Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => The Second World War => Topic started by: Colonel Chabert on October 26, 2021, 03:43:32 PM
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The first two terrain boards for my Ukrainian town project are now complete. The board themselves are 12mm MDF reinforced on the underside with 20mm aluminium profiles to prevent warping. The town is to be called Kamenets-Chabertsky and, if it existed, would be found around 25km NW of Jitomir (Zhytomyr) in the NW of the country.
Here are a couple of photos of the boards before buildings, trees etc have been placed on top. The large road on the right (north) is the highway linking Novograd-Volynsky to Jitomir:
(https://i.postimg.cc/fLbhBrLF/IMG_1315.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/jj2bh1C1/IMG_1312.jpg)
And now with everything in place. A couple of general views:
(https://i.postimg.cc/63hyGSPm/IMG_1316.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/L8vCN619/IMG_1322.jpg)
The main street, Novaya Ulitsa:
(https://i.postimg.cc/zGkM6F91/IMG-1323.jpg)
The back gardens of the buildings on Novaya Ulitsa and then Ulitsa Schevchenko with the vehicle repair shop:
(https://i.postimg.cc/4yzwtJGT/IMG_1321.jpg)
Communist party HQ (formerly Town Hall):
(https://i.postimg.cc/QtZXmb5Z/IMG-1328.jpg)
Market square with booths:
(https://i.postimg.cc/kX6xRMn6/IMG-1336.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/kGtBG4x7/IMG-1333.jpg)
The gas lamps:
(https://i.postimg.cc/gjPnwp4R/IMG-1331.jpg)
The junction of Schevchenko, Staraya and Novaya:
(https://i.postimg.cc/HLyYbKrt/IMG-1329.jpg)
View down Staraya Ulitsa:
(https://i.postimg.cc/xCpzqhh3/IMG-1335.jpg)
Two views of School No37:
(https://i.postimg.cc/CMfGzLMZ/IMG-1332.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/G3qCTrMC/IMG-1327.jpg)
A bush:
(https://i.postimg.cc/d0MnVkrV/IMG-1338.jpg)
The junction of Schevchenko and the Novograd-Jitomir Highway:
(https://i.postimg.cc/nzFWn9fQ/IMG-1325.jpg)
The next stage of the project is to complete the two half-boards with the old village and an orchard which go to the east of the town centre. After that, and on the other side of the highway, will be a railway line, a gasworks and a small factory. But all that is a way off yet.
Hope you enjoy and thanks to all who have posted comments on my earlier photos of the buildings.
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That’s looking bloomin' marvelous :-*
If I'm allowed a (very) minor point of criticism it’s that I wouldn’t have arranged it all parallel to the board edges. Would look yet more ‚natural‘ that way.
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Excellent 8)
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These look great! Are the buildings permanently attached, not sure if the first pictures are work in progress, or showing how you can flatten things down for storage / transport?
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Moiterei: I know what you mean about straight lines and parallel edges. It's a problem with terrain boards. If you're going to get any sort of flexibility in putting them together you have to have roads etc leaving the boards at standardised points which leads to everything looking a bit square and gridlike. By the way I've been looking at your 20mm AB figures and they're absolutely mindblowing! I don't think I've ever seen better.
Fred: No the buildings are not permanently attached. They are based on plasticard and sit in their emplacements. As you say this helps storage.
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Grid-looking or otherwise, that's one quaint little peaceful Village. I'm sure the local inhabitants are going about their business, towing the party line, enjoying just another day in their workers' paradise....What could possibly happen? ;)
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If I'm allowed a (very) minor point of criticism it’s that I wouldn’t have arranged it all parallel to the board edges. Would look yet more ‚natural‘ that way.
...so when you chuck it all out & start again, I will (very kindly)
remove that (horrible) village. I won't even charge you for taking
it away. :D :D :D
Fantastic work by the way.
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Gorgeous board! the roads and stree lights in particular look fantastic!
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Very nice indeed
P
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A lot of work there for a good looking layout, did you use period photographs for references, if so do you have links to them?
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Lovely work - absolutely looks the part!
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Splendid! ‘Tis a thing of great beauty. Quite possibly the best Eastern Front board I have ever seen. Congrats!
