"Scratchbuilding Wagons" Topic

Wagons are an important part of my game, and they are hard and expensive to get, especially as my figures are large 28 to 33 mm. I didn't want to spend a fortune on them so I made them out of basswood. I also had to make 20 of them, 10 for each of the major contending armies in my collection (to cover all possibilities on the table top by my organization in a campaign. The beds were made of 1/32" and 1/16" basswood with struts of 1/16 by 1/6 basswood. The seat and other details were easy.

The "loads" in the wagon were fairly easy too and were a combination of all the boxes, bales, barrels, and occasional bits from HO and O guage railroad stuff. Also I made several loads of bags and sacks from body putty.

The first hard part was the wheels and the draught animals.

the wheels I made from "O" gauge "Popcorn wagon" wheels you can get from several model railroad suppliers. The key is to not make the wagons too big as to dwarf them. The other choice is circus wagon wheels (without the gaudy star pattern between the spokes). These can be had from the same source. If you can get "S" gauge wagon wheels they are almost perfect but I can't locate a reliable source for them.

The draught animals are the second hurdle. Needing at least 40 of them, the beautiful "S" and "O" gage animals, even those from model soldier makers are hideously expensive at up to $16 USD a piece. What I am using is from two sources. One is from "Craft Designs" which make a packet of four horses which are almost perfect for my stuff, and TOOB's "tube" of 12 horses, many of which are draght animals. These are a little out of scale and look a little "toy like" but I am presently modelling the horse collars and harness on them with thin lead and styrene strips for the reigns and leaders and they will work out. The eyes are naturally drawn to the details which takes you away from the "Toyish" look of the horses.

The third problem will be the drivers as almost no one makes seated figures. I'm going to be using an odd-lot assortment of torso's cut from odd single figures and smoothed out with body putty and green stuff. luckily I just have to model the legs and knees as the rest of the legs are hidden by the front of the wagon.

I have produced "labels" or markings for the loads for "biscuit", "salt pork," "Cheese" and so forth along with a welter of interesting cargo. I also have printed out on my laser printer full color "insignia" or arms of the armies which are quite nice.

The one side simply has a tarp cover over part of the wagon, while the other has a curced arch of wire on which the cover could be stretched out "conestoga style." I find that the use of details like the labels, loads, insignia and bits of tarp all draw the eye away from the few out of scale elements and makes a pleasing view. I also am planning figures walking or marching alongside.

Please post photos when you are done.

Grelber

I made a wild west wagon from a pencil sharpener.
link

Excellent stuff, Otto!

I particularly applaud your seeing TOOBS and other "toys" as valuable--and bargain priced--resources. I've had occasion to the same and I'm glad you highlighted them for others here.

And forever shame on you if you don't post photos of your progress here soon!

Regarding wheels, it appears that we will soon be back in the miniatures casting business, after over a year's hiatus, and one of the items we will have again is a variety of "True" 25mm spoked wheels in a variety of sizes, perfect for wagon born loads in most centuries.

We'll be posting when everything is back up for sale!

TVAG

Otto – Many military wagons up through the ACW were controlled by drovers riding on the horses, not on a seat at the front like the western Conestoga style wagons with which we are familiar from "wild west" movies.

So you should be able to get drovers in riding positions by using plastic 28mm figures.

Jim

I had quite a few draft horses and wanted to use them up. So I decided to make scratch built cassions. I made 2 Russian and 1 Prussian and a limber. I like how they came out but its hard to make them to a small scale (15mm).I wonder if they would be better as 1/72 but oh well. I had the same problem with what to do for wheels but asked and got separate wheels from Monday Knight.I still want to do a open wagon and or a pontoon carrier.

Otto, Have you tried RSM95? They have an assortment of accessories like seated figures (6 @ $5.40 USD), horses ( 6 @ $8.10 USD), separate muskets, pistols, sabers, etc. I emailed them and they cast wheels for me, wish I could remember how much but I do recall them being ridiculous cheap.
Good luck

Karl

Thanks to all.

