Project: Siege of Vicksburg Update #11

Well, this is it folks!  The next post after this will be the battle report and fully dressed table!

Pictures below of the big push since last update to finish basing units and painting new buildings and odds and ends.

First up, just put the last brush stroke on this building ...

I guess the home owners are big into Christmas :-)

On to new Union units ... mostly painted by the glorious Steve Dake.

And new Confederate units, painted by the most excellent and honorable Steve Dake.

Not pictured are several other odds and ends, and the Confederate picket lines.  I still have 5 Confederate units to base, but they are not needed for Vicksburg so I'll finish those up later.

So, next up is the big cheese, the prom photos, the main event!  CabinCon starts on Friday, Vicksburg I'm running on Saturday morning.

Huzzah!

Project: Siege of Vicksburg Update #10

The Confederate artillery is done!  I have also done up an extra signaler and flag pole.  The final two siege batteries are pictured below ...

The gabion sections for each battery are done, now to finish all the sections for the rest of the Confederate positions.  Each of the 5 siege batteries are pictured below.  

Note that I have brown sand to sprinkle over these positions and batteries to blend in with the table ...

I've also finished all the gabion sections now.

At this point I primarily have two things left to do:

1.  Assemble the dock.
2.  Cut foam for river bank and shape the 3rd fur mat to it. I'll be using the same sand to create the river bank between the fur mat edge and the water mat.

3.  Finish the bases of the new units.

Then it is just a matter of playing the game.  Stay on target!

Project: Siege of Vicksburg Update #9

Is that light at the end of the tunnel?  Maybe.  Every day I get a little more done.

Confederate artillery is coming along.

Chevaux de Frise from Renedra below.  More than 14 feet of it if I put them all beside each other!  Fortunately I found a fairly easy/fast way to paint these.  I did a heavy spray of GW Rhinox Hide, then a medium "dusting" spray of GW Mornfang Brown, and finally a light "dusting" spray of GW Zandri Dust.  Then I just used a good old fashioned paint brush to hit the tips of the spikes with GW Bleached Bone.

Mr. Dan Kerrick stopped by over the weekend for a short time and helped get the railroad tracks along.  Tracks are from 4Ground Publishing (MDF).  I was able to finish them up on Sunday evening.  4 sections at 18" each to cover the 6' width of the table.  I mounted these to thick plasticard and used cork board for the track bed (used an exacto knife to angle the edges).  Then some white glue and Woodland Scenics medium brown sand.

Just a quick pick of as I finish the Confederate guns and field positions ...

Fortunately the TO DO pile is getting smaller.  Hoping to be finish the final 4 Confederate guns by this Friday evening/Saturday morning.  Then complete the remaining gabion sections and cut the foam for the Vicksburg defenses - then it is buildings!

More updates to come.  While all my new infantry units are on bases - the bases are incomplete so I do still have a lot of basing to finish.  It is going to be a sprint to the finish!

Project: Siege of Vicksburg Update #8

A quick update for today as I march ever onwards with this massive project.  I'm starting to see things get on the tabletop and come together just a little bit each day.

My current focus is on the entrenchments/gabions and siege artillery.  By this Friday I will have completed all the federal guns and positions.  I'm working through the federal siege mortars now.

I did complete one of the Confederate 100pdr Parrott rifled siege guns.  This weekend and next week is all dedicated to completing the five Confederate siege gun batteries/positions.

Some pictures below ...

So you can start to see how the fortified positions will be represented on the table top - I have to admit the picture doesn't do it justice ... and when the whole Vicksburg "line" is done this should be (hopefully) fairly impressive - especially with the elevation provided by the foam under the fur mat.

And that is the Federal artillery done!

If you are sick to death of Vicksburg project updates, all I can say is my apologies - this is a large project and in the process I'm completing my massive ACW collection to boot - so it has taken a while - but the end is nigh as I'm running this game on February 15th - so it's gotta be done by then.  After that you'll see some non-ACW related posts coming - but until then, this project is 100% of my focus.