constructing%20a%20gun%20emplacement

8/7/2019 constructing%20a%20gun%20emplacement

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Introduction

Like all sane and rational people, were big fans of war lms and this naturally extends to our wargaming

hobby. Some of the most evocative small actions of World War II involve assaults on xed gun positions by

elite infantry, one famous example including Easy Companys attack on the guns at Brcourt Manor.

Our own Rules of Engagement rules are very much scenario driven, where your forces are chosen once yourobjectives have been determined. This philosophy ts in perfectly with specic assault scenarios and with this

in mind we wanted to recreate this sort of action on the tabletop. First thing was to make some terrain so fol-

lowing plenty of research in books and on the internet (and the Band of Brothers DVD) we spent an afternoon

making and a morning painting a xed German gun battery.

The Plan

One great thing about the wargaming industry is the amount of friendly traders who understand the benet

and nature of collaboration. This wider pool of knowledge directly benets the customer who has access to ahugely versatile range of hobby goodness. In discussing this project, John from Ironclad Miniatures speeded

ahead production of his new 28mm scale trench sections and our chums from Bolt Action Miniatures had al-

ready released their 105mm German howitzers. All that we had to concentrate on was making the actual gun

pits and painting the whole position. The key considerations here were to make the terrain piece easy to store/

transport, great looking and with playability in mind.

Materials Used

Planning a little makes the whole process of terrain building ow more smoothly so its worth working out

what materials you will need, obtaining those you havent got and checking that you have the rest to hand.Nothing ruins a terrain making day more than having to travel to get the modelling clay that you were sure you

had. Below is a list of the tools and materials we used:

Foamcard or Hardboard

HD (High Density) Insulation Foam

PVA Glue

Air Hardening Modelling Clay

Balsa wood

Knife Files

Super Glue

Needle and Thread

Model Netting and Foliage

Static Grass

Paints and Brushes

constructing a gun emplacement


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Modelling the Gun Position

Although there are many good reference points for artillery positions, the terrain and available materials often

dictated the layout and shape of the battery. These positions would often hug hedgerows or wooded areas as

protection against aerial observation and attack. History and available evidence are very useful but, in this

instance, the modeller and gamer should not feel constrained by them. German eld fortication plans were

used as guides rather than rigidly adhered to. Our position represents a hastily constructed 3-gun battery on

the Western Front in 1944, camouaged amongst the Normandy hedgerows. Paper strength indicated 4-gun

batteries of this type in infantry divisions but losses and reallocation of resources meant that 3-gun batteries

were common.

Stage 1: Using the Ironclad Miniatures trench sections as a guide, we drew the shape of the base of the gun

position on our foamcard and cut it out with a Stanley knife. Naturally, when using sharp implements, great

care must be taken to avoid spending your terrain making day in casualty! A template designed to go with the

Ironclad Miniatures trench sections is provided at the end of this guide.

Stage 2: Next stage was to form the basic shape of a gun pit. A gun position would be located in a shallow

pit, the moved earth being used to form protective walls. The HD foam was cut to make the base for an earth

wall at the front and back of the position and modelling clay was applied to cover any holes. The front of the

position will eventually be ush with the trench wall whereas the rear will be a much lower sandbag wall.

Consideration was also taken for when lining the gun pit with ooring and supporting revetments.



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Stage 3: Many of the plans for German eld fortications and gun positions extensively used logs and plank-

ing. Construction units used portable sawmills to cut specically dimensioned logs for planking, revetments

and even tables and beds. We cut thin strips from balsa wood and used PVA glue to secure them. For curved

sections we soaked the balsa in water for 10 minutes, glued it in place then used nails to secure it until dry

(about 2 hours). This drying time is perfect for making a cup of tea and moving onto sandbags.

