Wednesday, July 26, 2023

McPherson's Ridge Part 5 (The Fields and Woods)

 

OOOOOOOOOOOoooooooHH,
The ACW
is the BEST CW,
by now, you already knew.
Since the ACW
is the best CW,
go on and buy a few! 
(hundred miniatures).



Now we're getting close to finally finishing this song, and the battlefield. Not sure which is more important.  



Even More McPherson's Ridge


With the elevations complete the general landscape had been formed, as seen here in part FOUR
Now it's time to get some things to put on top of that landscape.  'The hills are alive' with adequately painted miniatures and terrain.


Railway Bed


Cutting through the board is an unfinished railway, so I needed a track bed.  My idea was to make this visually different from a road but since there aren't any tracks on it, it's basically a road. 

Notice the creases, I didn't think they would matter.


The track doesn't need to be flexible as it just cuts through all the hills like a hot knife through butter or my wife through my bullsh...  anyway it just goes straight across.  The battlefield is 5 feet across so I took my heavy felt and cut two strips 2" wide and 30" long.  (30 + 30 is 60 and 60" is 5 feet. Don't question me maths).


I gave the strips a liberal coating of watered down white glue and then coffee grounds from cheapo decafe coffee that NO ONE should be drinking anyway.  

Let dry thoroughly which only took about 10 mins because here in the Sacramento area it is 104 degrees outside
every
single
day.


Dammit, you can still see the creases.
Next time I'll have to iron it.
but it's risky to remind the wife that I know how to use an iron.


Lastly, the things were primed with black and then given various dry brushes of browns and what not.
Came out OK in the end.  I don't LOVE them like I love a good tax refund, but acceptable.  And I gots to move on as I am on a deadline here.



 
Fields of Frustration



The battlefield is covered in several wheat fields.  I'm not really interested in getting every field and fence shown on the scenario map, especially since wheat fields don't affect game play.  I just need enough to look pretty.  Like someone wearing juuuuust the right amount of make up.  

I've seen some cool fields made out of teddy bear fur, so I wanted to give that technique a try.  For a good walk through of the process you can do no better than this ONE from our online friend The Tactical Painter.  


As seen way back in part 3 of this build, as no doubt you have committed the whole post to memory because of it's awesomeness, I've already played around with the scraps of teddy bear fur I had...

Original color on the left, altered product on the right.


But what you see above is all I had.  And I've had that stuff for a few years.  For love and ruin I could not find anymore.  I went to 2 different Joanne's Fabric stores and didn't see what I wanted.  yes I asked for help.  If I'm a man in a fabric store I might as well go ALL IN and also ask for directions...
I could find fur there, for sure.  They showed me where the fur was, but I wanted fur with really short hairs cuz I don't want to have to shave it.  I told the lady that I like my teddy bear fur like I like my women's skirts, SHORT.  She told me I was in the wrong store.
And then I had to leave.


I'm pretty sure I got it this original stuff from hobby lobby but can't quite remember and hobby lobby is  a long drive away and I am low on time due to super family summer activities.  I tried online and ordered: 

This is not quite the same thing as teddy bear fur.
but it's close.
Like a kiss on the cheek is close to a kiss on the mouth, but are very different.


Other online searches didn't really help either so had to settle for I got.  All this has to be done by the end of August and I am not made of time.  I am made of left over pizza and hotdogs.


Field Construction followed what every other tutorial ever said...

Cut the not-teddy bear fur into the shape you want,
then comb the hell out of it.
Comb it like the hair of your children when they won't sit still.


With wet-ish dry-ish brush, paint on the main color.  I went with a bright yellow.
Wheat is yellow right?  I dunno, I've never seen wheat that wasn't already bread.
Take the comb and comb the paint all throughout the not-fur-but-close-enough-to-fur.


I also added in some spots painted with a flesh tone,
to give some variation.
Again hit it hard with the comb. 


repeat process as many times as desired.  


taaadaaa!
If the text box doesn't show, the top right is the original color.
I added a burnt spot to one field just to see how it looked
by using black paint and not combing it out.


All in All I actually think they came out pretty good in the end, despite being frustrating in the beginning, trying to nail down the proper materials.  These are the right height for my 15/18mm miniatures at any rate and look very wheat field-ish to me.


