I think I said something earlier in the week about finishing a terrain board for the Action at Galmanche scenario from the I Ain’t Been Shot Mum rulebook. Heh. Heh heh heh. Not even close. Part of this is due to the unseasonable weather we’ve had during this, the first week of spring (it’s snowing outside my window! I live in the south!), but, let’s face it, I’m slow and have the attention span of a gnat.
Anyway, here’s what I did get done.
Cards, Cards, Cards…
Progress towards building a card deck for IABSM 3-Action at Galmanche
I’ve revised and added to my card deck for Action at Galmanche. I’m using actual unit insignia, where appropriate. I still have many more cards to generate, and there are some compositional issues with these things that are bugging me. I’m not sure how effective the silhouettes are when the subject is in perspective, either. The files of soldiers look pretty good, but some of the less iconic (for lack of a better word) images are harder to read.
No Huffing or Puffing Allowed…
I’ve also been making up some paper buildings to use in my scenery. I haven’t used the best of craft on these guys, and it shows. Not to mention, some of these buildings are Dutch in origin, and some appear to be invented from whole cloth. I’m gaming in Normandy. Oh well, they were free, and will serve until I can get my hands on some metal/resin/plastic/scratchbuilt models.
Forest, Trees, Etc.
I’m ok with these.
Masking Tape Wrapped Trunk
And here are my wire armature tree making efforts so far. The blurry tree in the foreground is clad in masking tape, while the guy in the back is un-clad (though not naked!). The masking tape technique certainly looks more like bark, but it’s a bit of a pain. I think I’ll be sticking with unadorned wire for the moment. Honestly, these things are a lot of work in bulk, and I’ll probably switch to cheap Chinese ebay trees when money is less tight. That said, they were fun to do. I need to get these guys based, and I’ll probably flock the foliage (sounds slightly dirty) as well. Expect a full tutorial when I have all that done. Probably in June.
Boaring
Poor terrain board…
Here we see the sorry state of my terrain board. It’s primed and has a couple of major roads shaped in the rigid insulation, but that’s about it. Oh, I did learn one new thing. I used tile adhesive to fill the gaps and smooth out the edges. That stuff is a serious pain to sand by hand (and you dare not use a power sander in the vicinity of foam insulation-one slip and it’s ruined!). I’ll use drywall spackle for this purpose from here on out.
When the weather improves, and assuming I’ll be able to find the time, I’ll start adding texture, paint, and flock to this fellow.
ArkieGamer 
Comments
The cards look great! I woudn’t change a thing! Very smart indeed, as are the trees, at the end of the day your gonna see them from up high most the time so creating 20mm scale bark-covered trunks is a bit much. It’s all looking very interesting indeed!
We are on the same page with the tree trunks. Strategic laziness is essential to having a good looking board in a reasonable amount of time, I always say. Starting now.
Hey I wasn’t sure how else to contact you, but I wanted to make sure you knew about the upcoming Pulp Ark Convention April 26 – 28 in Springdale… 24 hour gaming room, comic book writers, book writers, costumes, basically all the typical con stuff. I was looking at your post and I figured it was something that you would be interested in.
Sounds fun, but I’ll be in the midst of finals then, and dare not take the time to go. Maybe next year. Thanks for the heads up! If you’re not already aware of this group, you should check out NWARPG.org, which has a large contingent of nerds of various stripes.
Ok thanks!