Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Colonial Adventures => Topic started by: Admiral Benbow on October 27, 2017, 05:24:33 PM
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The colonial Afghanistan wars, especially the second Afghan war and the following clashes and campaigns have always been high on my agenda and I had plans to bring it to the tabletop for many years. As my friend Stefan (aka Monty on LAF) explained in detail already in his topic here http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=103186.0 (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=103186.0), our discussions about the "Little Wars" of the nineteenth century brought the initial spark to start this project at least.
As Stefan's great love of the british side of the conflict set him in charge for most of the angloindian troops, I'm the one responsible for pathans and hill tribes, afghan troops and the bulk of the terrain. That doesn't mean we both can't do anything from the other side if we want to, but as a general management of allocating the work this was a good foundation to start the project. Through the last months a lot of things could be finished already and the game will be at the Crisis show in Antwerp next week for the first time. We plan an expansion of the game for the Tactica in Hamburg early next year, so it will keep us busy through the next months ...
I will show here what has been done already and how I did it, but also pics of finished miniatures and other things of interest and although some parts could have been shown in workbench as well, I like to have everything in one place.
My main inspiration emerged from a range of books Stefan already presented, for example Michael Barthorp's splendid "North West Frontier" book, but also some more I would like to mention:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_41_59_1.jpg)
"The Indian Army" by uniform expert Boris Mollo is a wealth of general information about the indian regiments and covers the regiments of the 2nd Afghan War as well. "North-West Frontier" by Captain H.L. Nevill (first published 1912) is an intensely researched survey of all NWF-operations 1849 - 1908, based on Official Histories of campaigns and extensively drawn from personal accounts, and as such the standard foundation for lots of authors and their later works. The third book, "Afghanistan", is a very atmospheric photo book by Roland and Sabrina Michaud who travelled the region, showing landscapes and people living there and is a pool of inspiration for me. The same is true for the fourth book, the journal of the commander of the 2nd infantry brigade, Kandahar Field Force during the 2nd Afghan War, Brigadier-General Henry Brooke. As an eyewitness account it presents an abundance of details and observations and is highly recommended.
So, on to modelling the tabletop version of afghan hills and rock formations. Later I'll show my approach to build a typical afghan hillfort.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_41_59_0.png)
This is a contemporary photo of the afghan highlands region and shows the very rocky terrain with steep and craggy formations. When searching the internet for modelling approaches of such terrain I quickly found the inspirational http://maiwandday.blogspot.de/ (http://maiwandday.blogspot.de/) by Mad Guru and http://horseandmusket2.blogspot.de/search/label/Second%20Afghan%20War (http://horseandmusket2.blogspot.de/search/label/Second%20Afghan%20War) by Michael "Reggie" Davies. Both blogs - highly recommended as well!
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/28/93_27_06_17_9_19_15_0.jpg)
In the end I could create the landscape you see above (one of the pics I entered into the last Lead Painter's Legue #11). And some more pics of the finished pieces, followed by step-by-step photos of how they were created.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_39_26_4.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_39_26_3.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_39_26_2.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_39_26_1.jpg)
All my hill and rock formation elements are based on 5 mm MDF material. If you want maximum security against warping, use this material. It was cut with an electrical jigsaw at 45° first and later with a craftknife to thin down the edges. The basic shape of the hill was built up by layers of 30 mm foamcore (Styrodur) fixed with fast setting contact glue. The magical material for the rocks itself is pine bark, an easy to work with natural stuff you can buy in larger quantities at garden centres or ebay for example. I bought a 60 litre bag of extra large pieces up to 100 mm for around 16,- Euros, enough to build the entire Hindukush (or share some with friends ...).
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_39_26_0.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_37_30_4.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_37_30_3.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_37_30_2.jpg)
The bark should have time to dry thoroughly for some days as it's quite moist fresh from the bag. It can then be cut with a craftknife quite easily and glued down with a hot glue gun or with waterproof white glue as I did for extra strength. When dry I used ready made filler to fill any holes between the pieces and to smooth everything into a believable piece of rock formation. For additional ballest I used a couple of materials I had at hand, but you could also use cat litter or similar products to simulate rock debris and rubble. Everything was glued again with waterproof white glue and after drying got another coat of glue to fix everything securely in place for the coming heavy drybrushing work.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_37_29_1.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_37_29_0.jpg)
The finished pieces got a black undercoat first from a spray can and were then heavily drybrushed with craft colours in dark brown, medium brown, khaki, then lighter drybrushed with some sand tones and finished with two medium and light grey colours:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_35_28_4.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_35_28_3.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_35_28_2.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_35_28_1.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_23_10_17_8_35_28_0.jpg)
That's it for today. Next comes my favourite project for this game board, an afghan hillfort ...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/28/93_27_06_17_9_19_15_1.jpg)
:)
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Oh my, this is good stuff! Inspiring.
