Re: [SG2] Not OT at all! CNN "Urban Combat" Graphics

THE MAJOR GENERAL IS AN OLD FRIEND OF MINE.

i learned to make buildings from mat board and foamcore from him,
Charles Christy, Max Carr, Ed Philips, the master builders of the DFW as
far back as the 70s.

i built the small border fort featured under pix for Skip and  want to
say several things here.

foamcore, glue to mat board and weighted down to avoid warping when wet,
can  make good basing material. when dry, cover it with a clear acrylic
spray so this prevents later warpage when applying  texture and paint.

other, better sources of bases for terrain projects are  masonite, with
or without the pegholes, or plastic sheeting. foamcore can be glued to
these to make attachment points for buildings and terrain features.

since my terrain travels a lot, i use a 12" x 12" base board for large
structures. 

if my project requires more space, i use  2 or more modules that can be
placed base to base to make the whole piece.

i make my roadway sections up in sections of 6" to 12" length. since
most of my fighting is done in mid to low tech colonial environments,
the majority of the roadways are dirt and 4" wide.

sometimes i model " drainage ditches" on the  sides of the  roads by
indicating them with raised edges , the ditch a bit wider than a soldier
base.  culverts passing under the road can be modeled too.

in "modern" towns/cities  i model sidewalks around my buildings which
are slighly higher than paved streets.

a very cheap source of street lights, LOL, are clean, never used
disposable razors, with the guards glued in place over the blades. easy
to paint and mount.

clear plastic sheeting is used to cover  display windows in shopfronts,
residential windows, and to make glass doorways.

tinted plastic can also be used for this.

always build  structures and make terrain with a soldier and a tank or
other vehicle in the scale y'all are using on hand for quick
comparisons.

measure twice, cut once! just like a carpenter.

round plastic toothpick can make nice jail bars and zoo bars.

car body repair mesh, and plastic window/door screening can make
excellent chainlink fencing!

chicklets make great sandbags; so do small beans.

bamboo BBQ skewers make good light wooden palisades.

lord, there are  zillions of ways to do stuff to make your terrain look
knockout!

DAWGIE, back for a visit . . .