Pictures are not particularly helpful. Yes, they look nice but they don't tell you what the materials ARE or how they can be bought or how they are used.

For example I was remiss in not telling you that

The Wagon Wheels are the "O" gauge "Popcorn Wagon Wheel" from 1/48 scale. They were $2.40 USD a pack of four.

Grandt Line,
1040 B Shary Court
Concord CA 94518
925-671-0143
Fax 671-9806
Stock # 030000000000 32E

The best horses I could find are from

Creative Time
Donaco Sales Co.,
Modesto CA
Stoc # 7073 2" Horse
donacosales.com. These were $3.29 USD a pack and I got them at AC Moore.

The other horses ALMOST as good as the above but considerably less pensive were from TOOB

This Is from their Safari Ltd. Line, 1400 NW 159th St. Suite 104 Miami Gardens Fla. 33169. safari Ltd. com The stock number is 695604 and cost $9.99 USD for 12 at A.C. Moore.

This is far superior to any picture for it tells the modellere how he can lay his hands on them.

Thank you especially Patrick as you recognize that the key here is to use handiwork and ingenuity to make our game toys without spending an army and a leg. All of these would be horribly out of scale for most 25mm, but for my large 28 to 33mm Surens, they are almost in scale. The key also is to extend the line of available materials. I don't care too much about exact fidelity to scale. If you look at the vast interpretation of what "25mm" is you see this demonstrated. The key is also NOT in my case to make absolutely accurate ans "stunning" scale models. I want to make 10 wagons for each army to use ont he table top, and I wanted EACH armies wagons to be obiously and characteristically different. So for example the wagons for Bad Zu Wurst are long, thin things with a large box on the exterior of one side, and a swing down platform on the other that holds two medium size barrels lashed together. They don't come with hoops or supports for covers, but simple shrouds over the top . Those for the Princessipate are shorter tubbier things with sloped sides and the supports for the rounded covers like a conestoga. The difference is to make a different "style" beyond that the Bad Zu Wurstian are painted in dark blue and the Princess' in bright pink. Under carriage details are non-existent, and"the loads" of all sort thrown in hodge podge, but with labels on the barrels like brandy, salt pork etc., along with some officer chestsetc. One wagon will have four coffins stacked up in it. Another a few "doxies" hitching a ride with the sergeant. I WANT to convert the figures to seating, but I could just as heasy have a foot figure leading a team of oxen.

I'm doing the same for my Ikean (Turkish) Artillery for the 28th Century. They are all huge guns on heavy bed carriages with wagons protecting the front behind stakes, with a huge swinging mantlet that comes down to give the crew cover when loading. The gun positions from right to left will be six in number from ready to fire to the various stages of setting up the position, with the left most just having slaves start digging the pit for bed and the posts, and somewhere in the middle the gun being winched off its carrier and being guided onto the bed. These will of course be used on the table top.

One project is the Militia Regiment "Hausundgarten" which will be on six small stands. This militia regiment will however be depicted on it's "Militia Sunday" drill.

One stand will have a few figures including a few beefy bar girls around groaning tables eating.
One will have a group of them shooting at a target for a turkey shoot.
One will have twelve fo them in tight formation with a ganner-- having its picture painted by an artist.
One will have an officer and another beefy lady with librettos in front of a stage scenery of a Colloseum singing Mozart's "La Clemnza Di Tito."
One will have a few of them around a man playing a spinit.
One will be a few men marchinb by and noticing the hottie with her skirts lifted and beckoning them into a tent.

I also like to play jokes on my players.

For example, one of the wagons will have the back down and a chef cooking a meal for the general, but next to him will be a tall girl with a tray held high, in capri pants and roller skates, like one of those burger joints int he 50's. The Floatsam und Jetsam Regiment (The Royal marines) will have a navy seal in the front rank. A man trundling a wheelbarrow in which there is a large wooden tub with a seal in the water balancing a ball on his nose.

By the way, none of you will realize until you have seen Wells' FLOOR GAMES that THAT is the real beginning of our war games, Not Little Wars.