Hands Up! - The Build part 2 'Getting serious'

I've made scenery with polystyrene, but as you may have discovered they have issues with getting a decent cut and shaping; lots of static small balls and it might melt if you've not protected it and use the wrong paint or glue.

Whilst the games boards made by the club in the past had been made from one or more layers of polystyrene based on chipboard; and have been very successful I didn't think a 100mm (4") height would work as well so I was seeking an alternative and as described in Cautious Beginnings I played with a piece of  the material used to insulate a flat roof in my home. It is Recticel Instafit Polyurethane Insulation board (Kingspan/Celotex).

Luckily the island is very flat plateau and windswept so the only real elevation was the cliffs and the valleys where streams cut through the island's plateau as the period picture shows.

I discovered that at 100 mm the material:.

1)Has two layers of glass fibre sheet reinforcement through it so gloves should be used, the good news is that this also creates two stratum lines in cliffs, issues in other areas can be 'filled', it also makes a fantastic break line for you to create a new  horizontal level area.

2) Is very resistant to vertical pressure but gives easily if you push sideways into it. This allows you to shape the material with your gloved fingers and use your gloved hand to 'sand/polish' the finish.

3) It also gives off an odour that probably shouldn't be breathed in, as well as a fine dust, non static and easily hoovered up, [Warning clogs hoover quickly and probably also lungs so use a mask].

The plan was to use chipboard as a base, and then I would glue kingspan boards on top. (You know what happens to plans!)

Went to the local store and bought the chipboard and had it cut to size, (a must) and now have 5 times 2' x 5' boards. and ordered the Kingspan, 8' x 4' so needed three in order to get 5 lots of 2' x 5' happily these were delivered for a small charge.

Cutting the Kingspan to size was easy using a 'ripsaw' but I suggest you sandwich the Kingspan between two lined up pieces of chipboard, clamped together you will avoid cutting at an angle like I did with my first one. 

I had intended to use some hot wire tools I'd bought to cut Polystyrene to shape it, however they proved ineffective the material won't melt the same way. Thankfully it cuts well with a knife and sculpts quite well too, a little messy but thank god none of those balls, but still statically charged. I used a bread knife as I needed the length of blade, felt this was safer and found the Kingspan had two lines of woven glass fibre inside that a serrated knife could cut through. 

A lot of the work had been done for me by Chris Hall as I used his 'Map' as my template.

With boards and Kingspan cut to size I placed the Kingspan and then laid the 'Map' over the top allowing me to measure the Kingspan, look closely you can see the island already in place.

Having cut the Kingspan to length I peeled the aluminium foil off what would be the base as I felt the PVA glue would adhere the two elements better without it.

Peeling off the top layer of aluminium foil I started carving and modelling the material. Do use a mask!

The red lines show where the fibre glass mesh is and I used it to my advantage, the lower line became the highest point of the beach and street level in the town. I used a model knife to cut a 'V' for the valley and then formed the shape by simply rubbing my gloved fingers like sandpaper over it pushing away the waste. The cliffs were cut with a bread knife the mesh adding an unexpected bonus to the look.

However I couldn't sculpt the beach to my satisfaction and ended up using corrugated card, a layer by the seawall to raise that end and then a full beach piece peeling the back off the last inch to give me a sharper slope.

As you can see the sea is patterned wall paper. I put PVA on my beach and poured sand on. I also reinforced the sea wall with mastic just in case.

Once shaped to my satisfaction I applied PVA glue and sand to all cliff edged and beaches, reapplying when dry, you may need three thin coats, beware of applying too much sand/PVA as the mix will slide down the slope. When ready I started painting with ordinary emulsion paint.

Terrain skeleton complete, time for dressing.

Whilst this was for a 20mm game, the scenery was so flat any scale game could be played on it, although we began to limit ourselves with the placements we inserted, but it had to be done. Nonetheless one set of judges deemed it was a 10mm setup for a 20mm game, they ignored our research and the facts, apparently field lines should be man height hedges not low scrub even if the map and photographs showed otherwise.

Did I care, yes, however the best accolade for all our work came from a Frenchman who saw the game at Crisis in Antwerp, who pointed at the layout and named both island and town, a Result! Merci monsieur, très apprécié !