Stage 4: Sandbags were a valuable commodity (their worth is in the fact that two layers are enough to stop

small-arms re) on every front and surprisingly scarce. In fact, ammunition crates (that were meant to be

returned to the munitions factory) and even empty oil drums lled with earth were used in the absence ofpurpose made sandbags.

Sandbags are remarkably easy and cheap to make; we buy 1.5kg blocks of non-ring clay from hobby stores.

First roll out a cylinder of clay, about 6mm in diameter, press down gently on the sausage to atten the bot-

tom, and then cut into 10mm length sections. To add more detail you may wish to use ne gauze to imprint a

burlap sack texture and a knife to score the ends of the sandbag. The model sandbags are placed straight onto

the terrain piece and then, with moist ngers, pressed into place to replicate the way that heavy sand sits and

sags over the sides of any surface.



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Stage 5: Next we cut strips of 1.5mm thick balsa to form the ooring of the gun pit. This needs to be a stable

platform for ring so we made it more precise than the rough duckboards in the trenches. Again, the versatile

PVA glue was used. Following that, the vertical support posts (using 2.5mm square balsa baton) were cut and

glued in place. Time for more tea

Stage 6: Camouage netting was used extensively in addition to natural terrain for concealing gun positions,

especially from the air. Our intention was to make our netting so that it could be removed to aid gameplay and

avoid damage when moving gures in and out of the gun pit. With the sandbags still pliable, we cut the vertical

poles (using 2.5mm baton) for the camouage netting. The two front posts were approximately 65mm highand the two rear ones 45mm high. These were pressed against the pliable sandbags (to make an impression

for later placement) and the cross beams super glued in place. Small supporting struts were added for rigidity.

Once the super glue was dry PVA glue was dabbed around the joins to give added durability.



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Stage 7: Now the terrain piece was prepared for painting. Earthen areas were textured with sand and any

exposed foam was sealed with a mix of paint and PVA glue and left to dry overnight. The following morning

the whole thing was undercoated black.

Stage 8: For cover against aerial observation, we used a camouage netting kit with model leaves from

Antenocitis Workshop. You can also use a number of other items that will serve as netting or tarpaulin, such

as gauze or kitchen paper towel. We laid our camo netting over the frame and used a needle and thread to

secure the four corners, the middle of the crossbeams and the bunched netting on the frame legs. This is a

bit ddly but it avoids the mess that always occurs when trying to super glue the netting and makes the wholething very secure. After cutting off excess netting and thread, a tiny drop of super glue was dropped on the

threads.



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Painting the Gun Position

Painting terrain can be quick and easy, achieving great results without having to spend huge amounts of time.

We painted the gun position and adjoining trenches over a single hour, including time for tea. Four paints are

used in progressively lighter drybrush techniques, all from the Vallejo Model Colour range: Burnt Umber, Flat

Earth, Brown Sand and Iraqi Sand.

Stage 1: Heavy all-over drybrush of Burnt Umber.

Stage 2: Drybrush of Flat Earth on earthen areas, sandbags, angles of posts and middle sections of ooring.



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Stage 3: Drybrush of Brown Sand on earthen areas and heavy drybrush on sandbags.

Stage 4: Light drybrush of Iraqi Sand on earthen areas and heavier drybrush on sandbags. Iraqi sand also

used to pick out raised stones etc on earthen section.



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Stage 5: Static grass, model leaves and foliage are generously added to represent turf and attempts to provide

natural concealment.

Stage 7: Model leaves were glued in patches over the netting.



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Stage 8: Small details were added such as crew personal weapons, helmets and a box. There is plenty of scope

for adding extra detail such as ags, bits of webbing, shells and other such items. The weapons and helmets

that we used were provided by Bolt Action Miniatures, they do an excellent range of additional items which

add a lot of character to a piece like this.

Gun positions like this one once made can be used for a variety of different functions; instead of the artillerypiece the position would be perfect for an Anti-tank gun or an Anti-aircraft weapon.



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constructing%20a%20gun%20emplacement