Some Palmyrans exploring the new terrain on the work table. I just wanted to make sure that the slope on the edges of the terrain did not make the stands wobble. For the most part, no. I did realize that since I make raised terrain, I need crossroad pieces and maybe a river crossing for the road to cross. I will add that to my to do list right after a waterway is finished. I am more apt to have a littoral army then to use a river in a game anyway.
My friend Tony Banks changed the look of his game board over the past year or so. He has used a plywood board for some time but refined it. I took that as the inspiration to build one of my own. Took awhile to get the wood cut to the right size. No Home Depot or Lowes in Korea...go figure!
The Board is 5/8" plywood. I sealed it with a thin varnish so that I could try to keep the Korean humidity out of the wood. Not sure it was required but thought it could not hurt. I smeared Elmers Wood Putty around the entire thing in a thin layer. Should have thought that part through because it made me run out of the primary troop base material I use with no where to get resupply without ordering from the states, opps. I have since found a local art store that has it on the shelf here in Seoul. After that dried, I realized that some of the ridges where to high and would be subject to chipping...Off to find sand paper. Sanded the board lightly and then primed the board with the same base Dark Brown I use for the stands. Another thin I should have thought through, I ran out mid way. I found a another kind of Korean paint that was close and finished the job. I wanted it to look like my stands do, better matching and that way my troops will blend into the board and you infiltrators would stick out and better a better target for artillery:)
The circles are 60mm wood bases that I have made different terrain. This way I can just switch them out on a flat terrain piece and change the terrain type in a flash. I have woods, rough, and marsh represented here. I have dunes, oasis, and palm woods in mind in the future.
The most recent projects were the roads and river pieces. They were much easier then I thought when I started. The difficult part was chiseling out the river bed from the piece of wood I used. Much fun and few close calls with my trusty xacto knife...and finished. The water effect was added after the pieces were complete and sprayed. The water is clear finger nail polish. The smell goes away after a day or so.
