At the last two Big Games - Autumn 2017 and Spring 2018 - a "modelling doggy bag" was available for collection by any volunteers within the Group, consisting of five (5) smaller plastic "assault boats" and one (1) large "Landing Craft". These had been picked up by the Umpires off Ebay in the summer of 2017 - don't say that we don't plan ahead!
A number of volunteers duly made off with their "doggy bag" of duff plastic (hey, they were cheap), hopefully with the intention of re-producing the boats, neatly painted and converted, whenever necessary.
Well, the time has finally come! The Autumn 2018 Big Game ("Bridge over Trebbbled Water") features an assaulting Anglican & Allies Force crossing the River Wye using those same assault boats. A later game (Autumn 2019 or Spring 2020 - we told you the Umpires plan ahead) will feature a Royalist/BUF Force using those same assault boats and Landing Craft in a contested beach assault. So it doesn't matter which side our volunteers are on : their "flotillas" know no masters!
Please don't ask : where on earth can the Umpires find a beach in the land-locked County of Herefordshire? The Umpires are endlessly resourceful, and all will be revealed in due course! (audience yawns).
Now, the original intention was to set out a post with detailed instructions on how the Assault Boats and Landing Craft should be converted. The intervention of camera problems has changed this intention, however, and for the better. This is the VBCW, after all, and the idea of a single, uniform conversion of any kind of boat was simply too "industrialised" a concept. We're into "homemade"!
So, the good news for our volunteers is: you can convert your plastic boats just as you wish! Please bear in mind the following pointer, however : the assault boats are just that, i.e. for conveying infantry and infantry support weapons across water. No "armour" please. No "5 different weapons platforms all round the boat, including 2 heavy lasers, etc..." It's just a simple assault boat. Ditto the landing-craft. Now cue a drum-roll:
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| Alan's Assault Boats |
Alan, industrious as ever, has been the first volunteer to convert the contents of his doggy bag and passed on these photos of his conversions. Although Alan is best placed to give all the details, the essential steps for all of us are demonstrated, e.g:
(1). find said doggy bag of duff plastic in amongst your "to-do someday" modelling pile;
(2). remove and wash contents (the assault boats seem to have had a hard life);
(3). separate top (deck) section from bottom (hull) section by application of fingers and a little force
(4). create interior deck with plasticard or similar, scissors/knife and a file;
(5). fit and glue interior deck to interior of hull;
(6). add any extras inspiration and/or your bits box causes you to add (always bearing in mind that each boat should carry an infantry section of 10 men or equivalent, so not too crowded);
(7). paint or spray grey. Add any "weathering" wizardy that you want (or none at all) or any other painted details (e.g. Alan's brown decks and ship numbers - or none at all);
(8). varnish and leave to dry;
(9). stand back and admire;
(10) pack in your kit to take to the Autumn Big Game 2018!! Don't forget!!
And that's it. Some further notes:
(1). The above is the minimum conversion. If you want to go further, be our guest. But please don't "waterline" the assault boats. The existing plastic bottoms are fine in terms of scale (the assault boats may well have to be dragged across the ground as well as "be in the water")
(2). Creating the "interior deck" can be fiddly for the first one, but once you're satisfied, that first "interior deck" serves as the template for the remainder, and its then "simples";
(3). the interior deck should be low enough so that 28mm figures placed within come up to about shoulder height on the sides of the assault boat. We don't have to be exact about this, so "whatever looks right" to you;
(4). when you're making your interior deck, you'll see that the bottom of the hull has two "channels" moulded in. These can be filled with Milliput or similar, which creates a nice feel of weight to the boat and also leaves the "bottom" flush and ready to receive your new interior deck.
(5). if you follow the above method, please don't throw away the "tops (or "deck")" section just yet. We might want to convert some of the "assault boats" into "patrol boats" for later scenarios and the deck might come in useful. Anyway, please don't throw it away.
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| Alan's Landing Craft |
So much for the "assault boats". What about the rather larger "Landing Craft" within the same doggy bag?
More good news. For "Bridge over Trebbbled Water", the Autumn 2018 Big Game, we don't actually need the Landing Craft. We have (umpire converted and provided) Pontoon Bridges instead. You therefore don't have to do anything at all in relation to the "Landing Craft" at the moment, if you don't want to or don't have time. On the other hand, we will need the Landing Craft for the intended "Beach Assault" game, so you might want to do all the amphibious modelling work at the same time....
Alan's plastic doggy bag Landing Craft is in the centre of the above picture : numbered "LV8". Again, a simple conversion : the front bow has been cut from top deck to waterline (with a moveable "door" scratched to fit) and the rear has been altered to provide a new rear deck and cabin. Various small details have been added to complete the picture, and the finished conversion painted. That's it!
We can leave up to you how you want to achieve your own Landing Craft conversion. The only piece of conversion that is really necessary is the bow arrangement, as the existing "rear compartment" is perfectly serviceable if you don't want "crew figures" out in the open. If you want to figure out how to add a "landing ramp" to your Landing Craft, or put in an interior, please be our guest again....
If you're really keen, of course, there's nothing to stop you supplementing your Landing Fleet with other boats or scratchbuilds:
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| Alan's "rowboats" |
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| Alan's Scratchbuilds |
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| Alan's "Landing Fleet" |
.....and then trying to persuade the Umpires that you can actually use such scratchbuilds in any particular scenario!
With many thanks to Alan for getting ahead on his conversions and providing the photographs. Any questions, please circulate same on the email Group!
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