Well, despite my best intentions, I got sucked in to making a Normandie table, as I found myself sick as a dog over Labor Day weekend looking for something to occupy myself with. If I'm honest with myself, this project was greenlit in my mind when I purchased the Sarissa Chateau this summer. It's not that I have anything against the landscape or the pivotal battles fought there during 1944, it's just that I find the terrain rather ubiquitous in 28mm, so I'm setting out to do something a little different.
This board is set just behind Omaha beach in the Russy area, so I tried my best to get realistic place names and mileage on the signposts. I also did a lot of research into the units around the area and found that the 716. Infanterie Division (Static) was stationed there, so any extra signage refers to this division. The signs are made with MDF bases of various sizes and basswood strips.
And some inspiration photos!...
The farmhouse is a piece I got in trade via Facebook for some old Fallschirmjager. It's a tough resin kit that came with no base, no floors, and a different clay tile roof. I made a base and floors from 2mm MDF, a new shingle roof from an O Gauge train depot, and new chimney stacks from plasticard tubing. I also added a firewood pile, barrels, and fallen bricks; as well as painting the base to look like flagstones.
Ugh....bocage. Everywhere I read, modelers complain about having to model bocage and I always thought "how hard can it be?". Hard and tedious is the answer. To start, I cut half-round 1/2" trim into 6" and 12" sections, extending their bases with wide wood popsicle sticks. I then glued pebbles along the top of the trim - to simulate the fieldstone that makes up the core of each hedgerow - small tree trunks, and textured with spackle, sand, and talus. I also cut out sections of the trim to make small gates out of basswood strip. After painting, I added 2.5 bags of clump foliage and static grass to complete the overgrown look. While I'm satisfied with the result, in reality they should be more overgrown with foliage but I just couldn't justify the cost.
Next time, I'm unto outbuildings, roads, and some ruins...
2 comments:
Nice work on the signs. I looked into Normandy signs quite a bit when doing this Dick Winters diorama, but was not able to find much of use.
Your pictures would have been been very useful indeed!
And agree with you that Normandy is a bit overdone!
Post a Comment