Amera Trench

[andekmcc]

hi all,

dont know if anyones interested but I thought I'd post a couple of photos of the trench section i bought from amera.  Its vacform plastic so not as detailed as the resin one other manufacturers sell but at £3.50 for a section its very reasonable.  It paints up quite well though if i was doing it again (i will be as i bought 2 ;-) ) I'll probably try and remove some of the sandbags and replace them with milliput ones and may try some other details like corrigated iron for lining the trench walls.  28mm Renegade Lowland scots included for scale.

[1ngram]

Excellent!

I've been building one with matchsticks as per the one we had here a month or so ago done for a school project but maybe I can throw that in the bin now if this Amera one can be made to look as good as the one you have done.  The only problem I can see is whether the depth of the trench adequately hides 28mm figures.

[andekmcc]

the trench is a bit shallow, no firing step etc, but good enough for gaming purposes.  Certainly the matchstick trench shown in an earlier thread on here is much better.  you could increase the height in the amera trench by plastering over the sandbags to make a raised parapet this could then be augmented but adding mulliput sandbags to the top.  I'll probably try something similar to that on the 2nd one I have.

[Calimero]

the trench is a bit shallow...  You could increase the height in the amera trench by plastering over the sandbags to make a raised parapet this could then be augmented but adding mulliput sandbags to the top...

That is what I was thinking. No need to remove the first row of sand bags, just build parapet and other sand bags over it.
By the way, those trenches look good with the added details. 

[harmonkeys]

Does anyone distribute these in the USA? I looked at Amera's sight and there are several things I would like to have. Do you mount these? Do you need to "fill" them for structural strength? Does the paint flake off like on plastic figures?
Thanks
Scott

[andekmcc]

Does anyone distribute these in the USA? I looked at Amera's sight and there are several things I would like to have. Do you mount these? Do you need to "fill" them for structural strength? Does the paint flake off like on plastic figures?
Thanks
Scott

according to the website, this company in US stocks them.
Minutemen Toy Soldiers
Tel: 781-329-4449
www.mmtoysoldiers.com

I didn't fill them and they seem reasonably secure, I did stick them onto a reasonably sturdy base though.  The website does give som tips for painting ( http://www.amera.co.uk/forms/VAC_FORMweb.pdf ) they do need washed and sanded to help the primer adhere and remove grease.

[Sendak]

I like your work.

I also think the 'generic' trench can have lots of interpretations on the game table.

There's the fun.



I like to build my own.

Here's a WIP of my attempt. Heh. I've learnt a lot. I truly appreciate the inspirational group here on the forum.

Practice, practice, and try again.



Figures are Trenchers from Privateer Press that I use for a self-produced set of rules titled Oblivion.

I'll make adjustments on my design for GW GW from the comments here and from the Amera trench piccy.

By the by, the 'barbed wire' is scratch-built.

Thanks all.

[Braxandur]

Thanks for the great pictures, I was already wondering for quite a while how this one would look if painted to a good standard.

Is there a specific reason you went for this section and not the other (modular) ones?

[andekmcc]

hi there,

I chose these ones because I prefer there slightly irregular look, togther with shell holes etc, they also have a wider cross section which makes it sit more naturally on the gaming table.  I thought the modular ones would look too much like 'earthwork's' (i.e built on top of the natural ground level).  At least that was my logic anyway   I'm finishing my second one now and will take a couple of photos of the two together when its finished, I'm going to try and scratchbuild a filling piece between them so we'll see how that goes.

[Helen]

Hi Andekmcc,

Nice work on the trench system!

[andekmcc]

took some more photos of the trench including a scratch built joining piece, lots of mulliput sandags help the general look i think

[Geudens]

Well, that's a nice combination of a commercially available product and a fine scratchbuilding effort!

Rudi

[Grimm]

Going to order it now : )

[1ngram]

I bought two of these and have just finished the first one.  I intend connecting them back to back (so to speak) so the two connecting trenches meet but, for the moment, have only done one to see how it turned out.  I was trying for a RCW trench, occupied only briefly, and thus still with a fair amount of greenery around.  Although 28mm figures look too tall I couldn't be bothered with adding sandbags to heighten the  parapet so restricted nyself to corrugated iron and barbed wire, flock and, lastly, generous sprayings of  Plasticote colours over the top.  (BTW these keep appearing at half price in my local B&Q - the greens and browns are very handy indeed esp for spraying green carpet tiles)



The trench from the rear with corrugated iron along the rear slope.  Once I add the other trench back to back I will have another entrenchment  here.  I got the barbed wire from Antenocitis Workshop - not cheap but, once liberally rusted, very nice indeed.



When I add the next one I intend using the large shell hole as an m/g nest with sandbags and a corrugated iron roof but here our intrepid Red Guards have moved their m/g into a shell hole in front of the trench (cant see the hole now I'm afraid)



The barbed wire doesn't show up so well in the far shots so here is a bit of a close-up of the left side with Red Guards holding the line.



Finally the rear of the trench with a covered way for the Commissar to operate from.



Once I've finished the next one I will post to show how the two go together.

ps Having previewed this I'm not sure why these photos have come out so small.  C'est la vie!

[andekmcc]

Nice Job, i couldnt work out which set you had as its slightly different from mine, but I found yours in the 1/72 category on the Amera website.  I thought they'd be too small for 28mm figures but they dont look too bad.  Might be tempted to buy these one next time round, thanks for showing them.