1/72 Battlefield

[Ern]

As posted earlier, my 1/72 VSX will be delievered tomorrow I hope they last longer than the VS*R models did. They sure look a lot better! My plans are to build a 1/72 battlefield, perhaps a sectional type that can be broken down for easy storage/travel for vacations and trips where bringing along the 1/16 is not practical. There is a boatload of 1/72 stuff out there, so It will be a work in progress for awhile. I've built/painted some 1/72 german troops, a kubelwagen, US jeep and kettenkrad to get it started while I was waiting for the tanks.
Anyone have any ideas for what to build the battlefield on? Wood can be drilled and pegged to place back together, but can be heavy. Styrofoam can be easily molded for contours, ravines, creek beds and rivers, but is brittle... any thoughts?

I'll post pictures when I get things going!

[stug 85]

hi i used to be in to model railways they use pin board i think its called sun dealer cant remember its not to heavy and you can easily pin or glue things to it i used to use blue foam for hills its very light and can easily be sanded to shape judt dont use the orbital sander on it in the kitchen it made a hell of a mess it is also easily glued with pva.
super glue melts it .
hope this is of some help

[grompix]

Hi Ern
My 2ft x 2ft scenic boards I build for wargaming are softwood frames with MDF tops. I use ceiling texture paint coloured in various shades of green, brown and sand to create the terrain effect. All the boards have the roads and rivers match up so many different layouts can be created just by rearranging the positions of the boards.
Here's some pics:-












Here's a link to some more pics:-
http://sites.google.com/site/contemptab ... estkapelle" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Hope it helps
Chris

[Johnf]

Great looking battlefield.

[Ern]

Thanks for the ideas Stug and Grom... Grom, wow! Nice battlefield and exactly what I was thinking about. I'll look into the pinboard, and I like the 2x2 square size. Great idea planning the layout so that you can rearrange the sections to change up the battlefield. Grom, you have to pick up a few of these VSX. They look like they will play nicely on your wargaming battlefield and are about the same scale. The detail is nice and they run at a much more proportional speed than the older VS*R models.
I searched train layout and dioramas, but forgot about the wargaming crowd. Gotta do some more searching to see if construction plans are out there. I'm not to sure what you mean by "softwood frames with MDF tops"
Thank you gentlemen!

[Ern]

OK ~ I think I've got you now. Looks like the battlefield itself is on the MDF board, and you use a larger size softwood board underneath for stability? I can see the edges on a pic or two. Here's some pics of the VSX if I can figure out how to load them [I've only did it on the old site] They aren't perfect, and the Sherman has some trouble running backwards and one side sticks occasionally, but the tracks are really thin. The Tiger runs good and has much wider tracks. The barrels are locked and don't elevate and are aimed a bit high for how I would have put them, but they cost me $59 USD for the set at Tower Hobbies after a $20 coupon I found. I've run them around the room and haven't drained a battery yet, so run time seems to have improved from the VS*R models. I think VSTank says 10-15 minutes. They run at a much more proportional speed and are easy to maneuver around object and without worry of driving them off the side of a table like the hyperspeed VS*R's. The controller also serves the purpose of charging the rechargeable battery using a plug concealed in a small compartment on the controller. So far I like them and will be good for rainy days with my nephew on our "tank days"!

[Saxondog]

Ern, the local Hobby shop here Mid-South Hobbies has a large section of 1/72 tanks and many upgrades. They have been around forever and have alot of stuff they just don't do inventories. That being said if their is a 1/72 item you are looking for I could certainly look for you,or e-mail them addressed to Don. he will get back to you. regards,Blake

[grompix]

There you go Ern. MDF top and softwood frame.

4 or 5mm thick MDF cut absolutely square and then glued and pinned to a softwood frame. The frame is made slightly smaller than the MDF top so the tops will fit accurately together.
Hope it helps.
Cheers
Chris