Moving onwards I used cheap towelling from ASDA (rough ground) and thin corduroy (farmland) from a local sowing shop. Builders caulk was applied to all roads and an old child truck (to scale) run along it whilst still wet to give me the ruts in the muddy roads.

One of my dislikes with pieced terrain boards is the joins I tried to mitigate this having flaps of terrain cloth overlapping the boards. Field cloth would extend beyond the board to the road edge on the next board. if you can't see what I mean in the above I've highlighted it below.

Me OTT? Yup! In the end I followed this idea with the town and fortress, despite hours of getting it just right I removed Kingspan replacing it with a piece of MDF, with wall paper cobbles that the town's building could sit on.

As you see that cover a lot of the joint.

To make packing for transport between shows easy and we went to a few in the UK and Crisis in Belgium. Nothing was glued in place.

To avoid damaging the board by pushing in and removing trees I inserted and glued rawlplugs into the board that allowed me to insert and remove the K&M trees easily.

The two pieces of MDF on the right of the above picture were my templates for building the fort seen in the picture below. I used Railway Scenic card to cover the walls and hide the Kingspan core.

The finished town with port and overlooking fort. It was the guns on this fort that had to be taken by the allies.

Finished Project

Transportation and storage mode.

At Bovington Tank Museum the Allies commence their seaborne assault.

Other articles on Hands Up!

Hands Up! MadGame

The Build Part 1 - Cautious Beginnings

Hands Up! 2010 MAD game

Some time at the beginning of the year (2010) at our regular painting evenings one of the group announced a change of plan to our 'annual game, rather than the ACW scenario we were thinking of playing he informed us that we would be doing a Rapid Fire scenario he had found, we would do it in 20 mm.

I was informed, that we would need my conservatory so we could build the scenery there and it was suggested to Tallyho that he do some research on the subject.

I don't think he was prepared for our response to what he had delegated, our interest was piqued by this little known operation and we soon discovered there was far more to it than as suggested in the original scenario he had discovered. Unfortunately our desire to properly represent the thoughts and planning that had gone into 'Operation Chastity' and 'Operation Hands Up!' resulted in a parting of the ways as our good friend felt we had taken over his project.

As a result I found myself tasked with building a 10' x 5' gaming table. Previous to this I had only done small pieces of 28 mm terrain, Jungle scenery  and Industrial scenery, so I was a little disconcerted.

Tallyho spent a lot of time researching the island 'Belle Isle Sur mer, 'Le Palais 'and the projected landing areas. As a result he had printed off a 10'x6' tabletop map.
The image below is of the first trial practice game, you can see how the map alone began to shape the projected terrain.

After the trial game it became apparent that some changes needed to be made to the map and my argument to reduce it's width from 6' to 5' was accepted as we hadn't used the inland 12" strip, so now as I had hoped it would fit in most hatchbacks. 

When we had first discussed the possibility of the game I had wanted 'the team' to consider some alternatives to the usual polystyrene boards

In part encouraged by Alcal's [of SoGGs] beautiful creations I had also wanted to incorporate some of the textured finishes I'd seen

For example, this from WW2 built for RAF pilots and navigators to recognise what terrain looks like from a great height.

Stunning work and so realistic, look at the shadows for example.

So I had to start thinking about materials not only to finish off the terrain, but also to build the boards.

Doing a little research I came across examples of people using felt, corduroy, towelling and carpet.

Previously we had used chipboard with a layer or two of polystyrene on top, with 'Artex' rendered on that to protect it.

From the site Terragenius

(How many times had I created a depression when gaming as an elbow or fist rested on those boards while measuring or moving a piece?)

Although I wanted something harder I also needed a serious 3D look, I had cliffs to build, I considered both blue Foam and Kingspan.


I decided on Kingspan as it was the cheapest.

I discovered

1) It has two layers of glass fibre sheet reinforcement through it so gloves should be used, the good news is that this also creates two stratum lines in cliffs, issues in other areas can be 'filled', it also makes a fantastic break line for you to create a new level area.

2) it is very resistant to vertical pressure but gives easily if you push sideways into it. This allows you to shape the material with your gloved fingers and use your gloved hand to 'sand/polish' the finish.

3) It also gives off an odour that probably shouldn't be breathed in, as well as a fine dust, non static and easily hoovered up, [warning clogs hoover quickly and probably also lungs so use a mask].

