Into the Bush (Galen's Vietnam Project)- Tutorial: Jungle Scatter Terrain.

So the Vietnam War has been a fascinating subject to me for a long time. Probably due to hearing stories about the press coverage from my parents who grew up during the war. So when I started Wargaming, naturally I wanted to game the conflict. Over the past year or so, I've begun collecting forces and vehicles. But the most daunting part of gaming Vietnam is probably to model the dense jungle that makes up the Vietnamese Highlands. I've conducted numerous experiments and now I feel confident to share one of the methods I came up with.

Materials:

• Your prefered terrain basing material
• Plastic Aquarium/Terrarium Plants
• Clump Foam
• Flock/turf 

Step One:
So I decided to use balsa wood for my scatter bases, because I'm limiting my spending to save for a trip to Normandy in 2019. Also it's easy to cut without power tools. In fact you can just use a hobby knife to cut it. I shaped it in an oblong shape, trying to remove any super straight edges. I also sanded down the edges to make a bevel.

Step Two:

I spray painted it with Army Painter "Leather Brown" Primer, so if the flock gets rubbed of it looks like there is dirt.

Step Three:

With PVA glue I flocked around the edge 

Step Four:

Now using a punch to make holes to place my plants in. I like to make them in triangular patterns. Then just with a dab of super glue stick your plants onto the base.

Step Five: 

Keep adding plants around one edge of the base.

Step Six:

Once you have about a third of the perimeter suitably foliage. You may want to go in and put flock/turf among the plants to hide the base. 

Step Seven:

Another way you can hide the base is to use clump foliage to make the plants appear more dense than it really is. This is just up to personal taste. I like the way it looks.

Step Eight: 

Keep adding plants and clump foliage until you are happy with the look. This took me maybe two and a half hours, leaving time for the glue to dry.

"No Tiger Fear"; A Review of Stoessi's Heroes Miniatures

So a while back I posted on Stoessi's Heros Faceboook page about how much I would love to review his models, but I had no money to purchase them. Wonderfully, Thomas Stoesser got in touch with me and we arranged for me to get three models to review for free! But since shipping was an issue I decided to order four models, and then shipping wouldn't be an issue. Due to my incredibly clever idea, I was able to pick up the whole line! Even though Stoessi has been so lovely to deal with, I am going to be honest in this review. It wouldn't be a good review then, would it? Anyways, let's talk miniatures.

So, Stoessi's models are wonderfully detailed and very characterful. Which complies with his motto, or catchphrase, "Adding Character to Your Battlefield".

 I already liked the models, but finally to see them in person has been great. They sculpts are very nice and I hope my painting skills can bring them to life. The models were very easy to clean up with very minimal mold lines.

Donny Dumpf and PFC Miller

Probably my favorite model is "Donny Dumpf". Being an American I think that this model is absolutely hilarious. I can now proclaim while using this model, "MAKE WAR GREAT AGAIN! Back to the way things were in 1918!"

Stoessi's first model(?) was "Otto Hottenrott", a German Late-War Schütze. I would have liked him to have more field gear than just a bread bag and canteen, but that was an easy fix with adding spare parts to flesh out the model.

I'm not going to go in to what I think of all the models here, but they are all wonderful. My full thoughts on them will be during the Step-by-Step articles which I will be writing.

I also got a button that says "No Tiger Fear", and a Bottle Opener that says "We don't have the proper facilities to take you all prisoner. Sorry!"

Very thick tabs

My only true complaint with the models are the incredibly thick tabs that the models come on. I use flat bases like those that come with Warlord Games' kits. After a while of trying to figure out how to remove the models without damaging them, I decided on simply shaving the tabs down.  It's a bit tedious, but it doesn't end up bending the feet. This isn't a comment on the models themselves but it made prepping the models a bit more difficult.

I did accidently snap the rifle stock on "Red Army Sniper, Liudmyla Pavlychenko", during this process, but I just had to reattach it with some glue.

My rating of these would be 4.5 Star General. (For those unaware the highest general is a Five Star General)

Check out Stoessi's Heroes webpage here and his Facebook page here

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Tutorial: Elephant Grass/ Bamboo Stalks

So I've had a fascination with the Vietnam War for a long time now, and I've always wanted to game it. But only recently have I begun to build and collect models and terrain for the conflict. One of the things I've been scratching my head at is the infamous Elephant grass. I've seen a lot of references to using grass mats for the grass, but upon looking into this, I've never liked the way it looks. It looks too fake for my tastes (even at tabletop distance). Thus I came up with a scatter terrain idea.


Supplies:

• A hand broom
• Washers (I used 50mm)
• Green stuff
• Super glue
• Scissors 
• X-acto knife

Step One: 

First off, you're going to get your scissors or x-acto knife and cut the bristles off of your broom. You can super glue the bristles first but I've found it doesn't make the nice splayed look that plants have.

Step Two:
Take a bundle of the bristles and wrap green stuff around one end. You can also wrap it around both ends to get more coverage for one bundle.

Step Three:

Now stick your green stuff onto the washers. I always place a tuft over the hole.  Then repeat steps two and three until you are satisfied with the base. You can also supplement the bristle tufts with long grass tufts, but wait until you've painted the bristles.

Step Four: 

Trim the top of your tufts with scissors to get the tops a fringed look.

 Step Five:
Paint your bristles with green paint. I like to mix the the colours in small amounts to create an interesting and realistic look. It looks strange if all your grass is the same colour. I also paint the base.

Step Six:

At this stage I would glue your long grass tufts onto the base. But, I would use them sparingly because they aren't the most sturdy. 

Step Seven: 

Now just flock your base in what ever manner suits you.

One thing i've noticed, that due to not priming the grass, light catches the bristles and give it that sort of translucent look that plants have. I've found that this method will work well with 28mm and 20mm. You could also paint them in different colours for alien planets!

Size comparison of my grass with a 28mm and a 20mm figure.

I just want to say that this is the coolest thing ever.

War Game Theory: Variations on Uniforms for Your Army?

Over the past year I've probably painted about 200-400 Germans in 28mm; and I can say I am sick of Feldgrau and Feldgrün. It's a bit of a problem when you can't stand painting the uniform colour of your army any more and you still have another fifty to paint. So why not mix it up a bit?

I'm a huge fan of having individuals in an army. I have a model of a German Unteroffizier petting a cat, and I have a bunch of unique, kitbashed soldiers mixed into my units. This idea has only been recently been implemented in my assembly, but now I try to have one out of every ten guys to be doing something different, or in a unique/interesting pose. This is to help me not get burnt out on assembling the same pose over and over.

On to painting; Like I said, I am sick of painting Field Grey. So I borrowed a book from a friend,(German Uniforms of the Third Reich 1933-1945) that displayed the various uniforms worn by the Third Reich. This book didn't just contain Wehrmacht uniforms, but various labor divisions, railroad workers, etc. It provided massive inspiration for variations on the usual Soldat. I've also created variations for my Wehrmacht forces. Some have more grey uniforms, some have more green uniforms, just to mix up the uniforms and create a more intriguing force on the table.

Are all my variations historically accurate? No. But they don't have to be. In my mind, the hobby is about being creative. So be creative. I prefer to have some what historically painted uniforms, but are my armies accurate? Hell no! But they are in typical "military colours". Just don't paint your uniforms in some silly bright colour, or do. Just make sure you're having fun!