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It looks great! Bravo! :-*
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Breath-taking stuff. :o
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Excellent Michael. The rock formations are very effective.
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I am in awe of your hills and rough terrain :-* :-* :-* Top notch terrain....and the minis ain't too shabby either!
Lon
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LOVELY COLOURS ON EVERYTHING :-*
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Elegantly done! :-*
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Seems you have two types of 'barking' terrain - some for cover and others just to act as barriers. I say this because some pieces don't look 'figure friendly' but will be visually appealing and act as obstructions. And, maybe, some of the smaller pieces might work as sangars.
Will you be following MadGuru's lead on your hill fort? He built quite a piece.
Looking good so far.
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Truly wonderful work.
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Wow! Great start! The depth and detail you take your projects to, always astounds me! I wish I could take as much passion as you have for historicals and apply them to my own projects! Your research and dedication that leads to an inspiring final result, is amazing! :-*
Keep up the good work!
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Brilliant stuff.
Jaw dropping.
:o
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Amazing stuff.
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Seems you have two types of 'barking' terrain - some for cover and others just to act as barriers. I say this because some pieces don't look 'figure friendly' but will be visually appealing and act as obstructions. And, maybe, some of the smaller pieces might work as sangars.
All my terrain pieces are built "figure friendly". For this project I based the hilltribe figures on small bases to get them into the intended rock crevices.
Will you be following MadGuru's lead on your hill fort? He built quite a piece.
Err, no. I like Mad Guru's fort, but my "Master Modeller Hero" is Chris the Model Maker ... So I tried to follow his approach. 8)
Looking good so far.
Thank you.
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Those pieces look extremely good. I must see if I can find bark like that locally. I had no luck searching on ebay.
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Try looking for landscape gardening/kids adventure playground suppliers. Failing that some pet shops have it for reptile tanks too.
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Simply gorgeous work, Admiral. Much of the terrain work reminds me very much of the Guru's work - and that's meant as a compliment. I've always loved the look of bark rock formations, ever since seeing them years ago in a Wargames Illustrated article; complete with Mike's Models Sudan figures! I'd love to see that article again.
Fifteens Away makes a good point that some of the terrain looks somewhat unfriendly to figures, but of course significant patches of the Frontier are rough going - so you can simply claim authenticity! Or make them impassable.
Thank you for the inspiration!
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Last week I was lucky enough to see the whole collection in natural and I testify its quality honestly and happily. Truly some wonderful pieces of work, my friend!
I'm very much looking forward to seeing the step-by-step report of the hill fort. The building itself is just such a sublime piece of craftsmanship that I'm really curious to see how you built it.
And thanks for mentioning my humble threat. I cannot wait to see everything coming together next week.
Cheers
Stefan
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Awsome minis and terrain! Great paintjob! Congrats!
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I love threads like this, I learn so much. The terrain and figures are absolutely first class :-*
More please :)
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Admiral Benbow, have to say I am honored to be mentioned in the same post as those reference works you cite, all of which are on my bookshelves and near and dear to my heart, and I thank you for including my humble blog, and that of my good friend and fellow Second Afghan War/NWF gamer, Michael "Reggie" Davis.
Your woodchip rocky hills look fantastic! In fact I must say that in regards to my own efforts... they are a woodchip off the old block! (shouldn't say that, but I will anyway!)
And another thing: CTMM -- aka: Chris The Model Maker -- is without doubt my "Master Modeller Hero" as well! In fact, the nicest thing I can say about my Afghan Hill Tower, is that I also tried to "follow his approach." So I can't tell you how excited I am to see your new fort when you post some pics of it here. I'm really looking forward to it -- and also to pics of you and Monty's coming games!
Oh, and one other thing: the quality of your photos is simply off the charts!
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Looking very good, congrats!
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Beautiful figures and terrain. Good luck at Crisis!
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WONDERFUL JOB... so fitting figures and terrain! These hills are awsome... Very inspiring. You are mastering a new school of terrain making :o
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Thanks for all your nice comments, chaps! New entertainment to follow - starting the afghan hillfort (or pathan watchtower or whatever you'll call it).