The following pictures show the sculpted board before I added the 'surface' features.

Next stage was to 'paint' this 3D canvass to look like these.

I wanted to ensure that the terrain was level with no attached buildings/projections so that it would be easier to pack/transport.

This would be made easier as the island is essentially a plateau with deep scrub and wood filled valleys.

I achieved texture by using cheap [ASDA] towelling, felt and corduroy, wall paper was used for cobbled streets and sea waves, oh and sand for the beach 😁 .

Some part finished and finished views, sorry about the 'yellow' picture, poor lighting.

 White areas still need painting or application of printed card, the fort still needs to be built.

Close up of the 'dock/port', town & fort bases are removable mdf inserts that hide the joins.

Finished lots more trees need to be pushed into place.

Thanks for reading this.


Credit to various suppliers for the buildings although Russ (aka Rusty Bullet) built the windmill and a number of other items whilst I built the Napoleonic fort. 

Other blogs on the same subject.

The build in detail:
Cautious Beginnings

Getting Serious

Hands Up! - The build (1) Cautious beginings

Hands Up!

If you read the earlier blog you'll know this was a whole new experience for me.
I'd thought of using Kingspan, having rescued a small piece from a local skip (as you do) I set out to test my theories.


Part of the map was a small offshore island, an extension of the peninsular that had become separated by time and tide, this would be my test and if successfully the first part of my terrain.
Using a serrated carving knife to cut to shape and then 'sculpt' the cliffs I was able to quickly throw this together, I then glued a piece of material (cheap white towel) on top, painted it green and then when dry painted PVA to sides and part of the top before pouring fine sand on top (child's sandpit sand). 

Here are some views of the island with turf ready for use, maybe a bit of painting to touch up the turf, with no beach required it's ready to glue in place or just place it on the terrain board.  






Here is the finished island.

It never was stuck onto the board as I feared it would be knocked off in transit. 




Satisfied with the result I braced myself for the main project.

A Roman army in 6mm

The might of 6mm gaming 

A Roman army that not a group of squads.

I do love wargaming and like big battles, this has led me down a veritable rabbit hole.

As a child I was fascinated by Rome and even though Dyslexic with a hatred of writing that will delay me picking up a pen (typing not a problem) I still managed to copy out of my encyclopaedias anything about Rome and its peoples.

I chose 6mm as you are able to represent a lot of soldiers in a small area. Consider I get 48 Romans on a base that would take around 4 28mm figures. So you move from representation of quantity to trying to achieve real 1:1 quantity,

I'm nowhere near that as my 48 men on a base could, depending on the game represent:

Legionaries

- a Century of 80 men. 2:1

- a Cohort of 6 Centuries 480 men 10:1

- a Legion of 10 Cohorts 5280 men a ratio of 110:1

[Note that the1st Cohort is double strength 960]

However it's still a lot better than 4 28mm models, though in fairness they will use 16 men on three times the width, and need a table three times the size.

I started with a base with 24 men thought it looked a little light so added 12 then went for another 12, it is of course called escalation.

Anyhow, I have fielded all my Romans, they can between them make up two-three armies.

As I said Rabbit hole.

Ave!

The complete Army (for the moment) 

Auxillary

Medium Mounted

Medium Bow

Storage Solutions -3

 I am definitely in the Really Useful Boxes camp.

Yes they are heavy, but the are vermin proof, waterproof and stackable. In fact you can even tie the lids down with the predrilled holes, padlock or string, so if you drop them the lid won't fly off?

Their own trays are limiting but perfect for 2 x 60x30mm bases per segment giving 30 secure spaces (see plastic tray in second image), but with trays from Commission Figurines [see note below] the world opens up.

As the base is 2mm deep then a 20mm tray gives 18mm of headroom and of course a 40mm gives 38mm. The lid of the Really Useful box gives you a little wriggle room of about 2mm. 

I also add masking tape looped through handles and glued to itself as handles to lift and lower the trays, you could use string or  ribbon.

As you can see from the various images, it is a very versatile system.

