green beanie | 13 Jul 2016 11:26 a.m. PST |
abelp01, email me at missykty@aol.com for you can not receive PM's. I wanted to see if you had those 3 prone BAR gunners for sale in 15mm. |
JD Lee | 13 Jul 2016 11:43 a.m. PST |
Looking for an easy way to make 15 mm sand or melee bags. Thanks |
Dynaman8789 | 13 Jul 2016 11:50 a.m. PST |
Easiest I have heard is to buy mini chicklets as they are the correct size. Just paint them to the correct color. Another easy way should be air dry clay. Roll to proper width, squish flat and cut them to proper length, let dry out to harden a bit, paint and done. |
robert piepenbrink | 13 Jul 2016 12:03 p.m. PST |
For sandbags, I mostly just use epoxy putty, though Chicklets might work, depending on how fussy your are about scale. In 15mm. I've been known to mix the putty, roll it out on the stand and them use a sharp knife to mark off the individual bags. Then I do the same thing for the next layers until I've reached my desired height, prime black and damp-brush in a burlap color. A melee bag is mostly just a sock with some coins or half a brick in it and is dead easy in putty. (We generally call them a "blackjack" or "cosh.") Are we doing Victorian street gangs? Oh, a MEALIE bag--They're like a sandbag only larger. Easier with epoxy putty. Roll out a "snake" of putty, use a knife to cut it into bags. Cut a long line down the "seam" and then stack them. But you could also use Chicklets or 28mm sandbags. |
leidang | 13 Jul 2016 1:05 p.m. PST |
I do the same as above but use a scissor to cut the bags from the roll of putty. It flattens and creates crisp corners. Then if you squish the bag with your fingers to flatten it out your fingerprints will give it a burlap like texture. Stack them as you will and paint to suit. |
Rudysnelson | 13 Jul 2016 1:28 p.m. PST |
I always thought it was mealy bags. Melee is a fight not grain. |
JD Lee | 13 Jul 2016 2:48 p.m. PST |
Hahahaha I spelled it wrong! |
dragon6 | 13 Jul 2016 2:54 p.m. PST |
Well they do sound alike and Victorian British soldiers did use them for defense so, if you don't know what they are, it makes sense |
Mark 1 | 13 Jul 2016 8:45 p.m. PST |
Another easy way should be air dry clay. Roll to proper width, squish flat and cut them to proper length, let dry out to harden a bit, paint and done. This is the approach I have used, as illustrated below.
I cut them before I mash them. One block of clay, bought for about $5 USD, should create about a bazillion sandbags. But of course I'm working at 6mm, so you might only get about half a bazillion for your $5. USD -Mark (aka: Mk 1) |
Colonel Bogey | 14 Jul 2016 2:33 a.m. PST |
That's an excellent post, Mark – thank you! |
JD Lee | 14 Jul 2016 8:43 a.m. PST |
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Mark 1 | 14 Jul 2016 12:27 p.m. PST |
BTW "Mexican Clay" is a term generally applied to self-hardening (air drying) clays that shrink when they dry. I find that feature to be very useful for my purpose, as I struggle to make the sandbags small enough for 6mm. But it is not a good choice for many other uses. If you try making fieldworks, like trenches or gun emplacements or anything else you want to lie flat on the board, for example, you will find that the clay warps upwards as it shrinks. So not the right choice. There are non-shrinking self-hardening clays. So if you want to make a variety of fieldworks, choose something other than "Mexican Clay". -Mark (aka: Mk 1) |