10 April Game Test
Yesterday we managed to run through a few turns of our MASS BATTLES variant for Clash of Iron. The tabletop terrain Chris Penney has been working on is really coming along nicely. The river is fantastic, with lots of depth in the banks and bottom. Those model railroaders have some great terrain materials! The color of the grass on the hill top looks a little stark at the moment because Chris is waiting on some more painting supplies but the plan is to blend the colors towards the river. The battle occurs during the summer so we are trying to create that summer field look.
Here is the game test crew. Tim cheerfully took on the role of the Romans while the rest of us, Chris Penney and Jim Flanagan pictured, threw waves of Nervii against his line.
In this one you can see the barbarians streaming across the river, as well as see the different textures and colors in the teddy bear fur Chris used for the table. I think the cattails are pretty nice, though I wonder how many turns they'll last once ten or twelve people start pushing troops...
Jim makes his attack! A bad moment for the Romans at the end of the line.
Jim's moment of glory from another angle. One of the things we are now working on is different markers so we can get rid of the dice on the table...stay tuned.
another shot of the tabletop, this time from above the troops.
The lighting was tough at this time of day, as you can from the photo.
Some trees that will eventually represent the edges of the forest from which the Nervii hordes will begin their attack.
Here are a couple of good photos of the river. You can see the pebbles and stones on the bottom, as well as the different colors beneath the water. The river was built up and mounted on a thin board in three lengths of about four feet each. These river sections are then dropped into the teddy bear fur, which is built up around them. The effect is quite good.
Chris is continuing to work on the tabletop, adding new colors to the fur on the top of the hill, and ripples and eddies on the river surface.
All for now. Time for me to get back to basing troops....
Fantastic. How did he do the river surface and bed. Is it poured epoxy or glass over the bed. Outstanding either way.
Its a poured water product for railroad tables. I dont know if it was Woodland Scenics or something from Scenic Effects.
Amazing stuff. Really nice effect.
Very nice. I've used the epoxy for rivers before as well. It does a good job and this Sabis river looks fantastic. Very nicely done.
I'm really curious about the techniques for the teddy bear fur.
Mike
Outstanding water!!! Epoxy works as well though I've never tried a river. Getting ripples and waves is the tricky part . . . Hey Chris tell us how you did it all?
Andy
Chris has another product that he is, I think, going to apply to the top now that can be used to create ripples, etc.
Hey All;
So it was a good game test. We sorted out several things, and have what I believe will be a fine convention game. The table, since we are on that subject is very cool. The Teddybear fur material is really very good. It is weighty enough that it sits down on the foam hills/slopes underneath without any assistance, and is light enough to move around. The river is just outstanding work on Chris' part, I have read many times over the years about using Expoy Resin to do water effects but never had the will to try. There are lots of great materials for it out there, and you can do whatever you need, rather than conforming to some other dingleberrys idea of what we need for terrain.
The one downside of the fur is that its not really dice friendly. You get cocked die results on every roll if you don't find a really flat section or use some kind of dice tray. Thats hardly a real detractor though. The fur looks like shin to hip high grass, blowing in the wind. If you run your hand over it you can make it look like a wind gust in a particular place. And If you need a road or something get yourself a pair of hair trimmers. (pro style, beard trimmers take too long from what I hear) Thats right, shave in the roads. Really neat effects that way.
It is a little pricey, at $15 to $20 a yard, but I would guess that it will seriously outlast felt, or any of the other crazy expensive table gaming mats. So I say its worth every bit, you can see that it would be fine for any field in almost any scale.
Okay so now that I have gone on about the terrain I should upload my photos, which I will do tomorrow when I am more awake. And I will talk about the game itself and some observations.
Tim
Is that one or two big boards?? I dont see any seams??
One giant piece of teddy bear fur that covers 12' of tabletop. No seams.
Fantastic effect with the teddy bear fur! I can't wait to see the whole thing at HUZZAH! Well done all around!
NIven
Glad people like the terrain. I wanted something to set the game apart and to compliment all the great work going into the project. The river is based on model railroad techniques. There is a plywood base in the shape of the river with a layer of 1/2 inch foam insulation glued to it. This is scooped out to form the river bed which is coated with plaster or grout, to give a nice coarse base. From there you layer on sand, rocks, paint, twigs etc. This gets several sprayed on coats of watered down pva (white glue or scenic bonding agent in the train lit) to make sure everything is solid. Then you seal the ends and pour the 2 part resin. In this case there are 4 layers with varying degrees of tinting to give color and depth.
The teddy bear fur has been painted with fabric paint and is awaiting a couple of coats of a more subdued green.
If anybody wants more info contact me here or better yet at Huzzah!.
Chris
Chris - you've out-done yourself!!! What kind of fabric glue are you using? And are you spraying it on the fur? How? And how do you move the thing back and forth if it's 12' big?
Andy
I am impressed! Thank god for Teddy bear fur.
BTW,
how many teddy bears had to die to make a pelt that long?
Just wondering.
People for the ethical treatment of Teddy bears just shot me an email...and they are pissed. The Maine group continues to amaze me. I am absolutely proud to be a member of this fine group.
Where does one go hunting (or shopping) for such fur?
Chris P.
Chris braved the teddy bear tundra and wrastled this one to the ground before taking its pelt.
You should eat what you kill- did you have a bear-b-q?
The teddy bear is an elusive creature..... however, once found, it is like taking candy from a baby.
My favorite terrain store,Joann Fabrics, carries some but I had to go on line to find the color and texture that would work. I cannot find the name of the company at the moment. The paint is a fabric paint that stays soft. You can use regular spray paint and get very good results also ( take a look at the Carnage and Glory website by Nigel Marsh for examples) but the fur gets a little crispy. He ran a Napoleonic game at Havoc on faux fur terrain with 25s that was very nice.
The piece of fur is just draped over foam insulation hills and can be rolled up. There is a space cut to accept the river pieces so that it sets level or below the rest of the landscape.
Chris