Ancient 6mm: 
4 x 20mm trays - Infantry
2 x 30mm trays- Cavalry and mounted command

Colonial British 6mm + 30mm Tripods:
Careful removal of part of tray base can give you height through other trays. Two 20mm trays essential use up space that might have been wasted and coincidentally give stability to the 30mm models.
One of the 35mm trays, the plastic one is a RUB tray, this is where we started. 

1 x 30mm -  Cavalry and Martian Tripods
2 x 20mm - Artillery and Infantry (both cut to give 40mm extra headroom to 35mm tray
2 x 35mm - Mounted command, mounted and dismounted Infantry -  animals and Bridges

The bottom three trays are stacked first.

Orc Waugh!!!
Army with 6mm Baccus goblins and Battle of five armies models as well as Warmaster 10mm orcs based for a different game.

1 x 40mm - Cavalry Monsters
1 x 35m - Infantry/
2 x 30mm - shorter infantry

The bottom left tray is stacked on the top left one and they are the 3rd and 4th (top) tray, just in case I need that wriggle room. I also put some bubble plastic around the larger model to protect from knocks

Tomb King Army 

10mm Warmaster and Pendraken
3 x 40mm - Cavalry & Infantry with tall banners
1 x 20mm - Bannerless archers

The top left tray is the 20mm and uses wiggle room at the top of the RUB.

Victorian Buildings 

From Leven all based on mini dioramas.

2 x 50mm
1 x 40mm - and it uses that 2mm wriggle room*

*wriggle room
The RUB lid is raised except at the edges, the edges keep the trays tight, but the centre give a little extra room about 2mm and i use this to cheat and get a little extra height. 

If you want to see the original thought process then go to First storage article for an earlier update go to Previous storage article

_________________________________________________________________________________

NOTE:

Commission Figuerines web site is a link the their PDF catalogue with the following instructions.

Ordering

e-mail us at commission@btinternet.com

Let us know what you want from the catalogue

We’ll let you know how much the postage will be

You let us know if you wish to proceed

We send you a Paypal invoice (which includes an option to pay by card)

Basing with magnets to give a choice of column or line.

An 'Over The Top' Perfectionist?  [See footnote]

I must be in my attempt to make my modelling life more complicated than it's needs to be, because I'm striving to achieve an unnecessary objective. 

For my War of the Worlds game I purchased a number of British Colonial units from Baccus including some Mounted Infantry, (MI) a more modern term might be Mobile Infantry, certainly reading a little on the Boer War they fitted a niche in that unconventional war.

Whilst I have gently mocked or chided those who base their models on smaller bases so they can change the formation, I've managed to avoid 'That Need'. However the MI in this game not only called for it, rather they demanded it.

Ideally when they unmount to fire then I should swop bases but I didn't fancy that, and thought in my game they'd fire from the saddle or line up to charge towards the Martian Tripod dump the horses and shoot the heck out of it. My desire not to paint the same unit twice, mounted and unmounted, forced me to think about mounting them on smaller bases so I can have them in column or in a two lines.

Having already based some units on small 1/4 sized bases and realised how fiddly it was I wanted to have the best of both worlds on one base.

Requirements:

1mm plastic card Model Scenery Supplies,  and Small Super Strong N35 Neodymium Disc Magnets (3 x 1mm).

All I had to do was cut the 1mm card into  2x 30mm square bases plus 1 30x60mm base for each set. Drill a hole in the centre of the square bases and then two holes in the 30c60mm base that lined up with them, HA!

Precision is key, I glued the magnets in the bases tested for positioning choosing the best alignment and based the men accordingly.

Method

• Get some 2mm MDF identically sized 30mm squares (no store purchased aren't all the same size).
  
• Find the centre and drill with a small bit first, this gives more control and accuracy then put them on top of each other and turn through 90° to see how close to centre the holes are.
• When happy place them on the 30x60mm MDF drill through and using a pin see how well they both align with each other and on the board below in the two positions (column and line). If you're happy stop.
• Get the plastic card, cut it into 30mm strips and then 60mm lengths you need two lengths for each set. I found my card had a rough side and a shiny side. I planned it so the shiny sides faced each other, this gave the completed work a rough side for bottom and top, for basing and painting.
• Use same bit to drill through jig into plastic, then  enlarge with a 3mm bit, I used a small round file to widen it a little, try to leave it tight.
• Ensure all magnets have the same pole facing upwards, glue them in place and test again for best positions, you may want to file the edges of the top square.
• When basing setup the men for column rather than line as a slightly ragged line looks better than a ragged column, if you prefer the opposite then do that. If you look at my above picture You'll see what I mean.

