Making a ford section for my 4 inch wide river

My research on Contested river crossings in the Seventeenth Century has convinced me I need some fords. Actually I need more river crossings in general, but I have some bridges and no fords. So I felt I had to correct that.


Background

I have a bunch of 4″ wide river sections designed by Mark Strachan from when he worked for Military Miniatures (the company that morphed into BattleFront and then launched Flames of War). These are simple and robust models that have lasted me nearly 30 years. They appear every time I need a river rather than a stream. For example …

In S12 Fighting Across the River – A Tilly’s Very Bad Day Battle Report 1:

S12-101 Top view of table after deployment
S12-101 Top view of table after deployment

In KB1R Paper Factory – A Crossfire Battle Report from Krasny Bor:

KB1R-003 Table - River Ishora curves around the Paper Factory
KB1R-003 Table – River Ishora curves around the Paper Factory

In Small Threat to the Flank – A Crossfire Battle Report:

STTTF18 StuG catches Sovite detachment
STTTF18 StuG catches Soviet detachment

In 446 AD Suevi versus Vandal – A Red Spear, Black Crow Battle Report:

446AD-37 Deployment
446AD-37 Deployment

Making a ford

I have a couple of bridges for this river, but The trouble is I lack a ford. Time to rectify that.

Materials

Some MDF
Some Milliput
Sand
Paint

Method

I cut out a bit of MDF to the same same as one of the straight river sections. Then I drew on lines for the edge of the banks.

ford-101 Cut up and marked up MDF
ford-101 Cut up and marked up MDF

Next up I added milliput banks and the ford itself – small islands across the river.

ford-102 Ford with miliput
ford-102 Ford with milliput

I checked with some of the existing sections to ensure the banks were the right height and width.

ford-108 river with unpainted ford
ford-108 river with unpainted ford

Sand was next: I glued sand over all the milliput.

ford-110 unpainted ford with sand
ford-110 unpainted ford with sand

And finally I painted the river. It took a bit of mucky around to match the blue but I got close to the original colour.

Mark Strachan made his water bumpy. I guess to reflect movement over stones or something. So I did the same. In my case I used Acrylicos Vallejo 200 ml Water Effect – Transparent Water. Again, I got close to the original effect.


The result

The colour match isn’t exact, but nobody will notice once the game starts.

ford-111 River with ford
ford-111 River with ford
ford-112 River with ford
ford-112 River with ford

Job done.

6 thoughts on “Making a ford section for my 4 inch wide river”

  1. I suppose you could have made the ford section a lighter blue to represent shallower water? You would then only need to match the blue at the ends. Good match though.
    Neil

    Reply
    • “S12 Fighting Across the River” and “Small Threat to the Flank” were on 120cm x 120cm tables (4’x4′).
      “KB1R Paper Factory” and “446 AD Suevi versus Vandal” were on 180cm x 120cm tables (6’x4′).

      Reply
    • What is the Vallejo water effect used for? Bumpy effects, but I cannot tell whether it’s necessary given the photos. Does it make a difference?

      Reply
      • Vallejo water effects can be used to provide a gloss to flat surface but gloss varnish is just as good and cheaper.

        The water effects are ore useful for texture. In my case the models I’m copying had bumps, kind of like surging water or small waves. You can see the texture in the colour variation on the features to the left and right of the banner photo. These colour variations were probably brought out by dry brushing a light blue over the blue of the river. My feature had flat water so I used to the Vallejo water effects to get colour bumps. Just apply it thickly.

        If I did my own water features I wouldn’t bother with any of that. You can get amazing results with Vallejo water effects and similar products, but I don’t need those aesthetics for wargaming features.

        Reply

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