Fly's new winter mat - for the Bulge and Hungary '45 games

[FlyXwire]

Hi Guys,

Here's a recent project I've been working on, to make some tactical game mats for WW2 that'll set up quickly at the local game shop when we resume playing next year.

The vinyl mats are 4ft. X 4ft. in size, and will be for gaming small unit actions on, using infantry companies reinforced with some armor.  The winter mat here is generic enough to work for Eastern or Western Front scenarios by adding the appropriate buildings onto it. 

Pictured are my 12mm - 1/144th scale minis, but I textured the terrain areas to be generic enough in scale look so the buds could also use the mat(s) with their collections - those from 3mm and 1/285th.   

Dave

[fred]

Good looking mats, and troops.

Are you able to post a picture of the starting mat so we can see what you have added - it looks like at least tufts?

And what make are your troops?

[FlyXwire]

Thanks Fred! 

Here's an aerial view, which I'll use as a guide when hosting this scenario (which ought to take around 5 minutes to set up when I do).  I'll populate the mat with the trees, buildings, and the building debris scatter.



Since the mat's image is printed on vinyl, it can't do compound curves for placing hills underneath - since it will be used flat, the tuft lines which I've glued on, are a way for me to delineate some higher snow-swept rises, which will grant infantry a natural cover deduction within the rules.  This is my way to give advancing personnel some bounding objectives, and for them to have a bit of protection when they reach these areas.  In between the rises are swales, that can be fired upon normally with proper LOS - it'll be interesting to see if players 'infiltrate' or not using this available open 'cover'.

The minis are 21st Century Panthers, Pegasus Hobbies' SdKfz. 251s, these all winterized using sprays and pigments, and the infantry are prototype castings from Dave B. at Crusade Of Steel, who was working on an "N" scale WW2 line that never came out.  The infantry figs are terrific, and true 12mm (I've got a US Airborne company's worth too), but dang'it, can't get anymore!

[mweaver]

Very nice setup, that.

-Michael

[FlyXwire]

I appreciate that Michael!

As awful as the pandemic has been, I'm sure the extra home time has allowed some hobby projects to gain more steam, or become more ambitious w/o the usual deadlines to meet.

Hey, just some holiday humor - this from a friend's posting off our local group's Facebook page -

[FlyXwire]

Working on some warmer terrain lately (also for WW2 but could work for the ECW).

So experimenting with making some bocage-style tiles that can be added to the existing set - below showing ones with period-specific fences and such that I've used for 15mm AWI & ACW gaming -



Since some of the previous period-specific tiles can't be used for WW2 (like those with the attached snake fencing), and since was needing some Normandy type pieces, here's what I've come up so far for making some bocage-like pieces.



Thinking this format can work for making a few more.

[FlyXwire]

Hey, I think these turned out nice.

First run will be for a scenario pitting Brit Paras vs. German Grenadiers fighting around Breviile - Le Mesnil, Normandy after D-Day.

[tancrede]

Wonderful scenery, sir.
If you have some WIP pics, it will be a nice addition to the thread to see how you've achieved such tables.

[FlyXwire]

Thank you Tancrede!

No real WIP pics, but with these recent terrain tiles, I used hedgerow strips previously made out of a fiber door mat for creating the bocage pieces.  I had thought the fibers from the side view might render a natural hedge look, so cut out strips with a band saw and then flocked the row tops with Woodland Scenic clump foliage. 



It was nice to have the hedgerow strips already made, and ready to be glued to the cork tiles (the rest of the work on these bocage modules involving using tufts, static grass, etc. to blend the strips "into" the tiles).