Terrain: Wheat fields

In order to fill my new mat with life, I need not only buildings and trees etc. but also meadows and fields, so I set to work, starting with the Wheat fields first.

The aim was to create flexible pieces that can adapt to an irregular surface and that they work for both 15mm and 28mm miniatures.

And for both conditions: Mission accomplished 😎

The starting materials for this are fake fur, acrylic paste and lots of colours (both normal acrylic paints and spray cans), combs, brushes, clippers, scissors and above all: lots of time.

After trimming the coat to the desired length, there are 2 possible techniques (or any combination of them):

- Spraying on the colour using spray cans, followed by brushing it into the coat.

- Brushing on normal acrylic paint, which is then brushed into the coat.

In the end, the best version for me turned out to be combing in normal acrylic paint, especially as you are also less dependent on the weather, as I can (and only want to) use spray cans outdoors.

If there is enough interest, I could create a tutorial on how I built the terrain pieces.

But for now without further ado, here are the finished wheat fields:

All the different versions of wheat fields at a glance.

The classic ‘golden’ wheat field - well, at least as one (me) imagines it 😎

Size comparison with 15mm and 28mm.

With a bit of Green it can be used to represent still unripe wheat.

The version I finally decided on

This is what a wheat field looks like now and shortly before the harvest starts.

And here is a short tutorial how I made them:

Wheat Fields and Meadows / Grassland made from Fake Fur

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Terrain: My new gaming mat for more Arid Regions

As the size of my gaming table has grown to 2.10 x 1.30 metres and my previous gaming mat was designed more for Central Europe/North America (too much vivid greens), it was time to build a new mat.

I used painter's fleece as the fabric, onto which I then applied acrylic caulking using a spatula and a rolling pin and into which I then worked sand in various colours and grain sizes.

After everything had been allowed to dry thoroughly for 24 hours, I then coloured everything, added different shades, highlights and colour variations so that the surface of the mat looks ‘alive’.

Finally, I cut the mat to a size of 2.50 x 1.60 metres, so I should be prepared for all eventualities 😅

The new mat represents rather dry regions such as Sicily, Tunisia or the Levant much better than my previously used mat, which has since been sold to Norway 😎

Detailed view of the surface texture

The WiP stage

After applying the acrylic caulking I have added the first layer of sand and then pressed everything down firmly with a rolling pin.

Colouring started: Base colours and the first highlights are applied to the mat.

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Warmaster Revolution: A new Wizard for my Demons has spawned 😎

My Warmaster Demons received another reinforcement today - a mighty Wizard joins the ranks of my still growing Demon Horde 💪

The STL comes from Tordo Miniatures again and as always I printed it using the proved TGM-7 resin.

I used my airbrush to paint a figure for the first time, in this case for the colour transitions on the feathers - I'm quite happy with the result, even if it still requires a lot of practice.

Freshly materialised through the dimension gate:

And some photos from the WiP stage:

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Warmaster Revolution: Demon Temple with a Dimension Gate

At the moment I'm in a kind of terrain-building mood, so next up is a completely self-made Temple including a Dimension Gate for my Warmaster demons.

Styrodur, MDF, cork litter and lots of Mode Podge form the basis, followed by turf, tufts and ivy for the details.

The great thing is that this temple can also be used in other settings and even other scales too.

For example, it could be a Stargate in a sci-fi setting (I'm going to print and paint a suitable terminal for this version soon).

On the other hand, the temple itself can also be used as a ruin in historical settings - the dimension gate is fixed to the base with a magnet and could therefore be replaced by a statue of a god, for example.

For size comparison - some of my Demons spawned from the new gate!

And here are following some pictures from the WiP stage:

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Chain of Command AAR: Another Teaching Game

Yesterday there was another chance to introduce a fellow gamer from the Weiß-Blaue Strategen (a club from Munich) to Chain of Command.

Bernhard is an experienced player of rules like Battlegroup and has plenty of Brits for North Africa, but for the sake of simplicity he commanded my US Airborne (played as Regular) against Alexander's German Grenadiers.

For once, I only acted as match director and referee.

The patrol phase in full swing

The first of the 3 Grenadier squads deploy, immediately going on Overwatch

While the Airborne deploy their 60mm Mortar first, to make sure that the Germans keep their heads down

One of the airborne squads cautiously approaches the village occupied by the grenadiers, who are completely isolated there.

The other squads advances too ...

... but mounting Shock from the crossfire of 2 Grenadier squads will force them to back a little bit

Firefight between the grenadiers in the village and parachute infantry, which is additionally supported by well-placed fire from the 60mm mortar ...

... accordingly, the defenders, who had all squeezed themselves into a house and were therefore unable to bring all their weapons to bear, are shot up shortly afterwards and flee. The village is thus liberated.

Only now does the lieutenant commanding the grenadier platoon decide to concentrate the fire of the 2 remaining squads on the airborne squad in the orchard and allows the squad positioned in the centre to advance.

While his other remaining squad tries to hold the position against well-placed fire from the Airborne.

But too late, the advancing squad is caught in the concentrated fire of the Parachute Infantry and the mortar fire and finally has to withdraw as well.

This finally broke the morale of the German grenadiers and they hurriedly cleared the field before they could be completely wiped out.

Conclusion:

1. One could see Bernhard's experience. He formed focal points and always concentrated his fire on one of the grenadier squads and was thus able to take them out one by one.

He also utilised one of the US Boys' greatest advantages whenever possible: Marching Fire.

2. CoC has once again proven its potential one can play the period even if he don't know the rules as such.

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