some terrain and a teaser

I survived the weekend. I had a very cold march and recon mission traipsing through snow covered Michigan woods in the very, Very wee hours of the morning. It was just above zero, and the wind was not cooperating. I also enjoyed another stroll through the woods performing land navigation. This is done with a map and compass(GPS is for cheating kids!). A true scout can orient themselves to a map, recognize terrain, and use the compass to steer a path. Being an old boot, I know my pace count at a walk and a jog. If I walk 60 paces, I've gone 100 meters. Thankfully, I do not need GPS as it will surely fail when I need it most!
I had to find several points in the land nav course. Because I was cold, hungry, and still sick...I did not waste anytime and finished quickly to await the rest of the platoon in a warm building. Said warm building had plenty of coffee! No doubt due to budget cuts, we stayed at an old decrepit barracks that had seen service as long as I. It seemed only a little younger than Civil War vintage, and the water had two temperatures available...C for cold and H for HELLA COLD!
Sunday evening I at last made it home to good food and a nice recuperating back rub from Household-6. My wife also had a nice pot of coffee and warm supper waiting! I do not complain about creature comforts to my 1st Sgt, as he is not as commiserating as my wife...he also will not rub your aching feet like my lovely wife will!

So, speaking of my wife....I am still deep in this years mission of painting six armies and straighten up my hobby area. With all the boxes my kids helped me remove from the shed, some damages were noted. Principle among the damages were the cardstock terrain that was once carefully stored in the shed.
Dave Graffham designed much of the cardstock in my collection. I began using it to speed up the process of my sewer and trench board. I wanted a fully modeled city that could be placed over the monstrosity. It would cost A Lot to do this in resin, MDF, or plastic kits. I would also still be crafting scratch builds even now to cover it. The board is 8'x4', and the city had to be able to host Mordenheim and other generic fantasy, Napoleonic, Civil War, WW2, Sci-Fi, and Steampunk. After viewing several designers, I felt Mr Graffham fit the bill perfectly. Most of his buildings cost less than $5 each, with layered PDF format each one can be drastic in difference from one another.
The following buildings are over a year old. Various glues were used from Elmer's white glue all, to glue sticks, and even scrapbooking glues. Some stored in cardboard boxes have curled from either climate or from the knack of corrugated cardboard absorption of moisture from anything in proximity. The Gluesticks did not hold up well to non-climate control in the shed either.

On the brightside, I edge my models now. The ones I put together with glue sticks are already scored, so all I have to do is edge them with markers and re-glue them with the proven glues that withstand temperature extremes. Some of the newer models have interiors, and some of the newer models are great in extra details like his  inventor house and the Mermaid Tavern. I will have fully covered my table by the end of this year. Since I am still tidying up, and unburying it, it will be a bit before I can show it off properly.

just an eclectic mix of Graffham structures taken from storage, I will be making a wharf section for my town as well as a shopping district. the structure in the lower right is a freebie one for those wanting to try it out. It is a coaching inn and I've built three with only the outer shape being the same.

a brick gatehouse, perfect for assassinations, snipers, crowd control....

a closeup of some of the structure details. You can even add exterior pipes which can lend to steampunk or modern convenience!

some details of a fisherman's shack and a tudor shop. I bought all of his tudor buildings in a bundle as I am very partial to their look.

the asylum...I can easily picture the tricksy French trying to waylay Sharpe and Mr Harper from the balconies...cuz you know you have to cheat against Mr Sharpe!

another gatehouse and the wonderful ruined chapel.

Another shot of the tudor shop...because I like it so!

some watch towers, these suffered some fading as they were in a clear plastic container located too close to a window in the shed....no excuse for lack of situational awareness for this old soldier!

two ruined houses warped from the cardboard box...but notice how each has a different look. these are the same kit with different layers applied

some minis to show scale and a teaser for tomorrow's post.
I really enjoy skirmish type wargaming, and the sewer board is going to be my opus for that type of gaming. PDF buildings have really sped up my progress for the board. the card buildings  are pretty durable too. I built some test pieces of elevated fortress walls and roads which handily hold the weight of my Cygnar war machines which are very stout lead pieces!