Street Scatter

Last week my parcel from Fenris Games arrived- not too late either as Trumpeter's Salute is next weekend. In it were some MDF pallets and resin manhole covers, trash cans and fire hydrants. Although in general I am happy with the prodcuts, they are not without faults. The hydrants in particular suffer from some casting issues. On each hydrant there are 7 hex bolts and nearly half of them are either misshapen or concave. Two of the hydrants have significant air pockets,  both defects on the bottom of the side cap, as well as significant flash in hard to clean recessed areas.. The trash cans have several very small air pockets that are only really visible in the picture. The manhole covers turned out perfectly and the pallets, while fragile, are also very nice. Even with the casting issues I am happy enough with the products.

 A while ago I received some metal barrels from Warlord Games. I painted three of them up as a plot point: a hidden stash of chemicals:

I also have a selection of O gauge road signs so I put a 'Narrow Bridge' sign on a base:

It didn't seem unreasonable to take a couple of shots with the added details:

In other news I have given up on the water table... for now. After much trial an error with a variety of materials I am just not satisfied. Our hope was that I would have it to a standard that we could use if an opportunity for some extra game time came up. Not this trip however...

Water Works

Not much to show this week. I have spent a lot time working on a water board that I am not dissatisfied with. I have started and quit on it three times now. I did manage to get my resin water poured for the jungle table and make a little waterfall; it is removable so the secret cave entrance can be revealed.

The ocean water is Fibre-Tek Crystal Clear Casting Resin. As it was my first time using casting resin I made some mistakes, the big one being pouring too thick. I should have done 4 or 5 thin pours instead of 2 thicker ones. This resulted in bubbles which were also the result of air trapped in the foam foliage I used for seaweed. The product itself is quite viscous so it doesn't run over the surface into all the nooks and crannies; this also makes doing thin pours a little more challenging. In the end the result is acceptable and I will know better next time. For the record, cost wise it is better value than Gloss Hodge Podge, better represents water but is trickier to use and is flammable and toxic.

  As I poured the resin too thick (I may have also used too much hardening agent), when it dried it retracted and pulled up a bit where it met the shoreline. I dabbed white tub and tile caulk to create the crests of gently breaking waves.

For the waterfall I used a piece of clear plastic as a base; smeared a layer of clear silicone caulking, scribing lines in it as it dried.After the silicone set I used the same tub and tile caulk as before and dabbed it over top to represent white water and foam.

 Seemed like a good time to take another shot of the whole table...

I have a Sarissa Precision south seas hut I could put together for the table but as it stands there is already quite a bit of terrain on it. I may yet make it. I was going to make a stone idol as well, possibly as a plot point, but David already has several plot points lined up that are smaller and therefore would take up less space on an already crowded table.

Bits and Bobs and The Table As It Stands

The last few pieces designated specifically for this table are done. I still have a few items in the post that I hope will get here in time for Trumpeter's Salute: manhole covers, pallets, trash cans and  a few other small pieces.

This is 3 pieces of Warlord Games' Warehouse Set 1:

The lamposts I bought off ebay:

As you can see in the photo above the pavements have also been painted a little city 'debris' added. 

At this point I thought I would indulge myself and put everything on the table.

 Once we get the vehicles on there it is going to be really dense; we may have to remove a building so we have some place to put the miniatures but I figure it's better to remove excess terrain than to wish you had more.

Hedges, grass and the odd shrub

Some small progress over the last week: hedges made for the urban side to keep small children and stray dogs from falling in the canal and the rural side has been done up with flock, static grass and gravel. Originally I was going to put another building across the gravel road from the barn but now I am not so sure; I like the vacant lot look and as the other side of the canal has plenty of buildings I don't think the table needs another. I am considering discarded wood, fence posts and debris or supplies to represent the next stage in the urban development as it expands across the canal- pallets, crates, lumber, etc.
           

Bridge and Barn Painted

The Italeri/Warlord Games bridge is done. Although not really appropriate for the table it is the only bridge I have and, more importantly, is the correct span. As the table represents a portion of town on the border between rural and urban, a bridge that is a little less decorative would be better. However, perusing the internet for something that would do is yielding unsatisfactory results; in most instances the span is wrong. Bridges for wargames tend to be a bit short and bridges for model railways are generally long and narrow. If- and this seems unlikely- I have time, I may make a simpler one from scratch.

I have also completed the base for Renedra's Ramshackle Barn. The fencing is their 5 rail plastic fence and the tree is Woodland Scenics. The flocking is mostly Silifor 4mm summer grass, War World 6mm autumn grass and some Heki XL 10mm herbst. Bits and bobs of Woodland Scenics clump foliage and flocked wire shrubs are dotted here and there.

Last 2 Buildings Painted

I have finished painting and detailing the last 2 MDF structures: Sarissa's Precision's CityBlock Corner Store and CityBlock Shop (with extra floor). If  time allows I think I will go back and paint the the window and door frames in different colours. There are a few more bits of signage that may make it onto the buildings but at this point I am pleased with them.
Sadly, most of the decals I bought off ebay turned out not to be waterslide transfers (despite the auction description); in fact, they were not really "decals" at all. They look great, but I had to cut them out and glue them onto the buildings- not as nice as transfers.

(new 3000 lumen work light makes it look like a bright sun-shiney day!)

The A&P supermarket:

Generic variety store (sadly, no name...):

 Quality candy...

 and cheap smokes!

Most of the table details haven't arrived yet. In fact, I just received notice that an order I placed before Christmas was just shipped earlier this week...