So where to from here

Well I finally finished those fences off, it took a while but I got there in the end. So with them done where to from here....

Well to go with the fences, I need some troops. I have been researching a lot lately on the American Civil War, and with that in mind I purchased some Baccus 6mm figs.

At a 1:10 ratio I have sorted out The "Stonewall" Brigade, these are going to be based on two game systems.

The first is Guns at Gettysburg by Dave Brown, a very similar system to General de Brigade (Well it's pretty much the same)

The second rule set, Piquet and using the supplement Hallow Ground.

Now a question that is asked on a regular basis is what shade of grey, or what paint should I use for the grey. Now the short answer that I have found is well, there was that much variance it doesn't matter.

From a lot of reading that I have done, the Confederate uniform started off as shades of blue, and faded to grey, now please feel free to correct me on this as I am still learning.

Over the coming few weeks, I will be starting to paint the Confederates and I will be bringing you along on the journey, in the hope that you can learn from what I have done and be able to apply to your own miniatures.

An old classic

I recently acquired an old classic board game of trade me. 1974 copy of Avalon Hill's Panzer Leader.

Now to say the least, it is definitely a used copy but for only $12.50 NZD including shipping it was a bargain.

After looking at the counters and the maps, I decided something needed to be done about the state of them, as most had water damage and definetly had that musky smell to them.

I recently stumbled upon a website which has re-done the counters and are available for free.

So with a craft knife, ruler, artists mounting card, spray glue and the tokens printed off in colour I have set to making a new set of counters, I will in time be replacing the maps with the updated maps.

This will be a longer term project and the counters and maps will be done when cost and time permits.

I have already printed off the German ones and mounted them. I am in the process of cutting them up today. Will post some photos of the old ones, and the replacements.

The final stages completed

Well, it took a while to make these but I am very happy with the final result on them. Here are a few more progress shots on the static grass effect:



PVA applied, with the PVA I have found it is better to apply thinner and lighter rather than in big blobs, something that I used to do:

Not sparing any expense, I heavily applied or sprinkled in this case static grass over the PVA:

Now this next step took me a while to get it right, but using the handle of the brush I lightly tapped the grass into the PVA, going over it a couple of times to make sure that the grass would stick:

Now I managed to work on a section at a time, so applyed the PVA, then the grass, pressed it down. I then turned the base over and flicked the bottom of the base from left to right then right to left.

Turning the base back over again I found that just the one application wasn't quite enough for my liking.

So below you see me loosely sprinkling the grass over once again and repeating with the brush.

And the final result from the grass:

(This base was one of the few where there wasn't quite enough grass, so went over and re-applied after the photo)

After the grass was applied, they should look a little something like this:

Now ignore the colour in this shot, as you can see it lightens the wood more that it actually is.

I will get to posting a few more photos in the next couple of days outside when the weather improves.

So all in all I managed to make 12' worth of fencing, plus 4 corners which measure 50mm x 50mm in an L shape.

Just below are the corners:

One final note, which will help if you feel the height is still a little high, I did this little extra step.

Where each rail crosses over at the start point and the next cross join with one finger on each join (Not in the middle of the rail or it will snap) apply a medium 5 second count then move onto the next.

I went through each section (When I refer to a section I mean each 15cm section) twice. It has dropped the height just enough.

Take your time with this as I found I am a little heavy and heard a couple of snaps. But because the wood is reasonably soft it only broke the top rail - not in two to just split it, however has not affected the visuals at all.

Hope that you have enjoyed watching me go through this, don't think I will be making anymore for a little while now.

A tad on the sick side

Well with the Wife being sick the last three weeks, I seem to have caught something finally and it knocked me off my feet for a few days. Only just starting to feel a little better now and I have finally knocked on the third row.

As well as that layed out the 1st of 4 corners.

Just a few photos, I have now clipped them down a little as well so all that is left is to add the static grass.

Update on the Fences

Well just a small update here. Managed to get the second row down on the fences. It took me about 5 minutes per 23 rails.

So just over an hour to get that second row on, should have the third row done late tonight and if dry I will be trimming the rails.

The first shot shows the height of the second row:

And a few shots of the completed second row:

More photos to follow once the 3rd row is done.

Just plodding away with the rails at the moment, just placed the next 3 rails onto each base.

I will have a chance to work on them properly on Monday as this is my next day off.

On another note, got thinking about starting some 3mm Pico Armour. Using the rules of BKC, and the theatre would be Afrika around 42-43.

But first things first got to get these fences finished.

Let the fun begin

Well a bit of a busy weekend saw the fences put aside for a couple of days, but the good news I am now back on track with the construction

First the stack of strips ready to be cut:

3000+ cuts later I now have a container full of 22-24mm rails:

So, after much thought about the angles, I made sure that the first rail is exactly 22mm. Set half way up the base, and angled to the maximum length here is how the first rail is placed:

Next I had to place the next two angled pieces, this set up that angles for the rest of the rail:

Followed by the next rail (Also you will see the full base section laid down)

This does take a little bit more time than I expect the rest of the rails to go down. This is because I am taking care setting up the base angles.

Once this has been done it will be a case of just placing the new rail ontop.

Well back to placing those rails down, oh and if you wondering how I am attaching the rails to each other and the base, its a nice helping of PVA wood glue. I am taking care to only place a small drop onto the rails.