It's not so easy as it might seem to find good comtemporary pictorial material about afghan hillforts or watchtowers. After searching the net I couldn't get what I wanted, but looking through my own books got me to this photo in Barthop's NWF book:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_47_45_4.jpg)
That gave me some inspiration and I started drawing some rough floorplans, thought about overall size and transport choices (!) and went over to my books and Google again to look around for possible modelling approaches. Ian Weekley's famous "Buildings for the Military Modeller" came to mind and his mighty plywood afghan hillfort from the early Eighties:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_47_45_3.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_47_45_2.jpg)
And of course, all the fantastic models from Chris Riordan aka "Chris The Model Maker" who sells on Ebay.ca and regularly gets appropriate prices for his masterworks. Two examples:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_47_45_1.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_47_45_0.jpg)
He is a master of wall structures and realism in miniature and as another good friend of mine was able to buy some of CtMM's models in the past, I could borrow the one or other and studied them extensively, trying to work out how he did things. If I was successful is up to you to decide in the end ...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_5_25_47.jpg)
First things first, construction of the first building directly on top of 5 mm plywood. Why not foamboard, balsa, cork tiles etc.? Would be much easier to work with, that's for sure, and I did it myself for years. But if you ever had a plywood model in your hands you could feel the stability and sturdiness of that model, it feels you could drop it to the floor and nothing would happen (provided it was properly built ...). And no problems with warping at all. Anyway, I still like to learn new things and wanted to know if I could do it right. Of course I needed some new tools ;D
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_45_30_3.jpg)
Got this nice little machine for 60,- Euros on Ebay, a Proxxon fretsaw. Not the top tool of the month and you could freak out when it comes to changing the blade, but it did all the work it should do quite nicely:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_45_30_2.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_45_30_1.jpg)
The girders were made from kind of skewers I bought in different sizes and diameters in a garden centre and just roughly broken into smaller pieces with pliers.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_45_30_0.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_43_50_4.jpg)
To get square angles, pieces were temporarily fixed to a heavy right angled steel piece after getting the wood glue on the edges and then clamped together for some minutes. This is really essential when working with wood, only this way you'll get strong and permanent joints. I use a fast setting wood glue needing only about 5 minutes to set.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_43_50_3.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_43_50_2.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_43_50_1.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_43_50_0.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_41_53_4.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_41_53_3.jpg)
The last two pics show different approaches to brickwork structures. The foundation of the tower was simulated using styrofoam with carved in stone rows. A real small rock piece was used to press some stone structures into. The shed's brickwork is from my own mastermould and cast in some household compound. I used different ready made fillers and spackle to smooth out contours and fill some gaps. All quite roughly as it will be covered heavily later.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_41_53_2.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_41_53_1.jpg)
Some steps further, details added, moveable doors modelled and painted, all single pieces on the last shot. What else to say ending the first part building the fort? Always plan your terrain pieces to fit into an existing transport case, not the other way round! Learned it the hard way ...! :)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_29_10_17_4_41_53_0.jpg)
You note there is much more space to be filled ...?
:)
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It is coming out very nice, a great job you are doing there!
Sturdy and beautiful!
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Oh my, but that is looking luverly...Breathtaking work, Admiral!
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Lovely textures! :-* I think you’re on course to out do your peers!
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Beautiful sturdy build :-* I agree on the textures. They should really "grab" the paint and allow for nice contrasts.
Lon
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Simply amazing miniature construction work, truly worthy of the legendary "Chris The Model Maker" influence!
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That is absolutely gorgeous, Admiral! This build has everything I hope to achieve myself. I am in the slow and steady pace of building a small NWF town myself and will follow this thread carefully. I hope to include hillfort, a mosque, a bazaar, a tannery and terrassed dwellings. What do you have planned?
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That is absolutely gorgeous, Admiral! This build has everything I hope to achieve myself. I am in the slow and steady pace of building a small NWF town myself and will follow this thread carefully. I hope to include hillfort, a mosque, a bazaar, a tannery and terrassed dwellings. What do you have planned?
Thanks, Hammers. Good to hear that you're on the same road for some terrain pieces for your magnificent NWF (jazz age) miniatures collection. I'm just doing this hillfort as we have some more terrain pieces at the club already. But maybe after a break ..., a caravansary could attract me.
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With some experience working with plywood under my belt I started part two of the hillfort, the right wing, outer walls and large gate. Everything was going quite straightforward now, so here are some impressions of the model after finishing most of the components:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_02_11_17_6_03_48_2.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_02_11_17_6_03_48_1.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_02_11_17_6_03_48_0.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_02_11_17_6_02_19_4.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_02_11_17_6_02_19_3.jpg)
When you look closer, you'll see that I changed the style of the building to be a bit more rough and rundown than the first building compound. Maybe this is the older part of the fort, being the main complex for years until the other one was raised and completed by the outer walls. I wanted some kind of indented wall parts on the front, so parts of the wall had to be cut two times, the thinner one glued on top of the other.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_02_11_17_6_02_19_2.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_02_11_17_6_02_19_1.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_02_11_17_6_02_19_0.jpg)
Two more shots of the inner area walls, the steep stairs and some areas with spackle preparing the outer plastering. The last pic shows all new parts for doors and the gate, which will be movable and and to be bolted by a tiny beam. In the foreground my press mould for brickwork.
