2nd Board layout WIP

This is the second board layout. All the fields and walls are stuck down now and ready for the next phase. It is definitely a work in progress. You can clearly see the buildings wrapped in cling-film, no it's not a fetish thing honest. It will serve to protect them while I coat the boards in plaster and sand. By coating them in cling-film it will allow it to settle in place and yet be removed easily once the plaster is dry. This board is less cluttered than the first board In the top picture, Top right corner are some fields which are large enough for a Helicopter Landing Zone. (HLZ). I was aware that I did need some areas, at least one, which could be used to extract the wounded via helicopter. It is not "open" having a couple of crop fields but with no walls it would be possible to land a chopper. Again I have put in a ruin of some description. I do not intend to have any trees on the boards as they would be hard to make in such a way as to be easy to transport, realistic and robust at the same time. I may rethink this at a later time but for now no trees.

Not too much to show today. the desire to work up the shed in the rain was not strong enough. Tomorrow is a club day and We shall be playing Force on Force again to firmly come to terms with the rules. I plan to add a few rules we have yet to try, IEDs, Air strikes, more vehicles, dependants and such. I will also seriously add to the firepower of the Taliban in an attempt to balance it a bit more. Do not expect an easy British Victory battle report on Monday.

All the best next post on Monday. Have a good weekend. Cheers Clint.

First Board Layout

Hallo once more. Here are 4 pictures taken up the shed in the wind and rain which show the layout of the first board. The vehicle is just for scale so it is easier to judge the buildings fields walls and track size better. Everything except the buildings are stuck in place ready for the next stage. The compounds have been wrapped in cling film for protection and to stop them "sticking" when I add the paint, plaster and sand. The advantage of this is that they can be painted and transported separately which in turn should make my life much easier, both now and on the show date.

 I have taken the pics from a North, East, South West angle so you get a much better idea of what's going on overall and lass wondering if I am trying to hide anything. There is no real compass bearing on the boards before anyone gets the idea that they must be arranged in specific ways. I have deliberately moved on of the compounds to break the straight line of the road but by doing so have allowed lines of fire across field at the board edges. Some compromise needs to be made with regard to terrain and game so let's just hope that this was the right way to go, only time, I suspect, will tell.
 The fields as mentioned previously are door mat from B+Q and I was right I think I shall need another one. The walls are thin sections of chipboard. They are about 3-5 mm and then I break then in two and use the largest section as rough rubble walling. It is a very quick and easy way to make rough walls. It does create a mess though so definitely do it in a shed or workroom. The hardest part is jigsawing the chipboard roughly the same thickness so they all look similar if not identical. They make great field boundaries and destroyed structures. You always use more than you think you will though so cut LOADS.
As you can see I have used the chipboard walls to represent a ruined structure as well as field boundaries. (Most clearly visible in the first 2 pics.) Having looked through the "Enduring Freedom" Book by Ambush Alley Games  lots of the scenarios in and around villages have quite a few ruins. I guess in a country that has been at war for 30 years this is to be expected. I am Therefore not being shy with them and adding them whenever I feel like it.
That's it for today more again on Saturday. All the best and happy blogging folks. Cheers Clint

Starting Terrain Boards

 Having decided that I want the terrain modular and on 2 foot square boards there comes a time when you just have to bite the bullet and actually start it. Today is that day. Starting with the roads I decided that 2 inch wide would be sufficient. I don't want it so open that the British can drive where they want without regard. so I have decided to keep the terrain quite close. I was also aware that I do not want the terrain laid out in nice neat little squares. I want it more random, organic, natural. As such I did not want all the roads to be straight lines as this would create avenues of fire which at this scale can easily cut a board in two. So I thought I should put some wiggles in. And thus the roads in the top picture came about.
The next tricky thing is to decide where the buildings will go. The second picture shows a trial layout using my two smallest farm compounds. Again you want them far enough apart that they feel like they might be able to have a few small fields, but at the same time use the curves of the roads to block lines of sight. You also want the British to feel that an ambush could happen at any time and that the Taliban have got plenty of cover from which to spring that ambush at very short range. If the buildings constrict the roads then the Coalition troops have also the IED threat to concern them. All of which means that any British troops moving a convoy by road through this area have a few things to consider above and beyond what's for lunch.
Once you have the buildings in place and marked. Then and only then can you sort the fields. Again fields need not be "regular" in shape. Often they would have no boundaries and at other times mud stone walls. For the fields I am using door mats. They are easy to cut (but make a mess so do it outside... as I found out the hard way,). Additionally the cheapest one from B+Q is only £5. So not beyond budget. One Matt will probably be enough for this whole project if I am careful and don't squander it. Yes That means another B+Q trip soon most likely.

That's today's offering. As I said on Sunday it will mostly be work in progress from now till 10th June. Thanks for reading I'll post again on Thursday. By then I should have some decisions made and the fields and mud walls in place. The buildings will be added last.

All the best Cheers Clint

DAF DROPPS

A couple of pics of a British Army DAF DROPPS in 20mm. You should know by now that it's for the Broadside Afghanistan game. This gives the Taliban another soft easy target. A soldier with a 40mm grenade launcher and gun shield was included, designed to fit in the hatch on top of the cab. I decided not to include it as it looked like overkill to me and this seems more versatile. The truck was a very easy paint, Vallejo dark sand as a base coat then just weathered and weathered until it looked right. The last pic has a donkey cart (already shown previously) to show scale, due to the fact that it is quite large and bulky.

 Today marks the 6 week deadline for Broadside 2012,  So from now on it will mostly be work in progress shots of the terrain. I do realise that at present I have painted no Coalition troops but there is not too many of them to paint additionally I have booked the week before the show off work. When I say week I actually mean  the three working days, which is my panic like **** time.

I now have a free run at making the terrain as the moon boards are now finished (I will give them one more spray clear coat finish as a secondary seal, but that's 10 mins work at most so I don't count that.)
I have decided to create a very cramped/tight area of Afghan village. Rules wise this might create a problem but I am sure we'll come up with a solution and I really want to build an area with very restricted lines of fire/sight. I know the landing area of a Chinook will have to be open and relatively flat and free of obstacles so a cramped area should be a good contrast. At the scale we are playing any Medivac/Caseivac areas will inevitably be "cherry" (hot) due to the closeness of the battle.

Well that's today's Post. Thanks for looking and more again on Tuesday. All the best Clint.