Once you have that done, add in 3 cups of fine sawdust.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Flock on the cheap...great for Trees! (completed)
Once you have that done, add in 3 cups of fine sawdust.
Trees 101 - (completed)
Shape the trees with a pair of scissors. Try and get it into the shape that you desire and also removing any stray branches that do not look correct.
Project #2, Tile 1
I want this to be nice and green and have a static grass feel to it. So, I'll be using Heki grass mats for this. I love these mats and if you haven't have the opportunity to see one, let me tell you about them. They come in a variety of colors and sizes. Unlike Woodland Scenics mats, these are not plastic backed. They are paper backed so it makes cutting a breeze! I'll be using the medium green for this project.

I'm going to line the roads and edges with Alenes Tacky Glue first. That will make sure that I have a good bond around the edges. On the inside, I will use a spray adhesive. But before I do that, I cut the mat to the size that I need and "block" an area out and I'm NOT going to use this for the rounded edges. I'll do those with my grassinator as these areas will need to be the toughest part of the tile.
When I blocked out an area, I had to go back in after the glue had started to set and trim up the road and edges. Remember, I didn't put glue on the roads themselves. Make sure to trim up the roads leaving the tiles to 1 3/4 of an inch. Yes, it's smaller than the roads, but once the glue dries on these (overnight with some weight on it), I'll make the roads. You'll notice that I did over cut some areas on the grass. I did that intentionally so the roads won't be uniform and look natural. But for now, I have to let these dry overnight and I'll start on the roads in the morning.
Now that this is dry, I'll put a wash of dark brown over the top of caulk. Again, it's hurry up and wait time as it dries. The good thing about doing this on the dining room table is there is a ceiling fan. Speeds drying time!
Project #2, So it begins...
Now it's time to lay out the roads. I want the roads to be approx 2 inches wide. I used a 2 inch piece of balsa and put a mark at the 1 inch halfway point to get me started. I measured in to mark the roads using a black marker. I made sure to mark on the over lapping tile as well to make the roads leading into it. Once I made all entry points for each tile, I checked to make sure that they matched up with one another to make this truly modular. They all matched up so it's on to the next step.
With the entry points for each tile marked, it was time to mark the actual roads on each tile. This will be a starting point for the roads. Please don't think that this is going to be the actual roads. I need a starting point so I can color between the lines. To do this, I used a 2 inch foam brush and some cheap brown acrylic paint.
Now it's time to let this dry properly. Pull the tiles apart at this point to make sure that the paint does stick them together. When the paint it dry, I'll start working on each individual tile. The good part about doing each individual tile is that I don't need the entire dining room table.
From here on out, I will work on each individual tile. It will be labelled Project #2, tile #?.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Project #2, Wolfkrieg Table
If you look in the upper left hand corner, you will notice that this is no more than a scan of a map from the game "Cross of Iron" from the classic ASL gaming system. I've added a grid system to it to help me get a feel for this as I go along. The thick heavy black lines divide the table into 2 foot square blocks. The thinner lines break them down into smaller grids of 1 foot square and 6 inch square respectively.
After I made the grid system, I had to modify the map itself as I want this to be a modular system. I'm NOT going to make this a one off table. I've done that in the past and they (the tables) are great for that one game, but can become quite boring after a while. This will be something that I can add on to later if I want.
Why 2 foot square you ask? That's easy. I will be using the 2 foot square interlocking foam mats like these
I get these off of Ebay from http://stores.ebay.com/kenmissyr . You can find these just about anywhere, but I want to make sure that I can always get these if I want to add on to it. Ken and Missy have always offered this product for years now and offer great service. I highly recommend them. I order these on 12/7 so I should have them by mid week. That's how quickly these folks ship. So, when I have these, we'll get to work! Now, back to making trenches.
Putting the finishing touches on the straight pieces

I'll let the caulk dry overnight and do some more on them on the morning. I should be able to color in the mud and add some weed/dead grass patches. So far, so good.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Making Flames of War Trench Sections
Well, let's get to it! Here are the steps that I use to make these. I'll try to provide photo's as I go along.

This next step is the most time consuming part. So be prepared to have the time to do this. Apply a good dose of glue to the short edge (see photo) and start layering the balsa strips. You can (and I recommend that you do) cut some at different lengths when layering them. It will give a more realistic look. When I do this, I use Alene's tacky glue. It sets much faster than regular PVA glue and holds just as well.
Once you have the rows glued and they are dry, take a ruler and draw a line on the 1,3,5, and 7 inch mark on the rows that you just glued down. Take a small piece of balsa and glue it on those marks on a vertical axis. (see photo below).
Clean up the edges now. I use a dremel with a sanding drum on it. I also try and bevel the balsa edges at a 45 degree angle.
Spray paint these a dark brown. Coat everything except the bottom. You won't be able to see it so why worry about it?!?! : )
While this is drying, cut a piece of floor tile to a size of 8 inches by 3 inches. Why use floor tile? It's cheap, it's thin and well, it just works for anything I want to do. For this piece, I'm going to be using the sticky side of it. Put a thin layer of brown caulk down the center of it and drop some small pepples in the caulk as it dries. Once the brown paint is dry, drybrush the balsa wood a lighter brown. I use a cheap acrylic paint from Walmart. Nothing special, but something to add a touch of detail. Once that's done, I lay a small line of super glue along the long edges of the floor tile. I do this before the caulk has had a chance to totally set. I also take a medium base for FoW and make sure that everything fits before gluing it down.