Rivers are curious beasts and can spend miles going absolutely dead straight then turn suddenly back on themselves and create things like Oxbow lakes as well. I then laid the plates down to a length of 3 sections long and also cut some corners to match the width of the rivers and create a roughly 30degree turn. I ordered a bunch of custom cut mdf in 3mm thickness at about 2ft by 1ft sections (608mm x 304mm). So you actually have to go up an incline to get to the river, basically. Making a river outside of a modular board that allows you to cut into the foam is difficult to make it look natural, however, rivers in Holland, and indeed parts of Sussex are cut in with Levees, and surrounding them is flood plain. The actual “wet” part of the river itself would be 4-6 inches (100-150mm) wide, with a raised levee either side, creating a false depth to the river. The main base of the river would be 12 inches (304mm) wide. Taking inspiration from rivers like the Ouse in Sussex, the Ancre (a Somme Tributary in France) and rivers in Italy, I was set. In 15mm it would be considerably more, looking like the Ouse at its broad points. In 28mm the river would be something akin to being roughly 6 meters wide still a substantial obstacle. Think of that next time the Ikea furniture is being a pain to assemble…Īs we play at two popular but different wargames scales, 15mm and 28mm, I decided to make the river ‘scale agnostic’. From a simple stream slowing your advance or causing a ‘cross’ test, to something like the immense battles at Rapido where the Royal Engineers had to build a Bailey Bridge under fire to cross a river. We need to consider how big do we make the river? What sort of scale are we looking at? How much of an obstacle should it be? Rivers can be a powerful piece to game around in any scale, really. “Yer fond of me articles, ain’t ye?” Planningįirst off, the planning phase. In this article, I will detail the highs, the lows, the creamy middles and the ‘closing sequences of the Lighthouse levels of mania’ of constructing a MASSIVE river.
In my previous article I detailed how to make the mega beach board. Some time in 2020’s endless hellscape of no gaming, I had decided to throw myslef into a huge terrain project. This part looks at building a modular river for the table. Such water looks like the real one.Today, guest writer Mike Everest talks about building big terrain for big tables.
The instructions can differ from one manufacturer to another, so read the manual carefully.
They are a kind of liquid transparent plastic, which hardens after the contact with the air. Special mixtures, imitating water.Īlmost every model's manufacturer produces such mixtures, however the price is high. You also need to paint such water and then cover with varnish or epoxy like we discussed before.Īnd the most realistic way, which isn't obvious for many people for some reason. With the sheets of pressed styrofoam, covered with putty or green stuff you can imitate realistic waves. Sure, you need to paint the construction after it dries. It's a nice way if you need to imitate waterfall or streamline. Styrofoam glue starts chaotically move and gives nice foam after it contacts the air. This gives an effect of still shallow water. You need to paint the surface first, and then apply epoxy.
Some epoxies or glues give the water effect when curdle. Sure, it won't look realistic, but it's the cheapest idea.ĭon't forget to add different shades - the deeper, the darker.
A lot of wargamers would like to make it, but don't dare to try, nonetheless the idea lies on the surface. Today we'll talk about how to improve your gaming table or diorama with the water surface.