Coastal terrain WIP

[Operator5]

I love the look of the water. Are you going to add any kind of gloss coat to it make it more reflective?

[abu iskander]

Thanks Op5.  Just put a coat of Minwax Polycrylic on it today.  Probably add several layers/coats of it to create the finished surface.

[Operator5]

Excellent! Can't wait to see the final piece.

[abu iskander]

Finished a few more panels and added some gloss acrylic varnish to the water. Still need several more coats before I get a good reflective quality.  Ran out of flock/static grass mix (check out sparseness on the center coastline panel), so no more terrain until I get something in the mail from Scenic Express.





The harbor panel in the works...



http://web.me.com/abu_iskander/Reflective_Wargaming/Reflective_Wargaming/Reflective_Wargaming.html

[Hammers]

A very, very attractive board, already.

[cianty]

It keeps getting better and better! The board already looks great but now I really look forward to what seems to be involving into a proper seaport.

[Dr. The Viking]

Aye that's not half bad.

I might even attempt a copy of it for my viking business.

[Admiral Benbow]

That looks like an impressive table ... are you just using two layers of foamboard?

[abu iskander]

Thanks, everyone.

That looks like an impressive table ... are you just using two layers of foamboard?

AB- Yes, it is just two layers of rigid insulation. I primed it with two coats of gesso and then painted a slurry of sorts with water putty over it before coating with ballast and painting. I'll probably add some sort of movable, freestanding hills to the set. In fact, I'm thinking a spring of some kind at the head/source of the river panel; not sure yet how I will model it.

[Alfrik]

Seal all the grass effects down with diluted pva or similar yet?

[abu iskander]

In fact I have.  I'm using diluted Gorilla Glue, which if you haven't heard of it is a pretty durable pva adhesive.  I'll likely spray two applications of it for good measure.  The boards' surfaces will definitely take wear and tear; as always, the weak aspect is making sure you don't ding the corners.

[Neotacha]

I think I have no progressed from "mildly jealous" to "reasonably envious".  It looks terrific, and I would love to play on it.  How many hours of work are we looking at so far?  It is absolutely gorgeous.

[abu iskander]

I think I have no progressed from "mildly jealous" to "reasonably envious".  It looks terrific, and I would love to play on it.  How many hours of work are we looking at so far?  It is absolutely gorgeous.

Thanks.  Neo, I'm chuckling at the idea of quantifying jealousy, but it's always good to move up the ladder.

But, anyway, I would estimate each 2'x'2' panel has taken roughly 2.5 hours to complete.  Thisd also takes into account set up time.  As I don't have a huge table saw, I had to reset and clamp a rail to guide the cuts which I made by hand with a circular saw.  (Also, my Hot Foam Factory wire foam cutter died after about 30 minutes of use, so I reverted to the old kitchen knife to sculpt.) With a proper wood shop and an overpriced foam cutter I could probably cut 30 minutes per panel, maybe a bit more.

All in all, I have the equivalent of 16 2'x2' panels complete and 8 gesso-primed, ready for a layer of water putty slurry. I would estimate I have spent about 52 hours working on the project so far and probably will need another 24 or so to finish all but the port, which will take much more time than average.

[Galloping Major]

Really great progress, I'll keep following this one 





www.gallopingmajorwargames.com