"Afghan/NWF Hill Tower" Topic

Just put up a post on my blog about an Afghan/North-West Frontier hill tower I fell into building in order to furnish all the terrain I needed for a new scenario. I haven't painted it yet, but it took more than a month just to get this far, so I wanted to share.

Here's a few sample WIP pics:

If you're interested in seeing a ton-and-a-half more WIP pics, click on this link to visit my blog, and thanks in advance for your time if you do so…

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Nice

Looks great!

What did you use for the rocky hills? Really realistic.

I like that a lot, might give it a go myself.

I like the crenellations. It looks like the Pathans used regular sized doors, unlike the Maniots, who used short doors you had to duck to go through, so the enemy could only enter one at a time, if they broke down the door.
Grelber

Awesome as always! o! Great Master of all thing on the Northwest Frontier.

You're a better man than me Gunga-Din….

Great work, as ever.

Another of your splendid creations, Guru. Great to see you back at it!

MG – That is very well thought out. Always exciting to see your creations.

Always inspiring and fun to see your projects! Beautifully rendered.

Nice use of pine bark chips on the cliffs, I'm assuming that's what you used for the shelf-type rock formations.

Looks great!

Brilliant.

Mad Guru – Do you plan on using the battle of Ahmed Khel as the basis for your scenario incorporating Jakin, Lew and the new mudfort?
Below is a photo of a statue, possibly of Jakin and Lew located in Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK.

Outstanding!

Wow, thanks guys, for all the positive feedback!

@Tarleton: the rocky hills are made from common garden bark wood-chips over MDF/Masonite baseboards and styrofoam contours, put together with hot glue, and with Elmer's Wood Filler used to cover and strengthen the styrofoam and blend it into the wood-chips.

Here's a tutorial I did on building such hills/mountains about 5 years ago:

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Sample pics:

…and here's another tutorial I did on using the same common wood-chips to build more modest, less labor-intensive, rocky terrain areas:

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Sample pics:

@Grelber: RE: the "Maniots" -- I hate to admit it but hadn't heard of them before! Know who they are now though, thanks to you!

@Rhingyll: Hi, Bob, thanks for the kind comments! Well done finding that pic of the statue -- which was in danger of being carted off for a while, but I think is now remaining in place.

Actually, I will be refighting the fictional battle as detailed in the story itself, rather than reverse-engineering it back to Ahmed Khel, the real life battle which inspired the fictional version! This way it will be smaller size and easier to refight, which will hopefully give Jakin & Lew a decent shot at playing a significant role at least once!

I have laid out the entire table -- though it's only 6' x 8', not 10' or 12'. If the scenario works I could upsize it by making the three 20-man basic units of Highlanders, Gurkhas, and the Fore & Fit/"Fore & Aft" into three 42-man double units, treating each 20 figure unit as one "Wing" of the full battalion.

I've also got 2 Indian mountain guns -- the ones that get delayed by the hill fort -- and a unit of Bengal Lancers, which I could also enlarge from 12 to 25 figures if I decide to go that way. But for now I'm looking forward to fighting the smaller scale version. Last but not least, the Brigadier from the story is camped atop a rocky hill in the middle of the British start-line, ready to observe his masterpiece of a battle as it unfolds.

In that last picture in my original post above, at the lower left you can see the Highlanders and Bengal Lancers marching into the valley through the Eastern gorge, and above them you can see the "Fore & Aft," with Jakin and Lew ensconced behind some rocks, fifing and drumming as the regiment marches past towards its first taste of action…

Nice!!!

MG – Ah the accursed 42 man units. I think using the larger units will make the regiments a little more resilient and not so susceptible to bad dice rolls. The smaller game would be nice though and give you a chance to play it faster and tweak the scenario based on multiple play tests.That mud fort really is spectacular.

Great build my friend! What an excellent piece! I can't wait to attack it or defend it in your upcoming scenario. It's very hard to believe it's not actually attached to the hill, very craft brother. We are all looking forward to the finished piece. That's a very detailed WIP, but I'd expect nothing less from the perfectionist that you are. Thanks for the mention of my assistance, but it was minimal and supportive at best.

May you possibly be taking the Fore & Aft battle on the road to a con???? I hope so!

Cheers,
JB

The Guru strikes again!

Now that the weather is starting to warm up again, maybe I can start building some Afghan hill terrain like that. Still going to do the ~2" thick layers, even though I game in 15mm. Just because it makes the hills that much more intimidating.

Goragrad: thanks!

Sarge: stranger things have happened, so you never know!

Lion: if you build some hills, post some pics!!!

Rhingyll: "accursed 42 man units"?!?! I thought you'd embraced this method of increading the size of a "battalion" in TSATF? You're right about it making the regiments/battalions more dependable, and I may go that route down the line atop a bigger version of my table, but for now, on the 8' wide version, I will try it out with the 20 figure representative battalions. Actually thought I might get to play the game last night, but sadly couldn't find a last-minute available opponent.

Today I hope to make my first foray towards the paint job…