So I wrote about the Battle of Seven Pines, the Redoubt, and my wish to create a digital model of the Twin Houses, which while they were two houses in real life, for the purposes of a digital model it is simply a single model reversed to create an opposite and then 3D printed in both variants. The creation and printing were completed quite some time ago, and the models sat languishing in the “pile of shame” awaiting some paint.

Twin House: Base matt black spray paint. (wood) Burnt Umber(223), dry-brush 50/50 Warm Grey(078)/Process Black(040),dry-brush Warm Grey(078), dry-brush Buff Titanium(024). (bricks) dry-brush Yellow Ochre(633), dry-brush Naples Yellow(634), dry-dry-brush AP Pure Red(WP1104), dry-brush AP Barbarian Flesh(WP1126)

Luckily it was also one of the “projects” I put in the “box of hope”, so a bit of spray-paint then successive layers of dry-brushing later, they are pretty much complete and since I have almost all the terrain elements I wanted when I started this project (save the Union Observation Balloon) I’m hoping when I move these safely to the wargaming room, I will be able to start looking at army lists and what not to refight a small section of this battle.

Following on from my post: Lutheran Church I.

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Although I scaled the model for 15mm during the design process, I also designed it to use a .2mm print head with a layer height of 0.06mm, which although vastly increasing the print times, does give me the flexibility to scale up the print for 28mm without losing detail.

Overall I am very happy with how this turned out, but I do wonder what the “box” on the roof ridge to the left of the steeple is? I would guess it’s some form of chimney for heating the church, but have decided to omit it since I can’t get a clear picture of what it actually is. Likewise I completely made up the far side and back of the church, reasoning that the far side would be a reflection of the near side in respect to the arrangement of windows, and that it would exhibit far less damage. As for the back, I just completely made it up and added a small door for rear access.

Reading (still): Welker, David A., The Cornfield, Antietam’s bloody turning point. (2020) ISBN: 978-1-61200-832-5

So a few weeks ago I started making fences, and then more fences, which is something I continue to do in my spare moments and while I am still about 10 feet short of my desired goal for the snake fences, I did decide to hit the pause button and do a test paint on one of the smaller sections so I could get a feel for what they would look like once done.

Progress: snake fences 32/40′ . post & rail: 4/8′ . rough stone: 6/8′ . picket 0/3′

Snake Fences: Matt Black (spray paint), liberal dry-brush Raw Umber(247), dry-brush 50/50 mix Paynes Grey/War Grey(065/078), dry-brush Warm Grey(078), dry-brush/highlight (bottom rails only) Army Green(AP)

I’ve also been a bit distracted with the “bits” that go alongside wargaming, the markers, firing sticks, movement trays and such, the little things that add to the “feel” of the game more than the look, though they can also enhance that too. So there has been some progress on planning for some of these, namely a 3D printed Minie Ball to act as either a casualty marker, or even a disorder marker for ACW games depending on the ruleset. I saw some used in a similar fashion on this video: Markers and Aides for Fire and Fury, and was inspired for a theatre specific gaming aide.

Reading (still): Welker, David A., The Cornfield, Antietam’s bloody turning point. (2020) ISBN: 978-1-61200-832-5

Reading (distraction/inspiration): Back Issues of WSS (Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy) In a nutshell I am a long term subscriber that kept my subscription going while not really reading any issues, so I am at 92/117.