I put together a prototype modular river section for my 1/2400th scale Messing About on the River solo campaign yesterday, using some 30cm x 30cm cheapo squares of mdf that I bought half price from Poundland ages ago, where they were on sale as twee message boards. I painted the river in a combination of raw umber and coffee acrylic paint, then added a couple of layers of gloss varnish. The river banks were cut out from 30cm square cork floor tiles then painted and textured with lots of different type of flock, tufts and clumps, something I haven't used before but which ended up looking better than I thought it would. I'm happy with the overall design, so will crack on and make another three or four modular sections over the next few days, ready to slide together for a game. I'll try to keep them as scale neutral as possible, so that I can also use them for 1/600th or even 1/300th scale wargaming, with Vietnam or French Indochina riverine actions a distinct possibility?
These look great, really love the water and grass. Think these would also be usable for 28mm miniature games if you can create some border pieces to break the hard edges and blend into the tabletop and scatter some loose scrubs on the smaller scale details.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking up to 15mm but 28mm might work.
DeleteLooks great, I think you nailed it.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in the UK I never thought I would end up living a couple of hours drive from the Mississippi.
I wasn't sure where you were going with the red bases, but now that I see your river terrain, it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteThey look really good. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the river. Thanks for sharing.
Really great looking river section! 😀. I like it.
ReplyDeleteThanks chaps
ReplyDeleteIt works nicely. Back when I was doing riverine games I used a few pieces of clear plastic sheet cut into irregular shapes to mark eddies over subsurface mudbanks, which could be placed anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI have a book titled 'Hell and High Water' about the steamboats on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, which describe experienced pilots heading upriver using the wedge-shaped mudbanks like ski-jumps! If they couldn't avoid the bank they'd put the engines full ahead and run straight at them, landing with a belly-flop style smack the other side. Of course, this might explain why the average life of a steamboat was only around ten years...
That sounds fascinating! I wonder how I could use that as a tactic in the game???
DeleteIf your rules have provision for different grades of pilot/steersman you could allow experienced pilots only the option of using it as a tactic to pass over a mud bank if heading upriver. Give the player a percentage chance of their vessel either passing the area unscathed, suffering damage to hull and/or machinery on 'landing' the other side, or sticking fast on the mud.
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