Well, I said I was done building rocky wood-chip hills for my Charasiab lay-out, but... I just wasn't happy with the hill I'd been using for the Western edge of the Sang-i-Nawishta Gorge, which forms the far right end of the long row of tall hills/low mountains that line most of the North edge of the table.
The less-than-stellar hill in question started life as one of the pair of "conical hills" that lie to the South of the Gorge, but somehow it just didn't cut it, so I replaced it with a much nicer version, which -- thanks to further research on Google Earth -- was also more accurate in terms of size and shape. This lesser hill was then pressed into service to extend the high ground at the North edge of the table, guarding the approaches to Kabul. But... I didn't think it worked that well there either, so I sucked it up, bought a fresh piece of 1/4" Masonite (aka: MDF) to use as a baseboard, and built ONE MORE!!!
I'm very happy with how this last rocky wood-chip hill turned out, and it didn't even take forever to build! Some day soon I will post my usual step-by-step endless stream of WIP pics, but for now, all I have time to put up is a few pics of the finished product.
Hope you like them...
On other matters Charasiab, a month or two ago, thanks -- or no thanks -- to my ongoing research into the battle, using a combination of c.1879 maps and current satellite imagery, I realized I needed THREE MORE of the one-contour "low sandy" hills I posted about back in January.
They are simple to make and I'm most of the way through building them. One is all done, and the other two are close to completion. Once that's squared away, all that will remain is to finish the road system -- which I started building out of latex caulk a few months ago, and is turning out pretty well -- and then build a pair of new terrain boards featuring the Logar and Kabul rivers.
Needless to say, those two river boards will take some doing, but I'm confident they will get done. Exactly WHEN they will get done... well, that's another question! Stay tuned...
I never grow tired of seeing these magnificent outcrops!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pics...
ReplyDeleteThey work nicely, very natural-looking.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michael, and thank you, Phil!
ReplyDeleteThanks to you also, AJ, and I must say I agree completely with your observation! An artist friend of mine once commented that there are a limited number of shapes in nature, which are repeated over and over again, in different sizes and different contexts. I think this is a good example of his observation. The shapes of these wood-chips are much like miniature versions of the components of full-size rocky hills and mountains. Perhaps not perfectly so, but more than close enough for a hobbyist like me!
This is a really fantastic piece of terrain. Wondeful colours!
ReplyDeleteMad Guru,
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Amazing! Your collection really sets the bar. I will definitely have to upgrade my terrain. Every time I visit your blog I'm so inspired to build and paint my armies and terrain. Sterling work sir!
Cheers,
JB
Thanks, Sarge! Very happy to be "inspirational"!
ReplyDeleteLooks great Ethan the figures on top really show this off well done again!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Willie! Just finished the 9th -- and VERY LAST -- low sandy hill earlier this evening. That is it for the high ground of Charasiab!
ReplyDeleteNow all that remains is the rest of the road network, a bunch of farm fields, and the two rivers -- for which I've begun assembling the building materials...