Wednesday 22 May 2013

Building the Brecourt Gun Battery (Part 3a(?))

I've steadily been working on the four boards which will make up the area for the 'Brecourt Manor Assault'. Building the sides of the trenches has been the main priority.

Command bunker between Gun 2 & 3

Communication trench between guns 3 & 4
The communication trench does not feature in any accounts I have read but decided to add it, purely for aesthetic value. Though it will also be an entry point for any German reinforcements.

Looking down the communication trench
I'm using a mix of balsa and coffee-stirrers for the revetments. The idea being that when painted it will give variation in shade between the different pieces of wood.

Entrance to ammo bunker
The ammo bunker was originally going to be completely modelled onto the board, but I then decided to indicate the entrance to it only. Realistically I very much doubt, it would figure in play as a real bunker i.e. a place of safety. The piece of corrugated iron sheet to the right of the entrance is made from molded plastic. I've discovered that the Evostik wood glue used to attach the two uprights to the corrugated sheet does not dry clear over the MIG Pigment Fixer applied over the weathering powders on the plastic sheet. The wood glue has left 'tide marks', which should be repairable but something to bear in mind in future. Remember and make sure to wipe away any excess glue if mixing these two products. Otherwise as per usual the Evostik wood glue did a wonderful job.

Command Bunker
The walls for the command bunker are made entirely from balsa wood.

MG nest
One of the MG nests which are on the rear of the boards. The damage to the styrofoam in front of the position was caused by airbrush cleaner accidentally spraying onto the foam. So a second learning curve; when using this product, be careful what gets onto it otherwise hard work could be undone! I'm sure the foam melted because the cleaner was sprayed from an aerosol can, but caution is advisable.


I have started to add in the 'duckboard' flooring for the trenches. Once that is done then I intend to paint all the wood and then move onto adding some more detailing before painting the boards proper.  

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