My small 'jig', large 2mm MDF bases taped together to hold the plastic card. I did tape the 'jig' to the cutting board too.

Position the two templates on the plastic card and drill through.

Do both sides, remove one square and if this is to be cut in half then run a blade on the plastic, just score and bend/snap in half.

After you have glued them in place you should have this. All the large pieces have rough side down, all the small squares have rough side up. In all the cases below the magnets all face the same way, lets say North face is up. 

The final result.

Footnote:

I was going to title this article as; 'Are you an OCD gamer?' However before doing so I happened to read this article; 'The difference between OCD and Perfectionism' by Kyle, written February 22, 2018.
It's worth a read and has made me think twice before commenting that another gamer or indeed anyone is OCD when all they are doing is simply striving to be an over the top perfectionist. 
True OCD shouldn't be wished on anybody.

Painting to a high standard or I wargame; therefore, I have to paint.

Sorry come again..
Whose standard?
What's the objective?

Yes I admire masterful work, but I can't and don't aspire, however I like ro think I am always improving. I can list my other delusions later.

I recall when my son found my old 25 mm D&D models, that I'd purchased and used back in 1980. It began his interest in wargaming and renewed mine circa 1999.
Armed with my first attempts in acrylics, I took my Brettonian Knight into the local store to show it off and the store manager though it was quite a good effort for my 9 year old son. No I didn't correct him rather I slunk out of the store tail between my legs.

And yeah that coloured my opinion. Did I want to spend hours painting to Golden Daemon standards or did I want to roll dice and crush my enemies?

In effect what is the hobby to you, why are you painting up models?
What drew you into the hobby and what is still driving you today?

I Wargame; therefore I paint!, but also:

- I also make and paint scenery, because what I envisage isn't there. In addition initially I couldn't afford to buy the models and the scenery when I started out.
- I research, boy do I research, my wife often says you're not painting you're on the PC.
Well I need to know the right colour for the regiment as determined by historical record or SciFi fluff. What colours would the houses, trees, fields be etc etc.
- I research the order of battle.
- I also write rules and scenarios.

There is so much more to the hobby than painting a figure in fact it is probably of minor importance but it has come to dominate. You don't need an exquisitely painted model to play a Wargame a block of wood will do the same function, indeed a friend of mine had a very capable Warmaster Wood Elves army I often fought against that was just the bases with typed script on them, it beat my adequately painted army often. In fact because creating a new unit was so simple he could revise his army quickly and at minimal cost.

For me the joy of the hobby is a damn good game and as such I can make do with no scenery and incorrect models.

Escape the dice, concept board 2008, went to shows as
Achtung Dice! a participation game 2009

For example here is an image of a game I played with my son back in 2009, literally using anything to hand 28mm 40K models to represent the 20 mm WW2 POW camp game we envisaged and designed.

The point is there was no real scenery, all models and scenery were proxy, rules were scribbled down and changed as the game played out.

We actually had a blast and the game went on to win awards at shows.

However it makes the point.

2009 board design try out for Hands Up!
a 2010 demo Rapid Fire game.

2010

Here's another  play test layout again with club members again great fun.
Models to hand and printed out map (stylised) of the area we were to build, with what models we  had available to play.

But to get back on track, I paint my models and scenery because I want to own it, feel it's mine. Even when I buy pre-loved models I'll touch up and re-base to make them my toys.
No they won't win awards but they are my 'preciouses'!

So how do I paint? Well enough, some people will comment on how well, maybe those people are very polite, but if I'm happy then who cares. I'd rather play than paint, but even I will spend ages on a model because I feel it deserves it and more importantly I want to.

What I paint on a model depends on scale and I've certainly learnt through painting 6 and 10 mm models that highlighting certain details, popping if you will is key to getting a good looking unit or model on the table and it differs for each model, unit or scale.
Oh and believe me a quality wash also hides a lot of errors and sins. So wash and go back to touch up a few lost colours to bring the 'pop' back and away you go.

