20mm African ImagiNations - P.6: I've been workin' on the railroad...

[Westfalia Chris]

Hi all,

a small update! In a marked departure from my old convictions, I tried my hand today at making a game mat.



Again, I learned about this from the Berlin guys over at Sweetwater forum - here's a link to the thread in question: http://www.sweetwater-forum.de/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=13984 (German language only, but the pics are pretty much self-explanatory). Basically, it's a meter-wide sheet of "painters' fleece", a kind of cheap felt used to cover floors while doing paintwork. This is covered with various tones of undiluted acrylic paint, which is then worked into the fabric with a stiff brush and covered liberally in various kinds of static grass.

I'm rather happy with the overall effect. Some undulations have remained from the drying process (first over some cardboard sheets on my kitchen floor, then over some chairs outdoors.

Some pics with terrain, featuring some Dapol railway stuff I recently featured. Nice oldskool kits with great little details, considering their age.





In this shot, one can see quite nicely how the mat undulates (i.e. creases due to sloppy workmanship, but I'd rate it as a "happy accident") and how it blends with the vehicle's base.



That's it for today! Thanks for looking!

[joekano]

Nice work!

[pocoloco]

Lovely! 

[Ash]

Good idea re the painters' fleece. Cheers for posting the link.
Looks great.

[juergen c. olk]

Gut Gemacht! Thanx for the how to link.

[Constable Bertrand]

Very Nice       

I like the red terrain - and the train looks like it belongs there.

Cheers
Matt

[CarlLeyland]

Amazing work, absolutely lost for words. It is so good to see such quality.......have you any After Action Reports? I am sure others would love to read them and see the pictures as well?

[Westfalia Chris]

Amazing work, absolutely lost for words. It is so good to see such quality.......have you any After Action Reports? I am sure others would love to read them and see the pictures as well?

Sadly, I've never played a single game with the collection. I'm a bit too out-of-the-way for the regular group that meets in Berlin, and in my neck of the woods, the furthest folks get with regards to historicals is SAGA.

[CarlLeyland]

I nearly always play solo....it becomes more of a recreation of your plans but it can still be interesting. Just a thought

[Westfalia Chris]

I nearly always play solo....it becomes more of a recreation of your plans but it can still be interesting. Just a thought

Yes, I've been giving that some thought myself. Some of the Rhodesian scenarios in the FoF Bush Wars book could be played as a solo game, I think.

In the meantime, though, I'm quite happy to add stuff every now and then and focus more on the modelling aspect.

[CarlLeyland]

Oh yes please keep adding your work! In a way your lack of opponents means more modelling time which is good for your audience.

[Golgotha]

Railroad is a great addition. Makes for some interesting scenarios and objectives too.

[juergen c. olk]

Love the railroad ,nice addition.

[CarlLeyland]

Your train has been bugging me! It looks just right....can I ask what engine is it please? An ebay search for some track and an engine should be just the thing to keep me busy. I bought Bush wars and now for the figures....but I "need" a train

[Westfalia Chris]

Hi Carl,

the engine is a Dapol 00 Gauge (1/76 scale) 0-6-0 Drewry Shunter plastic kit. You can get them straight from the manufacturer:

http://dapol.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=177_62_155&page=1

I've built a number of their kits now, and while they certainly show their age (50+ years in some cases), assembly is rather straightforward, if requiring some patience. I'll be getting some more of their kits when I get back to this project proper, notably one of their Deltics, a couple of trucks and some of the bungalows. They've got various British steam and diesel locos plus rolling stock, at decent prices considering the quality (robust kits with enough detail to look convincing and not be too fiddly). I'd say for post-colonial Africa, the various diesel thingies (Shunter, Deltic and the Railbus) would be the most appropriate.

They fit properly on 00 gauge or H0 gauge track (I'm using H0 track segments, but it also sat well on flexi-track).