STREAMS

This is a tutorial on "how to made a stream".

French Indian wars - Armed Colonial Setters patrolling the area near a stream.

I used 3mm MDF cut into 12 inch length  x 7cm wide.

I cut enough strips to cover a 6' x 4' table diagonally .

Use box cutters to trim the edges of both sides length wise. 

Apply PVA glue and place larger stones first followed by the wood pieces and last of all the finer stones. 

Once the PVA is set apply another layer of PVA in between the length of stones, this will be where the water will be. 

This is done to achieve a waving look on the water.

Prime with black primer spray can.

Use Vallejo model colour Black Green and paint the area that will be water.

Dry brush the stones with VMC Desert Yelllow.

Touch up the water with VMC Black Green. 

Highlight the stones by adding VMC Iraqui sand to the base coat and do a very  very light dry brush on a few areas on the water.  .

 Paint the wood pieces and paint the outer areas with any earth type colour.

Apply 2  generous coats of Tamiya X-22 on-top of  green paint which represents the water.

Once dry apply PVA glue to the outer areas of the stream and adapt flock.

close up shoots of the stream.

 Pile of stream terrain ready for the gaming table.

Cheers John.

PANZERSCHRECK TEAM

I decided to scratch build my own Panzerschreck , and perform some conversion work on four of my German Grenadiers figures to man the weapon.

I constructed 2 Panzerschreck teams, one that would be embedded in the Infantry Platoon while the other would be a support option on the German Support List.

Panzerschreck ready to punch into a unsuspecting Sherman emerging from the woods.

Tools and bits and peices needed to make the Panzerschreck.
Staples,brass wire,Evergreen plastics,brass rod, thin wire,superglue,pliers, wire cutters, hand drill and green stuff putty.

I first glued the German figures without the arms and a tiny magnet unto the  base. 
Once the weapon was constructed I tacked it in place with blue tack and started trimming and adjusting the arms to take up position holding the weapon. 

Once happy with the position of the arms and hands I glued them in place with Revell model glue and filled in any gaps with Green stuff putty.

I added a strap and some minor detail on the weapon with more Green stuff putty.
I covered the base with Milliput Terracotta and sealed the top of the magnet on the base with a thin layer of green stuff . (I found that if I just covered the magnet with the milliput and painted over it the paint tended to discolor). 

Painted and flocked 

For the prone loaders body,  I used Warlords plastic German Infantry figure circled in red.

This image shows the attachment of the legs, arms head with blue track before each piece is glued in place with Revell model glue.

The ammo container is made from Evergreen plastic sheets with a brass handle made from a brass rod bent and glued in place.

Green stuff putty was used to fill in any gap between the limbs and contoured with a Le cron instrument.  Rifle straps where added and the Panzerschreck 88mm bomb on the loaders hand was shaped over a brass rod with green stuff putty. 

Painted and flocked

cheers John 

SCATTER TERRAIN: Farm Tractor and Trailer

My first bit of scatter terrain for my European terrain, a Tractor and trailer, bought on the cheap for 5 dollars,

Cheap purchase from a local large department store (Kmart, if you live in Oz).

The tractor and trailer un boxed.

Deconstruction process. 
Need to remove all the modern aspects of the vehicle. 

Reconstruction process.
The start of the process of turning the tractor into a 1940's tractor.

All the necessary parts are reattached with super glue.

The front mud guards were removed and the rear ones trimmed.

The seat will be removed.

The front portion of paint was removed with the use of a hand grinder.

Further reduced the width of the wheels 

The width of the front and rear axils where cut down.

Used green stuff putty to shape the radiator,the top of the tractor engine and the seat.

Plastic Infantry sprues used for the exhausts and the lights.

Any empty spaces were filled in with plaster. 

Sprayed black primer

Painted using Vallejo paints.

Tractor with the trailer

Cheers John 

MG 42 TEAM

Another addition to my Late war German Support list for Chain of Command, a tripod mounted MG 42 with a crew of 5. The gun is scratched built and the figures have undergone some Plastic surgery.

Tripod mounted MG 42 ready for business.

The MMG Team in place to repel any Tommy attack.

close up imagine.

I made the tripod using thin wire bent into shape and secured with a soldering iron. Evergreen plastic and bits from plastic sprues where used to add detail fixtures, I also added the ammo belt with spent bullets.. 

Green stuff putty was used to add more detail like the straps and padding etc.

The weapon was from warlord games Grenadier Infantry plastic pack .

The crew of 5 includes the gunner of the weapon a loader,spotter, two extras attending to the ammo and spare gun barrels based on a magnetic sheet with  Milliput on top.

Green stuff putty was used to add some detail such as the straps on the spare barrel and the binoculars and to fill in any  gaps on the figures.

The gunner in the firing position. 

A fair bit of trimming to the top of the figures legs were it attaches to the torso was done to get the correct kneeling height so that the head would be lined up with the eye piece.

The arms were trimmed and the inner portions of the hand where hollowed out to achieve a grasping of the weapon with both hands.

Terracotta Milliput added to the base.

Gunner looking thru his eye piece and attending to the remote trigger.

Painted and flocked

other members of the crew painted and flocked.

cheers John