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27 Oct 2010

Making Cornfields

Making Cornfields

Making cornfields is an easy guide to follow on how to make cornfields for 10mm wargaming terrain has been a long time in the planning. However when I finally started the project making cornfields proved very easy indeed. Anyway here's my guide for making your own fields for 10mm wargaming. 

1. The first step is to cut your bases to the desired size either using MDF or hardboard in my case I used hardboard and cut it to 6 inch by 6 inch once you have cut your bases to the desired size you then want to proceed to rasp the edges to give it a smoother appearance.

Making Cornfields Picture 1

2. The next phase is to mark out where you want to place the carpet, or doormat.

Making Cornfields Picture 2

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3. The next step is to texture your base. I have done tutorial on basing.

Making Cornfields Picture 6

4. The next step is to cut your carpet or doormat to the desired shape then glue it is to cut your carpet or doormat to the desired shape then glue it to the base using PVA.

5. The next step is to lightly dry brush with yellow until you get the desired effect.

Making Cornfields Picture 7

Making Cornfields Picture 8

Tools

Pencil
Tape measure
Wood saw
Rasp
Paintbrushes
Scissors

Materials

Hardboard
Polycell Textured Ceilings Course Effect
Ronseal Diamond Hard Varnish, matt clear
Noch Summer Meadow Grass
PVA
Carpet
Doormat

Humbrol Colours

Humbrol No. 110 Natural Wood
Humbrol No. 103 Cream
Humbrol No. 24 Trainer Yellow

21 Oct 2010

Making Trees & Woods

Making Trees & Woods

Making trees and woods an easy guide to follow. Probably one of the most important features of any wargames table is trees and woods not only do they improve the look of your table but they also have an important effect on the game too. Trees block line of sight and hamper movement, and can also provide cover for units to ambush from. A couple of strategically placed trees or a clump of woods will provide plenty of interesting tactical challenges. 

Making Trees
Below there are several tutorials to help you build individual trees which can be combined to make a large wood.

Making Wire Trees
When making trees from wire, you start by constructing the trunk and branches. You will be able to then either leave them then as old dead trees or finish them off with a wide variety of different foliage effects.

1. Start out by cutting your bundle of wire to size. You'll want the length of wire to be double that of the finished tree. Commence shaping the tree by bending the length of wire in half and making a loop at the folded end. Use the loop to twist the wires together to form the tree trunk. When you have finished, cut the loop and form the branches at one end and the roots at the other. 

2. Bend the trunk into the shape you desire. Shape the branches so that they curve upwards ready to apply the clump foliage. Put on a coat of Polyfilla to the trunk of the tree. 

3. Once the Polyfilla is dry undercoat the finished tree with Humbrol No. 67 Tank Grey. Then start to paint the trunk and branches with Humbrol No. 110 Natural Wood before adding the clump foliage.

Mangrove Swamp Tree
Mangroves are assorted kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics.

1. Begin making your Mangrove tree in the same way as you would for a standard wire tree.

2. When you have your twisted wire strand you need to make a tree shape. For the Mangrove tree, you need to allow for much larger roots which make the tree stand above the ground. The branches, whilst similar to those of the standard wire tree, need to droop downwards. 

3. Polyfilla the trunk and then texture it, then undercoat the Mangrove tree with Humbrol No. 67 and finally paint with Humbrol No. 110. This tree doesn't have a canopy of leaves like a most trees. Glue your clump foliage to ends of the individual branches, following its natural curve using PVA glue.

Mangrove Swamp Tree picture 1

Mangrove Swamp Tree picture 2

Mangrove Swamp Tree picture 3

Mangrove Swamp Tree picture 4

Making Trees From Christmas Trees
Christmas decorations can be surprising useful for the wargamer Christmas trees can be cut up to make dense woods with a little bit of work, however there is a multitude of decorations which can be adapted for wargaming purposes.


Making Trees From Nails
1. First of all select the desired size of nails.

2. After selecting the desired nails I then cut small irregular shapes of hardboard to mount the nails on.

3. You can either tap them through the hardboard or glue them on using a glue gun.

3. The next step is to paint their nails I use Humbrol No. 110 Natural Wood.

4. The next stage is to add clump foliage which is made by Woodland Scenics Which Is torn into assorted chunks, next the largest clump is slid down the nail and glued into place using a glue gun carry on the process by using smaller clumps each time.

Making Trees From Plastic Aquarium Plants
There are many different sorts of plastic aquarium plants which can be utilised for wargaming to simulate dense jungle or just to add a bit of variety to the trees you already possess they can be bought relatively cheaply and of course can be based anywhere you desire.

Plastic Aquarium Plants picture 1

Plastic Aquarium Plants picture 2

Plastic Aquarium Plants picture 3

Plastic Aquarium Plants picture 4

Woodland Scenics Tree Armatures And Foliages
Bend and twist Tree Armature into a realistic shape. Apply Hob-e-Tac to the branches. Let dry clear and use a variety of the of the following foliage materials to make all types of trees for our layout, Underbrush, Bushes, Clump-Foliage, Foliage Clusters, Lichen, Foliage, Fine-Leaf Foliage and Poly Fiber.

