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Author Topic: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers  (Read 1861 times)

Offline Captain Blood

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The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« on: February 29, 2020, 01:19:29 PM »
Having belatedly decided to tackle Messrs. Mersey and Leck’s ‘The Pikeman’s Lament’ rules, I realised I needed some on table markers to signify when a unit is wavering.

It actually distresses me to see a table with lovely terrain and beautifully painted figures, marred by a confetti-like sprinkling of luridly coloured plastic chits. So I always try to make markers that don’t intrude on the aesthetic look of the game, but do fit the genre or period.

So I came up with these: cannon shot ploughed into the earth of the battlefield. Dead easy, in period, and quite effective looking :)

Step one:
Pop a blob of Green Stuff onto a 25mm repair washer, flatten it out so it’s a bit humped at one end but flat at the other. Then use some kind of fine rod (I used the end of a 2mm drill bit, but you could use the handle of a paintbrush or anything like that) to impress a groove which will be the furrow ploughed by the cannonball. (Yes, I know it looks vaguely naughty at this stage lol)



Step two:
Roll some Green Stuff cannonballs in approximately the right size, and once the bases and projectiles have all hardened, use a dab of superglue to fix the ball at the end of the furrow.



Step three:
Using a stiff mix of gloop (sand, grit, PVA, paint mix) build up the groundwork, paying particular attention to making the cannonball look like it’s well-embedded in the soil it has ploughed into.



Add a few little bits of rock etc., to taste. (I was going to add a few broken pike-shafts, and discarded swords and helmets, but then I realised they would limit the use of the markers a bit too much to just one specific period, so decided against it… They would have looked nifty though )




Step four:
Once the gloop has dried, give the ball and its furrow a good dousing of neat PVA. This will dry and shrink to form a hard plasticised skin over the ball and surrounding area of base, and minimise the chance of it coming loose during handling.



Step five:
Once that’s dried completely, give the whole lot a liberal coating with matt primer – here using Halfords ultra-matt ‘Camo brown’. Don’t worry if it goes on a bit thick. It will all help stick the whole thing together and make it more robust.



Step six:
Drybrush the whole thing with two or three layers of Vallejo ‘flat earth’, gradually adding in a bit of white to each successive highlight to provide some depth. Then pick out the cannonballs and any rocks etc.
I also ran a very thin oil wash of Raw Umber (like 1 part paint to 99 parts white spirit) into the furrow, just to darken it down a little and make it stand out.



Step seven:
Add tufts, flock, clump foliage etc., as desired.



Job done!

Wavering!




Offline OSHIROmodels

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #1 on: February 29, 2020, 01:22:46 PM »
Very effective and the end result isn't naughty at all  lol
cheers

James

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Offline AKULA

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #2 on: February 29, 2020, 03:33:38 PM »
Brilliant idea, really well executed  8)

Offline Roo

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #3 on: February 29, 2020, 03:38:54 PM »
Lovely looking markers and those figures...well nice( as always to be fair)...the browns on the musketeers are delicious!

Offline Dags

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #4 on: February 29, 2020, 03:58:37 PM »
Clever, simple and very well done  8)

Agree entirely about bits of crap on the table and anything - especially when they look this effective - has to be an improvement

Offline Silent Invader

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #5 on: February 29, 2020, 06:13:15 PM »
Excellent  8)
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Offline Belisarius

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #6 on: February 29, 2020, 09:29:53 PM »
The markers are an excellent idea , a cannonball getting this close would certainly make me waver . The P. Lament are a brilliant set , our group has had many memorable games using them . I recall our first  game where 2 x units of Highlanders charged through woods , no penalty for movement, and took out a gun and a unit of shot which had been placed injudiciously close to the trees . The losing player turned up next week with a full Highland Army , much to the merriment of the other 3 x players .

Offline has.been

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #7 on: March 01, 2020, 08:04:27 PM »
Nicely done. I too prefer markers to be more scenic than:-
neon coloured perspex, curtain rings, dice etc.
In our Rebels & Patriots games, we have taken to small bases
 with a chicken on, for wavering. For the next (worse) moral level
the chicken is replaced with a wounded or dead figure.

Offline Michi

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #8 on: March 01, 2020, 08:33:36 PM »
I always try to make markers that don’t intrude on the aesthetic look of the game, but do fit the genre or period.

You couldn't have done better, you genious!

Offline FifteensAway

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #9 on: March 01, 2020, 09:23:45 PM »
Hmm, I rather like the chicken for wavering idea - and I just happen to have a supply of chickens from Peter Pig that can be pressed into service. 

Now, about the poor shooting of the Vulva Battery so consistently missing its target and churning up innocent young ground... lol  (some dastardly fool just had to do it...wait a minute...what did I just say?)   lol lol
« Last Edit: March 01, 2020, 09:26:05 PM by FifteensAway »

Offline voltan

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #10 on: March 01, 2020, 09:36:13 PM »
Really clever idea;

And yet I'm slightly disappointed that there's no ape driven limo in this thread.
Yvan eht nioj!

Offline Smokeyrone

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #11 on: March 01, 2020, 09:41:16 PM »
looks great
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Offline Ragnar

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #12 on: March 01, 2020, 10:34:14 PM »
I love this idea.  Consider it nicked.
Gods, monsters and men,
Will die together in the end.

Offline Dr DeAth

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #13 on: March 01, 2020, 10:54:39 PM »
Brilliant idea - presumably appropriate sized ball bearings or beads could be substituted for the ball of greenstuff.
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Offline miltiades

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Re: The cannonball run – making easy ‘disordered’ markers
« Reply #14 on: March 30, 2020, 09:54:17 AM »
wow !!! I LOVE IT ! Now I know what I shall use for markers in my games ! THANKS SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS ! (fantastic job-great result !)