Building Gallabat: Replicating the Rapid Fire Scenario Pt1

For the month of October, I'm home on leave and have gotten stuck-in to play-testing my new WW2 wargaming rules. So far so good, and in a fortnight I've challenged myself with fighting the British army attack on the Italian held fort at Gallabat. I am aiming to fight the scenario taken from the orgininal Rapid Rire rule book (first edition) published in 1994. I'm using the same scenario map and with some refernces from a shallow search over the internet.

The whole build is in 20mm scale. There was plenty to do and I started with the 'native village', requiring two sets of three thatched 'tukul' round huts. It didn't take me long to locate a suitable cardboard tube in the shed and cut up the circular wall sections on the band-saw. After experimenting with a paper template I sketched out the roofs onto 5mm foam-board.

Once I cut the roof sections out, I scored the radius sections, making sure not to cut all the way through, relying on the bottom paper layer to hold the structures together when folding. I cut the larger segment away then brought the ends together, fixing with white gue and tape.

The reason I went this way and steered clear of card stock is because I intended to use DAS modelling clay to cover these domes onto which I would etch in the thatch detailing.

After fixing the domes to the tube sections with tacky-glue it was time to fix the clay and start carving in the thatch effect.

It's a fine line sometimes between theraputic repetition and tedium but I was highly motivated to create since I've been away from modelling now for six months. I put on 'Both Sides of the Wire' WW2 podcast, gripped my trusty sculpting tool and had at it. In two sessions I'd reckon it took me about four hours to rip through the six.

I make sure to mix white glue into the DAS modelling clay (air drying) which is supposed to improve the adhesive capabilities when sticking it to cardboard/paper and help prevent cracking. It seems to work well for me so I'll stick within this technique. You need to dip your fingers in water regularly, smoothing the applied clay and then let it dry just a little before scribing into it. If it's too wet, the tiny furrows will not hold as well and the clay will drag if too dry.

Leaving them to set overnight, I stippled wet pre-mixed putty onto the circular walls after cutting out the entrances. I then cut and chamfered irregular sections of 3mm MDF board before gluing the huts on with tacky-glu.

Then it was on to applyting a good coat of brown-tinted Modge Podge.

In between setting times, I built what the scenario map marked as a 'Customs Shed' complex. I have no referneces for this so went for a simple, high ceiling store house with large, double loading-bay doors and a regular side door. I decided on a simple colonial style office with front verandah and gave both buildings a brick surface using clay, pressed with a brick roller. I capped them with a galvanised iron roof (corrugated paper).

I moved staight on to the third built up area for the scenario - the village/town of Metemma. The Rapid Fire scenario map has four rectangular buildings and two with yards to represent the town.

I've gone with a traditional 'hidmo' Eritean stone built architectural style. I went with a series of three terrace style houses and two free standing dwellings with irregular yards. I went with stone walls for the town, as opposed to the brushwood fencing for the native village.

The walls are all mud brick with limewash or stucco facades. I gave my yard-broom a bit of a trim and put its bristles to good use for the base of the roofs. I then applied my home-brew sculptamold (toilet paper pulped and dried with plaster of paris) which I mixed with water and a good squirt of white glue to ensure adhesion.

I used a few twigs for the external uprights to give it the rustic look. There's also internal door sills using balsa which will be coloured.

They are all a bit different with one roof being curved. I gave another a dry stone and mud yard enclosure using the sculptamold. I think I will use this technique for the additional ring wall surrounding the fort at Gallabat.

I'm not sure if any of you can relate to this but I have at least a dozen terrain and building projects at the back of my mind and they have been there for many years. This was not actually one of them. I kind of wanted to make the huts but it never manifested into a real intent until last week. This whole project sprang from nowhere really and leapt to the front of a very long queue. I had always intended (and still do) to build a series of round houses for my Celts in 28mm - I never thought my first would be six African huts in 20mm. When it comes to WW2, terrain is a bottomless pit.