I designed a version of “The Mill” from Stalingrad’s to use with Crossfiregrad. Warbases cut it out for me and then I assembled and painted it. This is part of my project to see use Cool Ruins for Crossfiregrad and Ponyri Station.
Ruins
Making and painting ruins and ruined cities.
Cool Ruins – Batch 1 and 2 now complete
I think I obsess about ruins. I have lots of ruins already but that didn’t stop me Planning my Cool Ruins for Crossfiregrad and Ponyri Station. So one of my projects for 2021, 2022, and 2023 has been to “Buy, build, paint more 3″ x 3” sectors so I can play both Crossfiregrad and Ponyri Station solely with Cool Ruins” (Crossfire of course). Well, I don’t know about Ponyri Station, but now that my 75mm and 150mm sections have arrived I can definitely do Crossfiregrad.
Planning my Cool Ruins for Crossfiregrad and Ponyri Station
I have lots of ruins already, but I’ve mentioned “cool ruins” a couple of times over the last couple of years. Most recently in my 2021 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian where I planned to “Buy, build, paint more 3″ x 3″ sectors so I can play both Crossfiregrad and Ponyri Station solely with cool ruins”. So what do I mean by “cool” Ruins? Well Ruins that look the best in my collection (i.e. commercial MDF structures that I’ve enhanced) and that are 3″ sectors. I don’t have enough. I want more of them, lots more of them. Here is my plan.
2019 World Wide Stalingrad Campaign for Crossfire
Stephen Phenow has volunteered to run a world wide campaign for Crossfire set in Stalingrad. Steve announced it on the Crossfire-WWII Yahoo Group but the action will take place on Stalingrad A World Wide Web Miniatures Campaign Facebook Group.
Painting 15mm Jarvis city barricades
A long time ago I got some 15mm Jarvis city barricades. Perfect for WW2, perhaps Stalingrad, or Spanish Civil War. I finally got around to painting them. There are a lot of different bits on these features but it was pretty straight forward. I’ve paint almost everything on here before … except the corrugated iron. That was new.
Do I have enough Ruins?
I have been collecting, making, and painting Ruins for quite some time. All for my long term Stalingrad project. So I thought I’d get all my ruined buildings, rubble piles, and shell holes out and see if I had enough. What do you reckon … do I have enough ruins?
Stalingrad – Lonely 15mm Chimneys from Ironclad Miniatures
Some of my projects take a long time to come to maturity. Inspired by the Stalingrad terrain of Battlefront Miniatures, I asked John Lowen from Ironclad Miniatures to make some of the chimneys that featured in the south, John made some beautiful models, and I painted them. You’ll see the photos below. Unfortunately the last step took 10 years and it seems Ironclad no longer stock the chimneys. Perhaps this post will inspire folk to ask John to reissue them.
Mark Bretherton on Scratch Building Ruins, Urban Boards and a SU-152 Game
Mark Bretherton played my SU-152s Up Close and Personal scenario again. In his previous battle report he described the scenario as “cracking”. It seems he still likes it.
This time Mark included some photos of his game and of his urban Crossfire set up. I really like the effect Mark has achieved with his terrain and table so asked him for more details on how he did it. Everything is scratch built and looks fantastic. An inspiration. All words and photos are Mark’s…
How to Make Your Own Rubble Material for Stalingrad
My big Crossfire game set in Stalingrad is going to require a lot of rubble. Although I’m happy with the sand I use for flocking, it isn’t chunky enough to be rubble. I needed something grittier. So I made my own. It is pretty simple. Brute force simple.
Large Ruined Factory For Crossfire – Now Painted
After some discussion of How to Use a Big Ruined Factory Feature For Crossfire I’ve gone ahead and painted it. Actually it comprises the two ruined factory features from Wargames Tournaments and a lot of rubble that I added.
I got four wargaming boards from TMterrain
My current wargaming boards/mats/cloths are a bit of hodgepodge, including about six different types of battle board/mats/clothes – none of which I’m happy with. I’m still looking for the perfect solution and also see a chance to rationalise on a consistent approach and colour scheme.
I wanted to try building some wargaming boards with a wooden frame but it all started looking too hard for a carpentry klutz likely myself. Luckily Simon Miller of the Big Red Bat Cave suggested I have look at some of David Marshall’s work at TMterrain. I ended up buying a table from David and I’m very happy with the result.
How to Use a Big Ruined Factory Feature For Crossfire?
I picked up a 15mm Ruined Factory feature from Wargames Tournaments. Perfect for snipers perched on an upper floor. The trouble is that Crossfire demands that building are made up of regular shaped building sectors. Mine are usually 3″ x 3″. So what should I do? How can I use that big feature in Crossfire?
Ruin Painting Style – Brick or Black?
I made up some ruined buildings for Crossfire. Initially I painted the ground quite dark but a feature of Stalingrad was the brick dust, making everything pink. So I tried one of those. Which do you think is better? Pink or black?
Stalingrad – Gigantic Field of Ruins
I’ve been reading Winter Storm: The Battle for Stalingrad and the Operation to Rescue 6th Army by Hans Wijers. It is full of first hand German accounts of combat in Stalingrad. The phrase that struck me most was “gigantic field of ruins”. In fact “field of ruins” is often mentioned so I thought I’d collate some of the descriptions.