BSC2021: Next steps

 I haven't posted on my terrain project in a while, but since the voting has happened, I can now show my next steps.

First up is painting.  The painting recipe is pretty simple:  base coat of yellow ochre craft paint, slathered on quite thickly.

Next step is a dry brush with Folk Arts 963 Camel, and the base dust colour is set.

Had to do some patching to fill gaps

Which of course led to more paint to cover the patches.

Once I got the base paint coat down, I got started on the roads.  To simulate the paved surfaces I used pieces of black felt from the craft store, with plastic bases so that I can blue tac them in place if I find they move around too much.  So far I haven't needed the blue tac, but it's still an option.

Duct tape is also good for backing.

For vegetation, I gradually layered up a combination of moss (for the bushes under the bridge), a collection of tufts scattered around, and a variety of static grass shades (green, light green and harvest gold).  

 Vegetation was a process, completed over many, many steps.

You can see the telephone poles that I made for this project, as well as the paved road and Bailey bridge.

The very ugly joint where the boards come together needed to be addressed.  The straight lines do not look at all natural.

Step one was to build a piece of difficult terrain by cutting a sheet of MDF to a suitable size and shape, and cover with plaster, small rocks and sand.

Then add paint and vegetation as with the main boards.

This blends in nicely and covers the junction of all four boards, but still leaves the remainder of the joints.  And yes, I have built additional difficult terrain to add to my BSC difficult terrain project!

So I experimented with some other solutions, for example trees or small terrain bases, but I fixed on felt strips as the path forward.

I took the strips, cut the edges to give them irregular edges and then painted them and added some static grass.

You can also see the extra work I did on the roads - I dusted up the road edges with some paint, and shaved the joints down a bit.

Finally I tried a few different setups to show different time periods, including

Al-andalus, ca 1050 AD

NWF, ca 1889

Afghanistan border patrol ca 2010

As you can see, some of these combos work better than others!

I also had to do something about storage.  I found a large storage bin at Canadian Tire, a 210 L storage bin.  It's big enough to hold the four boards when they are tipped on their sides.

SOE Agents and a Dangerous Dame

 Here are three Special Operations Executive (aka SOE) agents from Bad Squiddo, and one of Pulp Figures' Dangerous Dames (added just so I can link the Bad Squiddo agents to the Dangerous Dames!).  And it was a great pleasure to paint something other than khaki for a change 8^)

The SOE was a spy organization in the Second World War that undertook espionage and support for resistance against the Axis powers.  Its nickname was the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare".  I purchased these figures with the idea that they could blend in with my Sicilian civilians - as good spies are able to disappear in plain sight.

The first agent is based on Nancy Wake, a New Zealander of Pakeha and Maori ancestry.  Nicknamed the "White Mouse", she liaised with the Maquis and other French resistance.  Blowing a kiss, she might flirt with the Germans, but watch for what she has behind her back!

The second agent is Noor Inayat Khan, an actual princess, a descendant of Tipu Sultan.  Noor was a radio operator, which she has hidden in her suitcase.

Noor is one of the three main figures in a recent film that I watched on Netflix called, "A Call to Spy".

The final SOE agent is a fictitious agent based on Annie Norman, the founder, owner and chief bottle washer of Bad Squiddo!  I hope I got the hair right ;) 

The final member of the group is a member of the Museum of Natural History Ladies Exploration Society.  With map case in hand and goggles on her, she is ready to travel.  Has she just stepped out of the open cockpit of a Tiger Moth, or was riding in Crash Callahan's side car?

Nurses

 From Bad Squiddo, here are some nurses (or nursing sisters)!

My original plan was to paint them in blue uniforms, like Juliette Binoche in The English Patient:

But it turns out that nurses in the Med wore khaki drill:

Photos above are from a Canadian History website:  https://cdnhistorybits.wordpress.com/2015/11/24/canadas-ww2-nursing-sisters/

To further complicate things, the Bad Squiddo nurses are in British Red Cross nurse uniforms, which differ a bit from the army nurse uniforms:

But I decided to overlook the differences, so my nurses aren't quite accurate, with mix of red crosses, white aprons and khaki drill.  But I like the way they turned out.