There's also a large field on the scenario map marked 'stubble.'  For that field I am gonna use this material that I've been using for my corn field bases.




You can pick this stuff up at Michaels around Halloween. Be warned though, this stuff sheds like crazy.  Sheds like the dog I'll never have.  




I cut out a couple.   It'll be nice to have just another texture on the battlefield. 





Woods


Regimental Fire and Fury is one of the those rule sets that works better when areas that are Woods and Not-Woods are easy to see.  Area terrain and Not-Area terrain.  Lots of games work better that way, which is why lots of gamers use pieces of felt to define the edges of woods and put trees on it.  
I'm gonna do the same thing basically, but hopefully in a slightly fancier way.  It'll be like the difference between a plain black T shirt and black T-shirt that has a tuxedo print.  

The scenario map shows two areas of woods: Sheads' Woods and Herbst Woods.  There's also a couple of Groves / Orchards.  These have to be flexible as they go up and down elevations.  

I'm gonna use fabric as the base for the woods and orchards.  As this has shown in test peices to be flexible even after the flock is glued on.  

Test fitting the Herbst Woods.


Using the actual scenario map, and the one I drew up (see part 1, the Plan), I laid out the hills in the correct configuration and drew on the fabric with a sharpie where the woods would go.  Herbst woods goes over West and East McPherson's ridges.  The sharpie lines are hard to see in the pics I know.


Sheads' Woods basically covers most of this terrain piece.
So I traced the shape on the fabric and inside that trace drew out the boundaries of the woods



I also traced an outline of Seminary Ridge
where a large orchard sits in front of the Seminary.

Man, I still got to paint the Seminary....

That was the hardest part; just trying to ensure that scenic features would fit well on the battlefield where they are supposed to go.  



Then it was an easy matter of just painting the areaa with watered down glue.


And then laying down the flock onto the glue.
I went with a light green for Orchards, and a dark green for woods.


Leave this to dry which takes no time at all since here in the Sac area its a 104 degrees outside
every
single
day.

yes, I know I mentioned that already.  It bears repeating: it's HOT.



Then you just cut it out.


Pro-Tip that I saw ahead of time: You actually want to put the glue and flock slightly over the line / edge.  It covers up the line of course but it's easy to guess at and it's much easier to cut, and ensures that the flock goes all the way to the end.

Pro-Tip I should of thought of: Put down some wax paper or something underneath the fabric bases.  I didn't and they dried onto the cardboard and I had to rip them off.  


Two woods, 3 Orchards/Groves.
If there is time, I might spray them with some more glue and add a contrast color.



I'm pleased with the result.
The area is well defined but not a stark contrast with the base terrain.


Is it more work than simply cutting out a piece of felt or whatever?  certainly is.
Is it more fancy than a simple piece of felt or whatever? Slightly.  
But maybe it's the little extra effort that goes a long way.  Like brushing your teeth before you kiss your spouse.


Almost Done


I'm feeling the pressure of getting this all done for Pacificon in Sept.  I feel like there are a lot of little things to do and not much time to do them. The next major steps are painting the buildings and making the stream that runs through the board.   That's FORESHADOWING.  

EDIT: The wait is over.  next part can be found HERE


And The Winner is...


Thanks to everyone who entered last weeks blog birthday giveaway.  I made everyone's tickets and put them all in a big bowl.  I went to my daughter #1 and said "here, pick one of these at random..."  She said "why?"  I said "just do it, it's for a contest."  She said "I don't want to if I don't know what it's for."  

/Sigh

I went to Son #2 and said "here, pick one of these at random..."  He said "sure dad, here you go."  
Favorite child status:  achieved.




The winner is your favorite online friend and mine:

Ben Cato

Please email me so we can discuss.  




Thanks for reading
Double thanks for writing a comment.
till Next time.  

40 comments:

  1. This is all coming along nicely Stew, and there are some inventive ideas in there. I bought a couple of large teddy bear fur gaming mats last year and the fur is quite long even for 28mm, so I'm now going to have to purchase some electric clippers to give it a shave. I was thinking of asking my local barber but decided I couldn't stand the explanations that would be required.

