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| Botta Regiment wonder if the Mexicans paid for this? |
Having set up the premise for the first engagement of my 'Soldier King' boardgame-based campaign, considerations of Time and Space have been in play, what with work and some chores arising from the renewed 'lockdown' - hence my apologies for a period of silence here. Now turning my mind to the promised battle, I realised I had set a trap for myself by taking note of the 'fortified' nature of the fictional location to be fought over. Visions of Vauban-style fortifications and elaborate sieges I will leave to the most excellent MS Foy - here at The Ragged Soldier, resources are more limited. I thought about horse and musket period 'Lines' a la Marlborough and Villars 'Ne Plus Ultra', but I'm not certain how to quickly and simply model such an installation ( must have a go one day, though, having recently read Maurice De Saxe's Reveries on how to attack and defend 'lines' ) . In the end, I've decided on a much simpler approach - I will just allow the defending Prussians plenty of good stout stone walls to line up behind.
So, taking a look at available scenery - oops, no walls. Well, some quite nice model walls ( acquired a few years ago from Total System Scenic ), but all 15mm scale, which come up roughly to the knees of the 25mm Seven Years War figures - that's not going to worry the attackers. I want to get the game going pretty soon, therefore there was only one thing for it. In the immortal words of the 45th POTUS (now, who was that exactly?) "We're Gonna Build a Wall.."
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| Score along the lines, fold and glue.. |
Resources were available: good old-fashioned cardboard cereal boxes. I'm glad to say, it proved fairly simple even for a handicraft klutz such as me to come up with a one-piece, scored-folded-and-glued 'box', 100mm long, 15mm high and about 5mm deep, and then glue that to a card base. What's more, when allowing the glue to set, all those elastic bands that the Postman drops on the street, and I pick up because 'they'll come in handy someday' finally did! The choice of 100mm is a cunning plan - they are therefore exactly the width of my Hexon terrain hexes, if laid along the centre line.
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| Waiting on the glue drying - thanks to Royal Mail |
As to finishing, all equally improvised. A quick coat of grey acrylic paint, then a very approximate 'stonework' pattern drawn on with a black fineliner pen. It's not exactly Flemish Bond, and I assume that any wall actually built to this pattern would fall down even before it was finished! But it looks like a wall, more or less. I did try applying a wash of Army Painter 'Light Tone' to one section, only then realsing that the fineliner pen's ink is not permanent. Debate rages over whether the resulting blurry effect is an improvement or a disaster - for the moment that one is going to be kept at the back, like my school woodwork efforts inevitably were at Parents' Day.
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| Based and painted: the one ruined/improved by Light Tone wash is at back right |
At this point I'd like to fondly remember a lovely old friend of my parents, now long deceased, whose actual job was to do this sort of thing - gloriously titled 'Cardboard Engineer'. I think he designed advertising materials for shops. Presumably he was very careful when going out in the rain. George, if you are looking down now and wincing, I'm very sorry. ( I also remember a line from Alexei Sayle "my girlfriend works as a model - this week she's being an Airfix Stuka Dive-Bomber". I'll get my coat..).
So there we are - The Ragged Soldier's beginner-grade scenery. I still need to think of something to 'weather' them a bit - maybe dry-brushing rather than a wash? And I need to use permanent ink in future! The green bases need a second coat, there are some rough corners to be trimmed off, and gaps to be filled with PVA glue and painted over, and no doubt any sensitive soul taking a close look will be shocked to their aesthetic core - or just laugh at my pathetic attempts. But from a distance on the gaming table, they will do fine. I've got some walls, and battle can commence. On time and zero budget - how did your wall go, Donald?
Next time, to battle - keep well, everyone. And of course, on this Remembrance Sunday: 'Lest We Forget'.
You've built a handsome wall, David!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jonathan, you are indeed too kind! They are rough and ready, but they will do the job..
DeleteThese walls are fine - I am very impressed by the labour that must have gone into drawing the bricks. You must have had your tongue sticking out during this job? This is exactly in accordance with Foy's Fitness-for-Purpose Rule (unpublished, I fear): "When you need something in a hurry, the sequence is: (1) arrange something which will do the job (2) apply Creeping Elegance to improve as necessary, but later - as often as not, the first version will last for years!"
ReplyDeleteThank you! It helped pass the first Saturday night of 'Lockdown 2', at least. I do like 'Foys FfPR', and I will let you into a secret - I only drew the stonework on one side. Shh, don't tell anyone else..
DeleteI have taken the "permanent" fortified places as representing either a medieval fortified city / town or a strong natural defence position such as a mountain pass (with or without castle and / or defensive fortifications).
ReplyDeleteFor the former (and any castles) I am relying on my extensive stash of Schreiber card models.
The game allows "entrenchment" as an alternative to movement. For such temporary protection (and additions to natural defence places), I will construct some above ground trench lines from beading embellished with gabions; I have some old Bellona, New Rendra, unknown resin and if stuck for numbers, some corks wrapped in Hessian with sticks / wire threaded through the Hessian.
Thank you, those are all very good ideas! Good point that the 'entrenching' rule would seem to imply digging 'lines'. I think for my first battle, I will place the town of Rahden in a naturally good defensive position - and give it plenty of the traditional local stone walls..
DeleteThe walls are a great idea and have turned out well.
ReplyDeletethank you very much! A result of picking up a new period and scale from scratch when Eric Knowles' figures became available - in theory I was a 15mm gamer, hence any scenery I had was in that scale. Therefore some borrowing and 'make do and mend' may be required...
DeletePerhaps you could listen to “We built this city..” next and see where it takes the cardboard...
Deletethank you very much! "Thank you, Laydeez n'Gennlemen, you've been a great audience, we're here all week.." :)
DeleteI confess that I regard building structures out of folded cardboard as a cross between rocket science, precision carpentry and black magic. So, having seen these, I salute you!
ReplyDeleteIf you get those boxes of clemintines there as Christmas approaches, the triangular corner posts make excellent earthworks though 25's might need a fire step.
ha ha, well I wouldn't regard myself as any kind of handyman either, but they seemed to go OK. Thank you!
DeleteI understand what you mean about those fruit boxes - you have the eye of a true wargamer.
Those are great-looking walls Dave, although you rather disillusioned me by confessing that you only drew the stonework in on one side ;-) Still, I'm impressed at your improvisational skills and your managing to finally get to use the postman's old elastic bands is particularly satisfying - you must have been a Borrower in a previous life I think. Maybe Cardboard Engineer is a possible second career if the approaching societal collapse kills off corporate IT.
ReplyDeleteIs Flemish Bond a Belgian secret agent?
Thanks Dave! Hmm.. I won't be making a career of it! But come to think of it, may get ambitious enough to try some simple Germanic-looking buildings, in homage to the ones from Charles Grant's 'The War Game'.
DeleteFlemish Bond I like - "From Zeebrugge with Love..", "The Man with the Golden Trappist Ale" , "You Only Waffle Twice"...
Well done David - the stone walls are just what you need and very effective looking and relatively cheap to make- there is always a good feeling at accomplishing something that is 'Scratch Built'. Cheers. KEV. (Sydney-Australia).
ReplyDeleteThanks Kev! Yes indeed, they will do the job and they cost very little in both time and money, and it was indeed quite satisfying. The key was doing a bunch of them, in 'production line' style.
DeleteThey look really good. I'm impressed with the drawing in of the stonework.
ReplyDeleteThank you - actually very easy to draw a 'stonework' pattern,just don't make it too regular. However, next time I will have to find a pen with permanent ink!
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