Scenery for the Grid.

When I started using a grid, I wanted the scenery to fit in with this system. Now, I realised that I could have irregular shaped scenery, however I did,nt want the stands of figures standing at odd angles and being half-on or half-off the scenery.

Another problem I have found is that should you want to make up the table to play an historical battle,having irregular scenery makes it harder ( to me anyway) to work out how big or at what scale to make the armies.

Therefore I decided to try and make the scenery fit to the square system. This created my first problem in that most war game scenery is made for the figure scale not for the table. This meant I  would probably have to make my own.

I will say at this at this point that I have acquired ( when I could afford it) tailor made scenery, but most times I have made my own. It's not brilliant, but it does fit the 2 inch grid.

The next item was , how much scenery do I need?. Well, I decided firstly how big a table I had room for. Years ago I had a 6x4 foot table, then a 7x5 foot table. That is 180cm x 120cm then 210 x 150 cm. That was when I was using measuring tapes and bounce sticks. At that time I was a flat dweller therefore on numerous occasions I had to move the furniture to accommodate the table,and the guys I used to wargame with. I was also using 28mm figures.

Fluctuating fortunes in the job market made sure I never became a home owner. Fluctuating money supply made selling my figure collections an unavoidable event.

Fast forward a few years. I'm still a flat dweller and married, with children coming and going according to the ebb and flow of their own circumstances. Also elderly relatives were reaching the time in life when they needed help.

Having a large war game table with big scenery and loads of 28mm figures is no longer an option. So, thinking "Bejou and compact" the table is 3 x 2 feet, (90 x 60 cm). Everything I play is geared to that table size. The table is in one corner of the bedroom. This means I can have a game and leave it in situ should we have visitors.

So, having fixed the board size I  worked on the amount of scenery required. Having thought about the sort of battles I wanted to do this is the basic requirement I  came up with ;

6 hills, 8 x 8 inches ( 20cm x 20cm)
6 hills 4 x 4 inches ( 10cm x 10cm)
3 base outlines for woods  6 x 8 inches ( 15cm x 20cm)
The trees themselves are not fixed and on their own bases. This is so I can move them to put figure stands within the woods.

For rivers I use thin blue card overlapping marked in two inch segments. I use 2 inch (50cm) wide pieces for small rivers/ streams. I use 4 and 6 inch width ( 10cm and 15cm) for larger rivers requiring a boat to cross. The reason being that using cheap card allows me to make any kind of river formation.

The same reasoning applies to roads and the outline of villages. I use light brown card for this. I tried using sticky tape but having left it on the board to long the tape was a job to get off! and it marked the board.

Over the course of time I have built all kinds of scenery. It's not that good but it forfills a requirement . In recent times I wanted a fleet of 4inch (40mm) long ships wide enough to fit a stand in. I built 18 ships. They would definitely NOT win any awards for expert modelling! but, I can get my Saxon warbands ashore in Southern Britain.

The materials I use are;
Cardboard, the thick type used for picture framing and the other thin stuff.
Sandwich board, the stuff with a layer of foam between two pieces of cardboard.
Cocktail sticks.
PVA glue.
Texturing paste. This stuff can only be got from an art store or online. It's not cheap but you get a big pot. This  is great if your model doesn't  go together accurately. You just brush the paste on and let it dry. It can be undercoated and painted as normal. It's handy for covering over the rough bits!!.

Next time I'll talk about the era's  I'm  interested in and why.

The top pictures show my boats ( sorry, barges)
The bottom pictures show the castle. All scratchbuilt.

The figures are Hat Industries Goths and Emhar Viking Rowers.

The Paint Job.

Yes, the paint job. Now, having perused the 

war gaming journals, it should be a doddle, Right! Well it can be. These days there are a fair number of online blogs and material in print that show you in great detail how to paint your figures. The people who write them know their stuff garnered through experience. The bottom line is to get the toys on the table!

This is my own method of getting them done. I have,nt got any facilities for spraying so I have to use brushes. Years ago there were only enamel paints, and many are the nights I stayed up to the early hours of the morning getting bombed out on the smell!!, then going to work with a headache!! Thank You to the Inventor of acrylics!! With acrylics you wash your brushes in water. The turpentine rinse has been consigned to history!

For the wee men from 2mm to 12mm I use a mid brown undercoat. For 15mm I use brown or white. For 20mm plastic I use brown. The reason for not using black is that I cannot see the detail even under a good light. The black seems to " absorb the light ". Using some sort of medium colour as an undercoat also means you don't have to be to accurate when applying the paint.

For the 20mm plastics, I get em' out the box and wash them in warm soapy water with a scrubbing brush. When they are dry, I cut them off the spruce and take off the flash, then I stick any bits together with Evostick or whichever universal glue you are familiar with. I then stick the figures to strips of cardboard. (Que dodgy photo at the top of this blog!). These are Taiashi Camels by Hat Industries. The spears are cut down javelin from North Star Miniatures.

Once they have dried I brush each figure with runny PVA GLUE. This dries pretty quickly and gives the paint something to stick to. I then undercoat with brown paint.

When I've  painted the figures, I  coat each figure with acrylic Gloss varnish. I do this to protect the figure because being a bit bendy it keeps the paint in place.

Now, I know that if you are just starting out your first paint job. Don't worry. Remember the idea is you are painting to play, not to display! You want numbers. For example, I don't bother with things like eyes and buttons. My own figures are painted for wargaming ( i.e. not brilliant!).

I dont want to bore you to death, so I'll try to be as succinct as I can. Firstly the 2/ 12mm figures. After cleaning any flash, I tack the metal figures to strips of cardboard using glue. Some people use blu-tack on milk bottle tops. Next I undercoat them brown and let them dry. I will say here that I prep ALL the figures before I start painting. Again it's a psychological thing with me. If you have to stop for any reason, it's hard to get going again. The boring bit is the prep work so I try to get through a.s.a.p.

Ok, now, having undercoated I start with the bits I can ACTUALLY SEE. I dab colour on ALL trousers, then ALL jackets. You get the picture.

Next, dab on the flesh for the face. This is the point where you can say" My army lives"!!!!! It's Alive!!.  Que: thunder and lightning  and maniacal crackling. Not to much. You might frighten the family and they will lock you in a cupboard!!.

I don't worry about crossbelts, but  it's up to you. I paint the muskets black or you can leave em' brown. Paint any swords or bayonets silver. Last of all paint the hat.

The above is of course for horse and musket. The approach to Ancients is roughly the same.

After undercoating brown, it's tunics ( or the bits of tunic I can see!). Next, it's faces, then weapons , shields and helmets. With ancient, it's shields and weapons that people notice. If you think this is a bit lazy (weeeellll!!), put the strip on the table about a foot (300mm) in front of you. This is how you will be using em'. Now, how much can you see??. You can see (geddit!) where I'm coming from.

All the above is pretty basic, I  know , but hopefully it will help get things cooking. I haven't mentioned about 28mm because the larger the figure the more detail to be applied so it takes more time to do fewer figures. These days, there are also 15 and 28mm figures in hard plastic that involves sticking body parts together. They are extremely well detailed. Personally, I steer clear of these because I become fumble fingered when I'm  against the clock! I like to crack on with the painting. I will assemble stuff but I don't like spending lots of time on it.

Thus we have come full circle. So, have a think, look at the space, look at the time involved, and the finance and all being well  all your efforts will end up as part of your game and not part of a jumble sale.

Next time we will look at the scenery and its effect on gaming.The picture below is of some Peter Pig AWI FIGURES being painted as Prussians and Austrians. The white flag bearer on the left a Miniature Figurines converted Russian infantryman.