Preparing for a siege - building a star fort part 1

The current French Indian War campaign relay with Jonathan of Palouse Wargaming Journal (for campaign background and concept click HERE) may well include a siege game at some point. With that in mind this weekend I decided it was time to get started on building a star fort, well half a star fort, which will be positioned on the edge of the tabletop.

Given my units are all based on 4x3 inch bases and played on a 6 inch square grid, I had to give some though as to how my units will be position in any fort I build. During the week I had sketched out a fort plan and given some thought as to how to build it.

So here is part 1 of my star fort...

MDF sheet cut out to act as the terrain feature base.

Using the MDF as a template multi-use foam board is cut out. In the case of the main fort a centre 6 inch square removed. 

The foam board is stuck using PVA glue to the MDF base.

Once the base MDF and foam board were firmly attached. Half inch triangular wooden dowel was cut out and attached to the top to act as parapets. I don't need to be too precise with my cutting the joins as later in the build process it all gets covered.

Two guerites were added as an after thought. These sentry boxes add to the look of the fort. A gateway entrance has been cut out in the foam board. This photo shows how my based units will fit into the fort once completed.

The next step is to cover the fort in tissue paper and PVA glue (I tend to use kitchen paper towel for this). Then small details are added.

So that is part 1 of the star fort build. My guide during this process and for creating some supporting war-game rules is the book "Fire and Stone - The Science of Fortress Warfare 1660-1860" by Christopher Duffy. There is even a siege war-game in Appendix 3!

Lots of rereading of chapters going on

While I was out in the garden waiting for the PVA glue to dry. I started on the making of a battle mat which will eventually have a hex grid drawn on it. My starting point was some light green curtain material, too light for my liking, but provided a good base for adding some mid green and brown tones.

Watered down mid green paint (5 parts water to 1 part paint) randomly brushed over. This was repeated with the same mix, but with a touch of brown acrylic paint added.

The battle map on the tabletop 

There is sufficient overhang on my 6x4 foot tabletop to allow my existing hills to be used under the mat. Their outline is still clearly visible, useful to know when a unit is on the hill or moving up a slope.

I may will add some more paint in the future. I am just getting used to this which is a bit duller in colour to my Games Workshop purchased mat which I generally use.

Once I am happy with the dappled colour I will mark out a hex grid.