Tomorrow we're going to the Crisis show gaming on the new NWF-table. I had some more smaller items prepared in the meantime, so more pics of the finished building and some in action shots next week when we'll be back.
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Top notch work without any doubt. :o
Really I love this fort! :-*
Literally I cannot wait to see all coming together tomorrow. :)
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I can't read the words yet. Pictures too interesting.
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Superb
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Your work is excellent! And the presentation so far is so interesting and instructing! Eager to see the continuation! Cheers!
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Marvellous work :-*
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Michael, that is already a thing of beauty. Outstanding as always :-*
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Yes, it looks excellent.
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Outstanding and inspiring work.
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WOWOWOW. That is fantastic work! A work of art! :-*
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Wonderful work.
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I could look at this until my eyes bleed ;D
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Simply gorgeous. (We're running out of superlatives! :D)
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Thats the hillfort I always wanted to have for my Afghanistan board!
Great work.
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Wonderful :-*
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Time for some pics of the finished model. I won't describe at great length how the fort was "painted", let's say it was a mix of using tile adhesive, plaster, some colour washes and only a minimal amount of drybrushing. Some parts needed several applications with tile adhesive, others several shades of different off-white tones. At any rate it was a learning process. Finished with two layers of flat varnish.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_05_11_17_1_57_48_4.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_05_11_17_1_57_48_3.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_05_11_17_1_57_48_2.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_05_11_17_1_57_48_1.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_05_11_17_1_57_48_0.jpg)
Yesterday the hillfort went through its baptism of fire on our NWF-table at the Crisis show in Antwerp. Our first opportunity to see the complete table with all components. We did a lot of pictures, two following for a first impression, more at a later occasion.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_05_11_17_2_00_13_1.jpg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/30/93_05_11_17_2_00_13_0.jpg)
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Beautiful- very natural and realistic.
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The fort is really impressive! :o Well done!!!
Must have been a great game!
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That came out beautifully and the table as a whole is very impressive. :-*
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The fort turned out fantastic :-* :-* Painted up it looks just like one of Chris's buildings. A very nice homage.
Lon
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My word. Fantastic!
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That came out beautifully and the table as a whole is very impressive.
My thoughts too.
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Love your terrain.
So well done.
Thanks for sharing how you constructed your terrain.
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Fantastic Admiral! :-*
Are you thinking of putting the Hillfort on some kind of base? It might be nice to see it with some kind of stones and rubble around it, the same as the rocky outcrops.
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A brilliant outcome! Makes me want to build a manorhouse for my medieval project too!
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That fort is crazy good!
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Fantastic Admiral! :-*
Are you thinking of putting the Hillfort on some kind of base? It might be nice to see it with some kind of stones and rubble around it, the same as the rocky outcrops.
That's the plan, Andy ... ;D
Thank you all for your nice comments, much appreciated!
:)
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Any adjective I can think of is simply an understatement :o :o
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Superb work, very inspiring & by the way I now want one.
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This is a really inspiring thread - fantastic :-*
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An epic show Michael. Congratulations to you, Stefan, and the rest of the gang 8)
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Wonderful stuff ;D
Will you be taking this to the Tactica next year?
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Wonderful stuff ;D
Will you be taking this to the Tactica next year?
Yes, that's our participation game for the Tactica as well, using TMwwbK-rules. We plan to expand a little bit like getting the fort onto a rocky base, having a larger british camp, perhaps more rocky terrain, and definitely more vignettes, civilians etc.
Are you planning to attend the show, Nick? ;D
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Yes, that's our participation game for the Tactica as well, using TMwwbK-rules. We plan to expand a little bit like getting the fort onto a rocky base, having a larger british camp, perhaps more rocky terrain, and definitely more vignettes, civilians etc.
Are you planning to attend the show, Nick? ;D
Excellent news I am not sure yet, but your game would be a very good reason too ;) ;D
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Oh Nick, bring some Boot Hill stuff to sell and I show you some more strange places. There is more Currywurst over here :D ;)
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Couple of top notch terrain threads on this site recently and this ranks among the best of them, great work :-*
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Oh Nick, bring some Boot Hill stuff to sell and I show you some more strange places. There is more Currywurst over here :D ;)
shout if there is a uk delegation going - I want more Banana beer :D
Excellent fort by the way