Scenery on a budged (II). The woods.

Every wargamer wants a wood that covers the main part of his table.
Sometimes seems that only wood elves or native americans are confortable with woods but the truth is that woods are the most important scenery items.

I tried to buy ready made trees but altough the look terrific, the price is not so good and at the end you end using 5 trees to represent a whole wooded area.

Thaks God, nowadays we have the help of internet an looking through all the blogs, posts and DIY webs I came across with a trully inspiring one.

The gentlemen not only makes his own miniatures but has a lot of good ideas to make really good looking scenery.

I tried to copy his idea of making trees with not so good results but good enough for me.

MATERIALS:

- CD's to use as tree bases.
- green matt used in railroad modelling to cover the cds.
- natural branches, from my brother's in law backyard but you now, you can go to a public park or take them during a family trip to the mountains...
- contact glue.
- kitchenware scrubbers. That green material that is really cheap.
- green paints.
- glue in spray.
- green flock.

In the pictures you will see that my main problem is that my trees look too much "shaped with scissors". Some of them look too unnatural but this will be solved adding more flock and more small pieces of green scrubber to fill the angles.

Afterall, I made 10 tree stands in less than a week and they look really good on the tabletop.

Fight for Freedom!

Encampment of the A company, XXXI Penn. Vols. February the 28th 1862

Dear Lis,

As you know, I received my commission as a lieutenant in the new regiment that is being raised in Central Pennsylvania, the XXXI Pennsylvania Volunteers. I have started my camp life and I can proudly say that I don’t miss the commodities that can be found in a city like our beloved Philadelphia. The joy to serve our country and to fight for the freedom of all the people on earth fills all my needs…Well, except not having you with me.

Every day new recruits are arriving to full fit our ranks and in few days we will be marching to the front. We have settled a small encampment for our company: A company XXXI Penn. Vols. There are people from all over the state. From Philadelphia lawyers like the captain to students from the Pennsylvania State University with the main lot being farmers from Bellefonte, Boalsburg, Scranton or Port Matilda.

I think that this war is not going so well for the Union. Maybe the government will use our regiment in a new offensive or perhaps in a raid in enemy territory. What is for sure is that they won’t use us in guard duty or frontier watch.

Hopefully, we are fighting in the side of the liberty and the truth so God is with us.

Every day I pray for you and our two daughters.

Your husband who deeply loves you

Joseph Waterwell.

ACW Union Infantry (V). Final details

Well, at last! This step has been too long. All the hairs, metal parts, blanket rolls, officers, artillery... But I've finished them. Well, not really. Now they still need the bases, the Army painter touch and the varnish.

ACW Union Infantry (IV). Shoes and leather parts

Shoes, cartridge packs, belts and bags and kepi's peaks are painte in valleho black and flat earth.

ACW Union infantry (III). Flesh and pants

After undercoating the miniatures, faces, hands and pants are painted using vallejo Basic skintone and vallejo sky blue.

ACW Union infantry (II). Texture on the base and undercoat.

After mounting the miniatures I added sand to the bases and undercoated them using The Army Painter Ultramarine blue spray. Now I only need to paint them...

The black primmed miniatures are the cannon and some samurais for a boardgame.

ACW Union infantry (I). Mounted and based.

My new project keeps going. In my birthday I received a brigade of Perry miniatures consisting in three boxes of plastic infantry, two guns and a general. Since this will be done in conjuction with my friend Francesc, My company for Terrible Sharp Sword will have 1 box and a half and a gun.

Here I post the beginning with the items received and the miniatures mounted and glued onto bases (from Renedra). They will be part of a ficticious regiment: XXXI Pennsylvania Volonteers. 31 because is my age and PA vols because I lived one year in central PA and I liked the place and the people there.

I will try to do as mister DeanM of WAB corner and paint them as a lot but I think I won't be that fast.