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What an amazing looking board - I cannot wait to see the extra bits that you are planning. I particularly like the attention to the little details such as the leaf fall beneath the trees and the little bits of rough ground in between some of the buildings. Just superb!
Whilst not a criticism, I also agree with the previous comments about the grid being square-on to the board edges, though if the terrain is modular, then it's really difficult to avoid doing that. It doesn't detract from what is a great piece of work though. One for the bookmark file!
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A great bit of modelling, I love the details you have added - way beyond 'wargames standard'!
What size are the boards? Is it 20mm or 28mm scale?
You have given me some ideas, and inspiration, for my own boards, I need a village and a town layout.
I'm with you on the need to keep to things more or less linear when it comes to modular tiles, doing otherwise can look rather contrived when it comes to making roads match up.
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That looks really good and quite natural. Let’s not forget that many town centres are carefully planned and grid-based even if the outskirts tend to grow randomly.
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As I said in your building posts Colonel: these are excellent! I need to thank/blame you as discovering Auhagen 12*** series was a revelation. So many interesting buildings that aren’t easily found in MDF in 15mm (I can never understand why 20mm gamers don’t make more use of railway kits, especially second hand). Due to your “help” I have 4 kits so far and having seen your garage (much better colours than the kit) I’m going to order that now.
Keep up the good work it’s helping keep me inspired even though I’m struggling to get out of bed. Thank you for posting.
Andrew
BALM
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FWIW, I think that the "Towns should not be a perfect grid" maxim matters a lot more visually when the town is either a smaller portion of a larger board (especially if the town is on an edge or corner), or only a small portion of a much larger city. In both of those cases, the angled or irregular layout is being used to imply a larger space.
But in a situation where a small town is *exactly* the size of the board, or the vast majority (perhaps there's a field edge on one side), it's more forgivable because the the town's size then corresponds to the play area without the need to imply anything larger (and WITH the need to be able to use the whole town if you're sticking tactically to urban or semi-urban fighting).
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Personally not a big fan of bush, but it was the 1940’s, so…
I sure would like to play on that table. Ironically, I was painting Soviet AT rifles this morning.
Steve
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I really love the look of your boards. The comments about the grid layout being stark or unnatural are wrong, it looks great, mainly because it isn’t a simple grid plonked on the table but a believable site of habitation that happens to be aligned with the board. I agree with FramF’s opinions and argument and would love to play on it.
Who makes the little Gaslights?
Thank you for showing us this, please post any more progress when you have it,
BALM
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Thank you all for your kind words and comments.
BALM : The gaslights are also made by Auhagen (ref 41202 Gaslaternen). These are described as HO scale but work perfectly well I think with 15mm. The gas will eventually be provided by the Gasworks (ref 12244) which is still waiting to be built.
Glad to have helped you discover the joys of Auhagen! I buy mine from Toy-Tec in Germany who have the full range at discounted prices (eg the Gasworks is at 14,59 euros on their site compared to 20,90 euros direct from Auhagen). However if you are in the UK it might be complicated buying stuff from the eurozone at the moment.
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The Gasworks is also on my list! I have a feeling I’ll have to get it from Germany but (when I saw your version) of the garage I ordered the only one I could find which cost me £16+£8p&p (it hasn’t arrived but its definitely on its way) so not cheap but also not extortionate for such sturdy, characterful, well made little kits.
I’m really looking forwards to seeing your boards progress and get played upon. I’m still not in the right position to start mine so I’m being good and just gazing at them in kit form and planning whilst living vicariously through your posts. Thank you!
BALM
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Exactly what colors did you use for your roads? Mine always end up being too dark. :-*
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Yes, I commmented over on TWF but have to say again, just wonderful.
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Storm : The base coat on the roads is Amsterdam Acrylics Warm Grey 718. On top of that is a "varnish wash" made up of Humbrol Matt Cote varnish with some Humbrol Dark Earth 29 mixed into it. These are both enamels. I've tried making these sorts of washes with acrylics but it never works so I've gone back to the enamels even though they're a bit dodgy these days.
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Great stuff, will follow this with interest!