Woodland Scenics Tree Armatures picture 1

Woodland Scenics Tree Armatures picture 2

Woodland Scenics Tree Armatures picture 3

Woodland Scenics Tree Armatures picture 4

Woodland Scenics Tree Armatures picture 5

Woods Made From Cheap Trees From China
The trees you see below were all bought from eBay at a relatively cheap price see here (Auction) the only thing I would say regarding these trees is the foliage is sometimes loose however I use hairspray to fix them.

1. You can base these trees individually see basing tutorial

2. Alternatively you can clump them together to make convincing woods.

3. As you can see from the pictures I started off with an already textured base all that's required is to drill small holes and then using the glue gun dab small amounts of glue into the hole and then insert the tree.

Making Woods Picture 1

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Making Woods Picture 12

Making Woods Picture 13

Making Woods Picture 14

Making Woods Picture 15


Tools

Pencil
Tape measure
Wood saw
Rasp
Glue gun
Cutters
Drill
Paintbrushes

Materials

Hardboard
Polycell Textured Ceilings Course Effect
Polycell Polyfilla
Ronseal Diamond Hard Varnish, matt clear
Noch Summer Meadow Grass
Galvanised wire (small grade)
PVA Glue
Hairspray
Christmas tree
Nails
Clump Foliage Woodland Scenics
Woodland Scenics Tree Armatures And Foliages

Humbrol Colours

Humbrol No. 110 Natural Wood
Humbrol No. 103 Cream

20 Oct 2010

Making Diorama Bases

Making Diorama Bases

Making diorama bases is an easy guide to follow. 1. When making diorama bases I genuinely cut the bases into irregular shapes as I find that it looks far better once on the wargaming table.

2. I normally use hardboard from my local DIY store however you could use plywood or MDF plastic card, foam board or anything at hand.

3. Once you've cut your bases to the desired size and shape, it's ready for the next stage if you're going to place several houses then I would suggest you mark where you intend placing the houses and any roads you wish to incorporate into the diorama. 

4. The next step is to paint the base with Polycell Textured Ceilings, Course Effect but obviously missing the marked out spaces for the houses and roads, once this is dried you can then use Polycell Multi Purpose Polyfilla to make the roads as the Polyfilla is drying I tend to scratch marks into the road surface to make it look like it's been travelled on.

Making Diorama Bases Picture 1

Making Diorama Bases Picture 2

Making Diorama Bases Picture 3

Making Diorama Bases Picture 4

5. The next step is to paint your diorama you of course can use any colours you wish but I use Humbrol No. 110 Natural Wood as the base colour and then dry brush with Humbrol No. 103 Cream once this stage is completed I normally glue the houses on with a Two part Epoxy resin.

Making Diorama Bases Picture 5

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6. The next step is to varnish your diorama I use Ronseal Diamond Hard Varnish, matt clear once this is dry you can then add any trees to the diorama that you wish, and I always finish off by using Noch Summer Meadow Grass.

Tools

Pencil
Tape measure
Wood saw
Rasp
Glue gun
Cutters
Drill
Paintbrushes

Materials

Hardboard
Polycell Textured Ceilings Course Effect
Polycell Multi Purpose Polyfilla
Ronseal Diamond Hard Varnish, matt clear
Noch Summer Meadow Grass
PVA

Humbrol Colours

Humbrol No. 110 Natural Wood
Humbrol No. 103 Cream

11 Oct 2010

Making Hills

Making Hills

Making hills is an easy guide to follow. Throughout history generals have pored over maps and picked their fields of battle with extreme care. While formulating their battle plans they'd think carefully about the lie of the land, because this would determine how they'd deploy their forces. Hills became a major factor in considering deployment as they offered commanding positions on which to position artillery and also gave cover to reserve formations of troops. 

I wanted a few small terrain hills for my war games table. This tutorial will show you how to quickly make sturdy hills.

First Hill

1. The first step is to cut your bases to the desired size either using MDF or hardboard in my case I used hardboard and cut it to 6 inch by 6 inch once you have cut your bases to the desired size you then want to proceed to rasp the edges to give it a smoother appearance.

2. The next step is to cut and shape your foam board. 

Making Hills Picture 1

3. Once you have cut your foam board to the desired shape you then need to glue it to your hardboard using PVA glue, you will need to leave this for 24 hours.

4. The next step is to texture your base. I have done tutorial on basing.

5. The next step is to paint your diorama you of course can use any colours you wish but I use Humbrol No. 110 Natural Wood as the base colour and then dry brush with Humbrol No. 103 Cream.

Making Hills Picture 2

Making Hills Picture 3

6. The next step is to varnish your diorama I use Ronseal Diamond Hard Varnish, matt clear once this is dry you can then add any trees to the diorama that you wish, and I always finish off by using Noch Summer Meadow Grass.

Making Hills Picture 4

Second Hill

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Third Hill

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Fourth Hill

Making Hills Picture 12

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Fifth Hill

Making Hills Picture 14

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Sixth Hill

Making Hills Picture 18

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Making Hills Picture 22

Making Hills Picture 23

Tools

Pencil
Tape measure
Wood saw
Rasp
Paintbrushes
Craft knife
Scissors 
Ruler 
Glue gun

Materials

Hardboard
Polycell Textured Ceilings Course Effect
Ronseal Diamond Hard Varnish, matt clear
Noch Summer Meadow Grass
PVA Glue
Foam Board

Humbrol Colours

Humbrol No. 110 Natural Wood
Humbrol No. 103 Cream

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