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    1. Thanks Lawrence. I dunno, I bet barbers get asked to shave all sorts of things…😀
      You’ll probably need dog clippers or something like that. Having to shave it down was my main concern bc I don’t like the too hairy look and I don’t feel I have a lot of time.

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  2. Wow Stew - a fantastic post that I thought couldn't get any better and then fireworks 😂 Better than Shakespeare!
    I feel very lucky ! I didn't think I would win so haven't prepared a speech but here goes. I'd like to thank my family, my agent, Son#2, .......

    Great work considering it seems to be a bit warm over there now. It all seems to be shaping up nicely and I am sure the final result will be fantastic.

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    1. Congratulations Ben! I got your email.
      The parts are going well separately and let’s hope the whole will be great. There’ll be a big reveal of course in the future. 😀

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  3. All looking très bon matey. I know you are working against the clock a bit and have been very focussed on the terrain…but do you have all the miniatures sorted out for the project too? Special congrats to Ben too - even though he took my rightful prize.

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    1. Thanks Mark. I had to look up what tres bon meant. I am not international…
      I HOPE I have the miniatures sorted out. I’m like 90 percent sure I have the required figures but I haven’t actually checked yet. The scenario for the convention is quite big (for my standards) for 6 players. That’s part of the reason I want it all done by mid August so if I have to frantically paint miniatures I’ll have some time. 😀

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    2. Thanks JBM.
      I bribed Son#2 fair and square to get the prize 😂
      Now you will probably go on about our cricket team 🤣

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  4. It is looking good Stew. I'll be interested to see how the woods come out. Have you thought about securing the rights to your song?...just in case Kanye or someone picks it up...those royalties could come in useful for those college funds.

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    1. Thanks Mark. What’s shown above is basically how the woods came out. I’m just gonna stick trees on it. Like I say; it’s just a slightly fancier version of cutting out felt / fabric. I’ll also dress it up some with lichen or what not.
      Good advice though. Those mega rock stars would love to get their hands on my musical masterpiece. 😀

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  5. Looking good. Perhaps those creases in the railway track bed could be culverts under it? Any streams or tracks cross it?
    More importantly, do you now have a restraining order for the fabric shops in your area? ☺
    "There's this guy right, who comes into the shop humming this dopey song, who asks about teddy bear fur and shaving and then liking women in short skirts........"☺
    Neil

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    1. Thanks Neil. I don’t think the creases will matter too much. Unfortunately there’s nothing intersecting the track bed in this scenario but maybe in some future one.
      I said I went to two stores; I got banned from one and a phone number from the other with a note saying call me…😀😝

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  6. Decent progress on your terrain project, well done for asking for directions in the shop, I'm sure the seminary won't take long and you've got four weeks of spare time left so you'll be fine!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain. I’m sure you’re right. 4 weeks of nothing to do but this hobby stuff. 😀

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  7. Interesting to see the combination of flock and material. I particularly liked how the fields turned out.

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    1. Thanks Peter. The fields did come out rather well in the end. 😀

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  8. Excellent progress Stew the battle is coming together slowly, looking forward to seeing the end results !

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  9. Looking good. It will be a pleasure seeing the layout all put together for the Big Reveal. Congrats to Ben for the win.

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    1. Thanks Jon. Yes there will be a big reveal at the end. Even I haven’t seen everyone piece put together yet. 😀

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  10. That Plush Felt is absolutely bob on! When you started, I thought September was ages away ….. now not so much 🙂

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    1. Thanks Norm. I know RIGHT?! September feels like it’s one weekend away and there’s still so much to do. And here I am WASTING time by going to a water park this weekend with the children. 😝😀

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  11. Excellent progress Stewart, and I think all your extra effort on all the pieces will make this a board to be admired when you take it to the show.

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    1. Thanks David. It should be fun to put on a good looking game and bask in the compliments. Then after I’ve trotted it out 6 or 7 times everyone will be like “this old thing again?” 😀

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  12. Stores wary of you, shaving teddy bears in short skirts - a very "Stew" post.

    I think I might have to look into this teddy bear fur stuff as it seems to be all the rage on tabletops these days. (Maybe a comfort thing for anxiety-ridden players who can stroke those fields mid-game when their plans go awry?)

