com. Therefore, there was a lot of guessing going on.

I plan to use built one or maybe two for the Southern Chalupastan navy. One, I plan to build as is; the other, I will probably upgrade its main gun. Currently, its sporting a WWII vintage 3" gun, but I might try for a more modern rapid-fire weapon.

Greetings From Gambusia

In the early 80s, Northern Chalupistan, Southern Chalupastan, and the Federal Republic of Gambusia formed a trilateral commission to promote tourism. It failed miserably due to infighting. The above is a vintage postcard from that time.

Progressing Along

 Having more-or-less chosen Fist Full of TOWs 3rd Edition as the rules to fight my fictional 2nd Chalupastan War, I wanted to make my life and/or an opposing player's life easier when playing the game. I am in the process of making stat cards for easy reference. Its been a slow process, but I am close to done for at least the first battle. Here is a sample of a FFT3 stat card:

 I am printing these out and gluing them onto index cards. I thought about using a photo of the miniature for each card, but its being printed out on a B & W laser printer. I use a few photos for vehicles that I can't find profiles for, but I don't feel like taking a lot of pictures just for these cards (more like I don't have the time).

In other news, I have had almost no time to do much painting or terrain construction. I started working on a 1/300 scale outdoor market, but lately, my mother-in-law has been going to bed earlier than usual, so I have no access to my workbench.  Also, I've got a whole mess of South African Mambas that are awaiting to be primed and painted. I am counting on Thanksgiving break to get more done.

!st Armored Division: 1st Royal Guard Dragoons

Like the Royal Guard Cuirassiers of the 1st Armored Division, the Royal Guard Dragoons are the best of the best, and get the best of the best as far as weapons go. After many evaluations including all-expense paid trips to various global arms fairs and weapons contractors by the top brass and defense ministers, it came down to the AIFV a.k.a the YPR 765, versus the Italian VCC 80, better known as the Dardo IFV. It was a tough choice, but the Dardo won out for several reasons. First, it has a higher power/weight ratio.  Lots of soft ground on the mini-continent of Gambusia, so that is an advantage. Second, although both have a 25mm gun, the Dardo can be upgraded with two TOW ATGMs mounted on either side of the turret (Dardo HITFIST). The AIFV ATGM is a separate, purpose-built TOW launcher (known as the YPR 765 prat) that lacks the gun turret. It is very similar to the US M901 ITV. Southern brass decided to have have the added firepower of both the 25mm gun and the ATGMs in one vehicle. The Southern Chalupastan Army has only recently embraced ATGMs, so they were reluctant to spend money on a purpose-built ATGM AFV. Third, the Dardo has a purpose-built mortar carrier. The YPR 765 has a version that only tows a mortar. Although Northern Chalupistan is a long-standarding threat to the South, all of the current combat operations to this point have been against rebels in the Central Highlands province. Mortars are used in close support of infantry rather than as long range artillery, so its better that the mortar and its crew be protected, and have the ability to quickly scoot if things got rough.

In miniature terms, only Heroics & Ros makes the Dardo. Several companies make the AIFV. Unfortunately, H&R makes only the the basic model. Here are the Royal Guard Dragoons on parade:

 It was easy to make the HITFIST version. Taking styrene square rods (square rods...is that possible?), I cut out the box-like TOW launchers of the appropriate length, and then glued them to the sides of the turret.

It was hard to get the TOW launchers perfectly lined up, but they don't look too bad from a distance.

The mortar carrier version of the Dardo is more of a problem. First, I have yet to find a good picture of one, let alone any sort of diagram to work from. Second, I am not sure how to even begin grinding away at a metal figure to get a square bathtub to hold the mortar. With my luck, it would look like a mess. I don't even know if its square; it could be round. So, I cheated and got some Argentine VCTP(M) mortar carriers from Scotia-Grendel as stand ins. Other than being tracked, they don't look anything like a Dardo, but they will do.

1st Armored Division: Royal Guard Cuirassiers

Whereas I have been putting up posts of buildings and such for my Gambusian campaign, I have not posted any new pictures of the combatants involved in quite awhile. I am going to try to post more pictures of the various microarmor I have painted up and are awaiting battle. I will post them as units when possible.

First up is Southern Chalupastan's 1st Royal Guard Cuirassiers battalion. There isn't a 2nd Royal Guard Cuirassiers, however, its good to number your battalions. They belong to the 1st Armored division. The 1st Armored Division is Chalupastan’s elite fighting unit. The most modern weapons and equipment are given to this division. Recruits are picked from only the most loyal Chalupastani subjects. As a way to maintain a high espree des corps, some of the battalions formally go by older cavalry regiment names.

The1st Royal Guard Cuirassiers is armed with the Brazilian EE-T2 Osorio tank. A brief history for a tank with a brief history can be found here: Wikipedia. Sadly, no one ever bought it, not even the Brazilian Army. Even though it never went much beyond the prototype stage, it lives on in the arsenals of Southern Chalupastan. The real reason is because Scotia Grendel sells them, and I thought, "these are cool." I bought a bunch without knowing that there isn't a whole lot of stats that can be gleaned out there concerning them particularly relating to their armor. But, they are different, and different is good. The back story is that Southern Chalupastan has always had a good relationship with Brazil, and have purchased a number of arms from them. They needed a MBT upgrade from their M-48s. The Osorio seems to have a good punch with its French GIAT G1 120-mm smoothbore gun and more modern composite armor than the older tanks. When it comes time to use them, I will have to make up their armor stats.

The 1st Royal Guard Cuirassiers lined up for inspection

For all my AFVs, those with radio antennae and/or tank commanders are considered HQ tanks. Here are some close ups of the HQ Osorios:

"Look Bob, there's something on the road! Shoot it!"

"Its quiet out there...too quiet."

Housing for the Masses and Other Terrian Pieces

I completed these a couple of weeks ago.

Huts

Closeup of Huts

I am trying to get things together for the first major battle of my Gambusian campaign. I needed a bunch of huts to make a large town. They are the same design as those that I posted way back in 2009. I think scale creep might have set in. I tried to make them the same size as the originals, but they look a lot bigger. It may be the acorn tops. These are a lot larger and steeper than the original ones.

I also made stab at an improved defensive position and barbed wire obstructions:

Improved Position with Infantry Stand

Section of Barbed Wire

I like the way the barbed wire section turned out. Its easy cheesy to make, too! The improved position...not so much. I wanted to make some sort of infantry defenses that are a step above foxholes, but not as permanent as trenches or bunkers. Something along the lines of the dreaded German machine gun nest that is in the final climatic battle scene of many a WWII movie. The idea is to be able to insert an infantry stand in it. My first criticism of it is that the sand bags are way bigger than I wanted them to be. The Sculpy was just not in a cooperative mood. Second, I am not too crazy about the squared look, but I sort of accepted that is how it would have to look, given that I wanted to put an infantry stand in it. Also, the cardboard base warped a little, but that is not a big deal. If I could do a better job on the sand bags, I would be a lot happier with how it turned out.

I am still trying to figure out how to make a marker for foxholes and for mine fields. I don't think it will be hard to do the mine fields. The foxholes may be another story. I've received some good suggestions on the Yahoo! Microarmor Group and on the Angel Barracks forum. One suggestion is to stick some figures into clay. It sounds good, but I don't feel comfortable about "sacrificing" some figures to represent a foxhole markers, nice as it might look. I might just end up using little markers that say "foxholes" on them. Boring, but they would get the job done.