One of the ways to make your boards more intersting an realistic is to add small details. I like to simply take a branch or twig and snap off random pieces, letting them drop to the board. I have also started placing fallen trees in some of the more heavily forested areas. Then I place the plants collected from my yard with lichen and moss in groups that look natural. I try to fill-in areas with lots of foliage rather than placing small clumps everywhere. A wooded skewer works well to make a small hole in the base. I try to trim the foliage so that it forms a natural "stem" that goes into the hole. When that is not possible, a little Tacky Glue does the trick. IN any case, if excess glue squeezes out, I toss some dirt around the hole and then brush off the excess when dry. Here is a wide angle shot of one such area completly finished:
And then a close up of the "fallen trees":
You can see that these little details add a lot to the realism.
The Rapid Fire book gives a great suggestion for creating the wire fences so predominent in NW Europe. Matchsticks can be used along with unshielded copper wire (12 guage is what I used). Cut the matchsticks into 1/2" lengths. Shave one end into a point (makes it easier to push into board - suggestion from John C. from the BF team). Start with one stick and wind the wire around twice just above center. Layout another stick 1"-2" away and wrap the wire around that stick clockwise at approximately the same height. Loop the wire over the stick and wrap the wire around again counter-clockwise. Repeat this procedure for whatever length fence you need and again for the top strand. Finish with a double wrapping on the end post. Make sure all of your "loops" are on the same side of the fence. When you are done, you have a very nice wire fence.
This is a picture of my prototype, it is essentially unpainted. I would finish this section by painting the posts weathered wood (prime flat black, dry brush brown oxide, highlight brick red or light grey, black wash if needed) and then lightly black washing the wire leaving some of the copper exposed.
When I started the project, I did not own any 20 mm buildings. I ordered several buildings from a couple of different suppliers. Sentry Models has some great items but they are expensive and come unpainted (the US distributor also has to order from the UK so lead time can be long). Hovels has my favorite items and they also offer both painted and unpainted prices. Finally, Monday Knight offers what seems to be a re-branding of some of the Sentry line. Their items are inexpensive and delivery was quick. The models are not as detailed (f.e. no interior), but for the price you cannot go wrong. Dave H. from the BH group has been helping me get the painting done on these. For our scenario, there are 11 buildings in all so plenty of painting practice. I may share some of my lessons learned on these after the gameboard is 100% finished.
If you look backwards at some of the earlier posts, you can clearly see how this section of the board has evolved:
Our next post will talk about creating prepared positions like the one you see in the middle of this picture. We will also introduce a "new" (for me) method for creating brick and stone walls. That should just about do it then for the Project Foy gameboard. We have this game scheduled to debut at Little Wars in Lincolnshire, IL the first weekend in February, so look us up if you are in the area and want to see the board close-up.