    Boundries for area terrain is a great idea. Doesn't look very natural on the table, but we are playing a game here, not a simulation. Good work mate.

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    1. Thanks Dai. If I see any stroking the fields I’ll let you know. I’m hoping the boundaries of the area terrain can be pretty and functional. 🤩

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  13. Really nice work there Stew and like my project, starting early is hopefully paying dividends, but we still have to paint those figures;)! For the crease in the felt roads, you could try putting a cloth over the top and then use a steam iron locally to try and iron out the crease. The only issue might be the coffee grinds leaching colour, so maybe iron it from the unflocked underside? Love the humour as always and finally congrats to Ben Cato on the win. I hope he buys some ACW figures with his winnings...

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    1. Thanks Steve. I am already planning my ACW purchase 😊 Will definitely get a General Stewart figure 🤣

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    2. Thanks Steve. I’m hoping that I won’t need to paint any miniyas my ACW collection is pretty big. I’ll be double checking later.
      Ben is not required to buy ACW miniatures Knowing him: he’s likely to put Union Cav against CSA zombies with ninja allies in some strange apocalypse timeline. 😀

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  14. First of all, I can totally hear your daughter saying that... must be close enough to something she said when we were gaming.

    And boo, I really hoped I would win, I was even pricing out my AWI Perry order (which of course far exceeded the award amount!)

    The fur fields boundaries are looking great... although both would have benefited from having a base of figures in the picture to show them off!

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    1. Thanks David. Maybe all little girls have attitude: maybe my little girl has extra attitude and even after your brief encounters with her it made an impression.
      I was hoping that you would win too. Lame.
      I should of put some miniatures down for comparison. Lame again.

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  15. Looks like you are making some good progress Stew. I thought the teddy bear fur was quite an old idea - like it has been around for ten years or more- not that I have ever used it I hasten to add - but I don't think it's the cutting edge of wargaming table fashion!
    Anyway, I had better not keep you - sounds like you still have A LOT to get done in the next month - so off you pop and get on with it, there's a good chap!*
    (Our gaming buddy Ricks all-time favourite phrase to hate!)

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    1. Thanks Kieth. I dunno. I’ve just been seeing a lot of it lately. Maybe it’s a case of what’s old is new again. When I was a baby wargamer everyone was going on about fields from doormats. 😀

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  16. You not only went into JoAnne's but asked for directions?! Nice job navigating that estrogen fest ;) I didn't know they were out on the West Coast. There was one near where I grew up and I haven't seen any here in Chicago though I live in the city and they are probably in the suburbs if they're here.

    The terrain is shaping up nicely and that's great to see because you're putting a lot of thought and effort into it. I commend your hard work and look forward to seeing the final results!

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    1. Thanks Jeff. I’m looking forward to the end result too.
      And of course I exaggerate. Going into Joanne’s wasn’t that bad; it’s not like going into Victoria Secret. 😀

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  17. This is a big project Stew, but it looks like you have a good handle on it. Are you laying track on the rail bed? If so, I'm sure the creases will be a non-issue. Oh, and for some rural ed, wheat runs two to four feet tall, so for 15-18MM shaving it shorter probably isn't necessary. It looks very good BTW. I have frequented Joanne's on occasion for ratline mesh, and I purchased my blue sea mat there. Wait! Victoria Secret is bad??

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    1. thanks Vol. It is a fairly big project, or at least a lot of little ones that will combine together. There is no track.
      I just want to wheat to be tall enough to look like a field but not so long that miniatures have a hard time standing in them.
      yes, VS is bad. I can't go in there myself without being suspect as a creeper and i'm usually embarrassed.

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  18. If you ever have to make wheat fields again, coir door mats are super easy, just cut them to shape. Although the teddy bear fur turned out nice in the end.

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    1. Thanks Space. I've used coir doormats in the past. I consider these to be superior as they are more flexible and prettier. And the miniatures won't "float" on top of them as much. 😁

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  19. Some great modelling skills at work Stew. I guess Mrs Stew doesn't read the blog, with your ironing quip otherwise this could be your last post. And well done to winner Ben!

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    1. Thanks Ray. Nah, she doesn’t read it. Completely safe. 😀

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