Currently I'll undercoat mostly black or a dark brown (Horses) and on occasion the finished product might determine the undercoat. Bone=skeleton, Goblin(ish) green = Orcs and goblins and in all instance a dark wash gives you the black line detail and sometimes I will dry brush or blob touch up to pop .

After undercoating I'll then dry brush with a key colour or just a light grey. this allows me to see the model's detail, then I paint. For example if there is a lot of chain or plate mail I'll do that first over the whole model using Boltgun for 28mm and Mithril silver for smaller scales as smaller scales need brighter colours.

Baccus Early Imperial Romans, black undercoat, Boltgun dry brush (I subsequently used Mithril).
I do flesh first as I always overlap at 6 mm.

How you start, the order you go in depends on the model and to a degree your ability. I always end up touching up over-painted areas and the next time I'm painting that model or uniform I'll approach from the learned direction. In my opinion there is no right or wrong way, just 'your' way, the point is that your models are on table 'painted' sooner rather than later, you're having fun gaming and feel encouraged to get the next lot painted ready to play.

Table top quality Early Imperial Romans - Baccus

I'll say this; if you are being put off painting because it's not good enough then lower the standards you are aspiring too. They probably aren't your standards but the view of that part of the hobby hat thinks painting is the thing rather than the game.

For the moment stop listening to the nay-sayers around you. Instead ask yourself; am I happy to play with this on the table, remember when it is three feet away from you, you won't see the scabbard, never mind the dry brushed and inked jewels on the scabbard.
As you grow with painting confidence of course you self critique and ask others how they achieve their results, listen closely to painters that are better than you but not necessarily the best painter in the club, only those who like you are still working towards perfection.
Learn to paint and improve your skills incrementally, the same way that you will eventually layer your paints.

Northstar archer centre flanked by GW Brettonians for Frostgrave

And you know what, if you stop trying to be perfect you'll enjoy the process more, play more games and even improve your painting.
Painters block is the fear of doing it wrong and I get it every time I start a new army or era.
Again some of the painters I admire will do anything except start a new army. They will touch up this, finish off that, doing anything to avoid starting that new army.

Bad Squido games, GW and Reaper models
for Frostgrave

Some times less is more the central mage has very little work done on it, a cream dress and thin inked.

I also find my painters block kicks in when I'm not enjoying the process, when I'm struggling often in my case this is when I need new glasses, if I'm really off painting I get an eye test.

Which brings me to magnifying glasses should you use them or not?
I used to think so, then realised if I can't see that detail without serious magnification, why am I even painting it? Yes I will use them to ensure the brush goes where I want it, but I've found a good quality 'BRIGHT' light is better, a day light bulb even more so. I get my best painting done in my conservatory in the afternoon when the sun is shining in.

Also check to see if you need glasses, seriously. Back in 2002 I realised I couldn't read the green print on the black background in my gaming magazine a stupid colour combo to be honest, but I got my eyes checked out and understood why my painting was off.
I use varifocals which do weird stuff when you are painting models as you have to look through the bottom of them (try looking along your nose to paint), in addition the focus is for reading distance. So and I recommend this more than a magnifier get a pair of painting glasses, tell the optician what you want them for show him your painting position, I pretend I'm painting a model, he can then build a lens that focuses where you paint. This is then normal 20:20 vision as designed by nature for your eyes, do use a magnifier for fine details if you feel you have to in order to place the brush, but as stated a bright light and good vision is all you need.

To summarise I like to play on a well planned table with gorgeous scenery that make you think tactically, with table top quality models, but am equally happy with a sketched out map and counters.

As I said I Wargame; therefore I paint, but it is at times an evil necessity.

Talking tables let's go back to that 2010 game as a finished project. Hands Up!
To blow my own trumpet I made the board using Chris Hall's design from the earlier picture

MadGamers at Bovington Show 2010, Chris Hall, Russ Sandy, Mark Foulds and Trev Crook,
Rapid Fire Rules.

And the 2009 game Achtung Dice!, (the provisional name was Escape the Dice.)
Rules Mark and Tim Foulds, Tony Baker, Russ Sandy, Trev Crook, Denis Jackman and others too many to mention helped play test and do all the scenery and model paining.

Achtung Dice! a POW escape game Mark and Tim Foulds, Russ Sandy, Tony Baker and Denis Jackman.
Rules devised by Mark Foulds