Building Gallabat: Pt 2

 

It turns out that replicating the Gallabat scenario from Rapid Fire (first edition) is more of a major undertaking that I had properly appreciated - if it's to look any good. I have several builds running at once. I needed to build three strong-points for the Italians to defend the border and so I took to a sheet of XPS foam board and cut three oblongs of different sizes.

XPS foam board really is the terrain nmakers product of choice and I took little time in cutting it to shape, chamfering the edged and hand sanding them smooth. I took particular care to make the edges as thin and the slope and low and gradual as possible. I then sketched out the entrenchments and glued them to sheets of thin floor vinyl with Gorilla Glue before trimming it to the edge.

I have no reference for these strong-points (they don't likely exist) so went with a generic pattern for greater use later on. I ensured that the distance from the forward trench to the front edge was over 6 inches as this is short range and grenade range in our rules, 'Fire and Dice'. There will be barbed wire entanglements at the base edge and the defenders want the enemy stalled for at least one round of combat taking fire before close quarter fighting.

I soon realised when cutting out the entrenchments that my apparoach would be to take it to the vinyl base and then backfill with my home-made sculptamold and PVA mix to provide an earth floor. 

I don't have a lot of time to finish these so I lined the floor and walls with caulking and pressed a tile-grout and rubble mix into it. I with have no supports like sandbags or timber framing.

If there are three products that make scenery possible it's got to be PVA white glue, Selly's Liquid Nails and caulking. Once the inside is dry I can spray it with diluted isoprol alcohol and then diluted PVA to set it before painting. Prior to that; however, I have to texture the surface with my desert rubble mix pressed into caulking.

The rubble mix is locally retrieved river sand, clumped clay cat litter and fat soaker - the same I used for the desert mat (see earlier posts).

I'm pleased with how it came together and so got stuck into the other two - no time to waste.

I bought a 75 metre coil of 0.7mm wire from Bunnings and wrapped the lot around a dowel to make the barbed wire entanglements (blisters!). This took some time and effort to hand wind that lot. I made a series of free standing timber supports which will enable me to shape and angle the coils any way I need - rather than fixing it in rigid sections. The wire coils drape over these support points and over uneven surfaces. I will be able to make different support points for different terrain and use the same wire coils. The supports have metal washer bases under balsa before texturing and painting.