I was planning to work on Necrons this weekend - and I did, a little. But ...
For my birthday this year, I received a sprue each of Wargames Atlantic's WWI French and Germans, so that I could move my Weird World War I project down in scale.
I know I know.
In part, this was motivated by the fact that I keep breaking the bayonets on the 1/35 figures, as well as the fact that making the terrain I want for the game will just be too large to store in our apartment. More importantly, of late I have found I really enjoy painting the smaller (for me) figures, for reasons I don't quite understand.
This looks familiar. |
It still beats assembling the Necrons!
Painting was simple - blocked in the colors and then a wash of Agrax Earth Shade. They look pretty grim dark past? I don't know - but I think it works.
I still have 4 more French and 6 Germans (I'm not sure why the Germans have one less figure per sprue).
The walls of the trench are made with Dollar Tree knock-off Jenga bricks. Three bricks are glued long edge to long edge, then covered in strips of cereal box. Then two sets of three are glued end-to-end to make a single 3.75" wall piece. A cut down bamboo skewer acts as a post and hides the the seam down the middle. I think the next batch, I'll make the full wall piece, then cover in the strips - less cutting overall that way.
The walls were also given a touch of extra height from a Dollar Tree craft stick.
The craft sticks have a slight warp but they work well enough. |
This approach is far more portable and configurable - like dungeon walls for an RPG
(which is kind of how I imagine this WWWI project) - than my 1/35 attempt.
Top-down illustrating what it will look like with walls on each side |
My plan is to coat the non-trench side with wall filler to make raw stone tunnels.
I was aware of the tunnels used by troops on the Southern Front (through rock and glacier - like when the Austrian stormtroops burst from tunnels in the ice to surprise Italian troops and also to blow the tops off mountains) and I was aware about mining on the Western Front, thanks to two of my favorite WWI movies, Beneath Hill 60 and The War Below.
I had been thinking my Weird World War I conceit would be squads moving through strangely abandoned trenches and, possibly into those same tunnels (where else would Eldritch horrors and demons enter from?).
Hence the desire to look stone-like on one side.
While doing some research - loosely speaking - I came across an offhand mention of the underground fighting during WWI.
Fighting IN the tunnels? That would further justify my choice (I don't need it - it's pretty much WWI fantasy but it means they can serve double-duty).
To fill in the gaping holes in my knowledge, I picked up Beneath the Killing Fields: Exploring the Subterranean Landscapes of the Western Front.
I'm not finished reading it, but it is an absolutely fascinating and eye-opening read about the extent to which the Great War took place underground, be it shelter, moving men to the front, or mining operations.
The author goes through great lengths to discuss the sensory reconfiguration required for those working in the tunnels, and, in a bit of poetic flourish, he more than once emphasizes the inversion of life and death, where the dead lay in the open air of the battlefield, and the living are underground.
He also describes it as Hell moving from the depths of the earth to above ground, while men hide beneath the surface. If that isn't an entire Weird World War I setting in a single sentence, I don't know what is.
Now, I picked this book up for a song. It's a hardcover book and was only $3.84 usd,(regular price is around $30 usd) which may be coloring my enthusiasm a little, but I highly recommend it, especially if you can find a used copy.
Nice work on the trench wall John - Weird War 1 sounds like a great project
ReplyDeleteThank you, Maudlin Jack!
DeleteYour trench walls are awesome John, really well done! The figures look great too, with a dark touch of eerie, fitting right into your weird vibe!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brad!
DeleteFigures and trench look excellent. Your painting is perfect, I reckon. As part of my megalomania is the idea of re-fighting Verdun over-all, in more detail in specific sections and in a more skirmish sense within the tunnel and rooms of the fortresses. I am sure that following your developments will provide me with inspiration and ideas!
ReplyDeleteRegards, James
Thank you, James! I cannot recommend Beneath the Killing Fields highly enough for the photos and descriptions of the underground fighting (including in the fortresses).
DeleteSorry to see the 1/35 ww1 project go, but I understand why. Mine get a bit brittle and fiddly too. still looking good though!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Reese! I really enjoyed building and painting the figures and I still have them. I think they may end up on display where they will be safe from my clumsy handling!
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