by madguru | Jan 3, 2020 | Buildings, Bridges, Defensive Works, Etc., Terrain Building
HAPPY NEW YEAR to one and all!I’ve been busy over the Holidays, with family, work, and… YES, hobby stuff. All the hobby stuff has been more work on the Vauban fortress as well as a good amount of SIEGE WORKS to go with it — or more accurately,...
by madguru | Nov 26, 2019 | Buildings, Bridges, Defensive Works, Etc., Terrain Building
After painting the Vauban fortress for my friend I was very happy with it, but one thing stuck in my mind…I had looked at a lot of photos and illustrations of Vauban forts and most of them seemed to have more elaborate front gates than the one for my...
by madguru | Nov 2, 2019 | Buildings, Bridges, Defensive Works, Etc., Terrain Building
25. ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACHSometimes the universe arranges things the way a screenwriter like myself might. Case in point: while I was pondering the nagging problem of how to paint the DAMAGED RUBBLE portion of the BREACHED WALL in a satisfactory manner, I...
by madguru | Oct 28, 2019 | Buildings, Bridges, Defensive Works, Etc., Terrain Building
Another day, another chapter of painting my friend’s fortress.We are in the home-stretch now, approaching the light at the end of the Vauban tunnel…or demi-lune…or merlon…or…21. BASTION #2, Ravelin, & SCENIC VIEWSBy now I...
by madguru | Oct 27, 2019 | Buildings, Bridges, Defensive Works, Etc., Terrain Building
17. WOODEN DOORSI am a woodworker’s son but sadly no woodworker, be it in 1:1 or 1:56th scale. Still, I wanted to transfer the colorful door design from cardboard to wood. So I dug out a piece of BALSA and my old wooden box of X-Acto knives and...
by madguru | Oct 26, 2019 | Buildings, Bridges, Defensive Works, Etc., Terrain Building, Terraining Bases
12. SECOND BASTION ARRIVESAt this point, my friend the Vauban owner was happy enough with what he’d been seeing (via emailed photo updates) to order 2 new pieces: a second bastion and a second tower. Both were brand new from Magister Militum, and like the...
by madguru | Oct 25, 2019 | Buildings, Bridges, Defensive Works, Etc., Terrain Building
9. TowerSomewhere along the way the tower had been primed black, I assume by its previous owner. Years ago I painted a Hudson & Allen castle and started it out with a pure black base coat, and it turned out pretty great. But this time I sprayed it over...
by madguru | Oct 24, 2019 | Buildings, Bridges, Defensive Works, Etc., Terrain Building
5. WEATHERING WASHThis is a somewhat involved process, courtesy of wargames terrain master builder CHRIS THE MODEL MAKER. It’s not easy but not really difficult either. I would rate it as “moderately complex”.In order to proceed, you will...
by madguru | Oct 24, 2019 | Buildings, Bridges, Defensive Works, Etc., Terrain Building
About 2-1/2 years ago a close friend of mine who I used to wargame with a lot before he moved to a foreign city, sent me a big box. It was filled with a classic Ian Weekley designed multi-part VAUBAN FORTRESS that I had agreed to paint for him as soon as I got...
by madguru | Oct 23, 2019 | Battle Reports, Fellow Gamers, Miscellaneous History
On Saturday, September 28th, my son Skylar and I drove down to the Knights of Columbus Hall in Anaheim, to participate in a refight of the 1863 American Civil War Battle of Chickamauga. It was a play-test by GM The game and legendary Orange County one-man...
