CRETE 20mm WWII

[alcal]

This is a double ended project as im doing some boards for Crete ready for next summer ,they will then become my Italy boards,my task is Prison Valley and the Suda Bay area.

The first pic is the map for the Crete game,the next two show how ive figured away of matching the terrain in different ways,this will give us loads of playability for the future,you just pick out the 6` x 8` you fancy.

Cheers AL







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Hi guys
Well ive got a busy ten weeks of modelling and painting,here is the start:

31 boards (all) now foame dup and all streams cut out,family over tomorrow so do what i can and crack on with hills Monday:












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Hi Guys

OK all the hills are finished , took a bit of thought to sort out all the joins etc as remember they are partly generic as picture three and four shows boards 2,3,4, and 5,6,7,  apart as per Crete map and then back to back as generic.

Next step to rub them all down and cut the streams in properly , i`ll start that tonight.

Cheers AL










Hi Guys

half the stepped stone hillsides finished today,thanks for the tip Simon about Steve using the caulk it was much faster and very clean and easy compared to the white wood glue :evil:

You saved me two to three days at least on that one guys and ill try to put it to good use.

The stones are a mix of different types ive had for ages so please dont ask where to get them from as i cant help on that one sorry guys,all i do remember is` Do It All` had a pet section with lots of options and i think it was listed as fish tank gravel,they are small though not the normal chunky fish tank gravel .

[alcal]

Hi guys

Well last of the `set peice`walls are done,remeber this pic of the boards together is part of three and four back to back.

Cheers AL










Hi Guys

All 31 boards ready for painting,in a slightly different order to Simons as i wont add any stone or sand until the first coat of base colour is on.










All 31 now base coated and im now in the process of adding the rocky areas and dry river beds,and exactly the opposite to Simon ive used a rough brush to rip off any loose bits and then a tuff painters brush to put the base coat on,the sand and rock i add now wil be airbrushed and then dry brushed.

Cheers AL









Ive coverd every board in a light PVA brush and added sand,also damaged a few walls on each area ,next job to add rocky areas.

Cheers AL





Ok scary time as this looks shit at the moment,of course when its all finished i will stare in wonder at how i manged to end up with what i do,either that or its rope and the garage rafter :cry:

Im off work today especially to get ahead with the boards,i dare not look up with the time scale and the amount i have still to do................  so i will update this all day ok guys.
Dont ask me for a break down of all the rubble else i`ll throw a grenade at you. 8-)
AL

[alcal]

Thanks for your support guys,it does help spur me on to greater efforts

Im ready to start painting,oh and ive got to sort a six bridge problem out as well :roll:

Oh nearly forgot , i would like to present Prison Valley  :wave:










Hi guys

Sorry for the delay in updates,my camera(and i hope its just the USB lead)is on the blink,new lead on order,as it happens the one im now using is set to show the real colours much more closely,so a kind of result there.(still want my Fuji S3000 up and running again though  :evil: )

Ok these last pics show the end result of last three paint stages ive done,(the other pics are trapped on my Fuji)that is a base colour dry brush over the sand ,then the walls were inked for shading then a base colour to lift them back up again and finally a light cream dry brush to all the walls /roads/hills/rivers.

Thats it ive finished painting(probably not :roll: ) the next step is the flock/scatter............this is a big leap of faith now as im allready happy with the look of them and if it had been for North Africa /Tunisia i would be on the late stages of dead grass and finished............BUT its not and i have to green the boards up now :cry:  its a process im not going to be able to come back from so i better get it right.Of course what ever i do will be ok but i want it as right as possible 8-)

Crete/Sicily/Italy are quite green so im going to try and get a flavour of this without turning it into the garden of eden.
Wish me luck ........im going in...........
















Hi

 Had to hold fire as i needed to produce six bridges ,i only have the kit to build  four but at least there done now. They are lift out and not permanantly fixed.
Cheers AL













Ok this looks greener than it really is but anyway i have a lot to do to it yet and it will also get an airbrushing in all likelyhood deaden it off a bit:












Managed to sneak another hill in before i go to work,ive tried to make the green areas more patchy and sparse on this one,anyway see what you think.

[alcal]

Sorry if this is a bit `seen one seen em all`




























Here are some examples Simon:
No im not on the booze allready......first picture was from last night

Oh nearly forgot dont pay much attention to the different foliage colours i will blend them in later,for now its a case of use what ive got.



















All the little clumps of brush are done on hills and streams/rivers just have to add them to roads,this next picture also shows something else im testing(not glued on yet) and that is the sprinkle on flock on all the flat open surfaces,you can see the effect it has on the bottom left hand board.

If i go with this i will have to try and spray seal it on,i also have another turf scatter and an interesting way of spreading that as well...............descisions descisions.

AL






Ok guys i have a few bits to titivate but essentially they are done.Plant on scenery and trees next :roll:

Thanks for all your support,it does help on thos long laborious days.

AL

[alcal]

Few plant on hills and the start of those bushes,on seeing them still on the rack in nice rows i think they look close to orange/lemon trees so im going to keep some in rows just for that purpose.

Cheers AL






Orange orchards and individual heavy brush(i will change the colour of the heavy brush to a milkyer or deader look).
AL









BIG BIG thankyou to Simon for my new prison

Im glad i got the plans back,its a real jigsaw at the moment  

I was thinking of putting barbed wire around the walls but im thinking it will be a nice addition to Vietnam as well so i think i will leave it off.


















Prison just needs some gates,what do you think of barbed wire around the perimater wall??





Olive trees need horse hair,ive produced these back to front so i will have to turn them upside down while drying so the glue doesnt drop onto the bases :evil:










Need to work on the tree shade tomorrow morning and they will be finished........small matter of all the buildings and a grave yard next :roll:








This is a village area and i experimented with making a farmed walled area that i can drop either trees /buildings in , or just leave as is , thought it came out ok for a set piece on board item.

AL








Third pic is the finished stuff    lots to do yet but will come together at the end(probably tuesday night)

AL












Got up at 6 30 to start the roofs,feel better now the first coat is on,finish em off tonight +  a few shutters and curtains and darkend in windows.

Sorry they are a bit of a speed paint as i only started them Friday

AL



The Crete game is this weekend coming so ill make sure i get some pics for you guys.

AL

[alcal]

[size=150]"Have you heard the rumour Erik we are dropping on Crete"
[/size]
Ok all packed away for trip up north tomorrow,all my troops are buzzing with excitement (i really should get out more)so last post till poss Monday at which time ill show you some game pics ok guys.



Hi guys

Here is some taster pics from the game this weekend,just of my part of the layout at the moment , ill sort some more out in the week

AL

[Zwerch mit Ohren!!!]

Whow, thats just awesome!

thanks for those pics

[gamer Mac]

That is an amazing board
Looks just like Crete, I was there a couple of years ago.
The speed you do these boards and painting is outstanding

[cp models]

Brilliant scenery

 

[Andym]

FECK!!!

That's a thing of beauty!! Me wanna play!! How long did it take to knock this one out?

[alcal]

FECK!!!

That's a thing of beauty!! Me wanna play!! How long did it take to knock this one out?

Six weeks for the boards.
Cheers AL

[carlos marighela]

Superb! That really is an amazing set of boards.

[Blackwolf]

My goodness,lovely

[alcal]

Thanks for the feedback folks, and those of you that have been to Crete ( i havnt  ) i could ask for no better acknowledgement than what you have said,thankyou for that

AL

[Christian]

Wow 

Just, wow!