With the village pretty much complete my goal now was to get the fields and drainage ditches done. For these I used a sheet of 3mm MDF as the base, cutting the fields into rough rectangles around 8″ by 3.5″. I used a jigsaw to get a wavy edge to these, as can be seen here:
I then sanded the edges down, as previously a mask was used as MDF is VERY BAD for you if inhaled, so please be VERY careful. Once that was done I applied bits of astro-turf door matting which can be any green standing crop, and some coir door matting for ripe wheat. Used a hot glue gun for this, trying to ensure that the matting edges stuck close to the MDF as any gaps stand out.
After that I applied sharp sand to the edges using PVA as a base and then, once that dried, washing a 50% PVA/water mix over the top. Where there were gaps (and you and avoid them entirely) I then added some clumps of larger stones to cover these.
With that dry I painted the green mat bases all over with dark brown…
…and the wheat mats had just the bases painted:
Next I painted the astro-turf with several shades green, working up to a light dry brush of a yellowish white.
From this angle you get a better feel for them in depth.
The next stage was to dry brush up the bases, all done as per the main buildings.
Finally I took the semi-harvested sections of wheat and applied neat PVA…
…before applying trimmings from the coir matting. This actually is not so much for harvested sections, but if any troops move into these areas I can put these sections down as opposed to having them moving in some mysterious levitation across the field tops.
A final slap on of 50% water/PVA held the coir in place and then they were all done. Once nice thing is that these stack very easily for storage, as we see below.
I have been sorting out my Taliban forces for painting and was looking for a suitable mullah figure to inspire the faithful. I knew I had some old “back of beyond” figures for Sharp Practice and a rummage around found this bloke with a buckler shield and large chopper. I removed the buckler, cut off the chopper and removed part of the right hand. With green stuff I made a battered old tome of religious texts and then built up the hand to hold that. I had a blob of green stuff left, so I enlarged his beard to give him some gravitas. I’m going to tidy the figure up and then I’ll enjoy painting him.
The basing is cut for the irrigation ditches, but I am really having to spend most of my time trying to keep my back straight. With a game scheduled for next Tuesday I have no idea how I’m going to get the two forces painted in time. Gulp!