Adventures on the Wargames Table

My social calendar has been pretty hectic recently but somehow I've still managed to squeeze in a bit of terrain building! I already have some roads that are about 3 inches wide but I wanted to add some narrower roads, i.e. lanes or tracks if you prefer. Incidentally, I need these for the next game in the Normandy campaign - this provided the real spur to make them. As with my other roads, it all starts with a 300mm x 300mm cork tile, 3mm thickness. My tracks are about 2 inches wide so I simply cut a number of strips, plus a couple of angled sections so that it could join the main road at a variety of angles. Trim the edges to about a 45 degree angle to better help them blend in to the table. Painting: Texture the cork with fine masonry paint (add in a little fine grit for extra texture if you like). Drape the strips over thin paint brushes to prevent any curling as it dries. Then base coat with Americana Milk Chocolate, followed by dry brush highlights of Americana Honey...

The Paras were initially repulsed in game one of the campaign, so we've moved forward a few hours on D-Day to just after the initial Allied foothold was gained on Sword Beach. It was imperative that the first forces to arrive quickly neutralised the beach defences and pushed inland. Our game is just one such Push Inland (Battleground Europe - Scenario 5). To fit our game (and to be honest, the forces we have available) nicely in to the campaign we’ve devised a vaguely plausible ‘what if’. The village that Steve and I will be attacking is going to be Hermanville. It’s just half a mile inland from Sword beach and was officially captured by late morning on 6th June 1944. Now, as you'll see we've had to "adjust" the forces slightly from exactly those that would have been there on the day - this is simply due to the fact that these are the figures we have available ;o) Troops of the 3rd infantry division took this route inland towards Caen. I can’t find any info...

I've decided to make some complete field tiles, as opposed to just putting hedge/fence around areas of the battlefield. I think it adds depth and interest - plus they're fun to build! This is what I've come up with. The finished article... With Para mortar team for scale If you're interested in finding out how I made it then please read on. It all starts with a piece of MDF 40cm x 48cm, 3mm thickness. I've sketched on roughly where I want the hedges and gates. Hopefully you can make out my scribbles in the pic below. The next step is to apply some texture. These are the areas that will not be covered in flock or foliage. The left area will be bare earth whereas on the right I wanted more of a meadow effect. This is just a mix of small stones, grit and sand. The remaining bare areas of the board are given a coat of textured masonry paint (to which I added some light brown paint). This gives a better base for the next stage; painting! Note British Para f...

I've been thinking about making some bocage for a while now and have seen a number of excellent examples on t'web and at shows; so I thought I'd try out a small test piece to see if my ideas were okay. It's simply a thin strip of blue styrofoam glued to a piece of card (to protect the edges). I've shaped the foam to give more sloping sides then applied a good layer of gritty sand. Styrofoam is best sliced with a bread knife Shaped, textured and painted in earth colours A light garnish of your favourite flock or grass The earth colours are my usual recipe followed by a mixture of Woodland Scenics clump foliage much like the hedges I made a couple of years back. Hans posing ... the hedge is about 45mm high A better height comparison Further pieces will have more tufts and flowers plus incorporate tree stumps, bushes, fencing, old bits of farm junk, etc. Longer sections will allow for a greater variety of height too - some of the real bocag...

I’m delighted to report that Dave and I have kicked off our Normandy campaign!! We’re using a mix of scenarios from the Battleground Europe Bolt Action sourcebook, adaptations of scenarios from the CoC supplement Kampfgruppe von Luck, and just some of our own ideas. Ideally I’d like to bring others (I’m thinking Steve, Mike, George, Rob, Dave, etc) in to the campaign so as to have a series of ‘simultaneous’ battles with linked outcomes. My ideas are still somewhat ephemeral at this stage so we’ll see how it goes. Some campaign notes are shown in typewriter font below. List Restrictions Forces should be selected based on their approximate historical formations; suitable support options are noted below. Depending upon the scenario, further restrictions may apply. The Paras are very lightly equipped, so no AFVs. Infantry sections plus MMG, Medic, Car/Jeep, Light Mortar, Medium Mortar, PIAT, Flamethrower, Sniper, AT Gun*. *later in the campaign as the guns arrived in the second lift on t...