Monday, 6 February 2023

Fences

I got these Blotz fences several years ago, assembled a few and then promptly lost the rest when tidying up my modelling cupboard.  The assembled ones did make it into a few games such as my "Escape from Zombie Island".

 

Fences in use.

Fast forward to late 2022 when I was sorting out the loft in preparation for building work and I uncovered the missing fences.  I have 2 sets: Fences - planked (15mm) and Fences - planked/damaged 15mm, which can be intermixed if required.  They had already been undercoated with black spray primer to try and seal the surface and I quickly built them.  As with other Blotz MDF terrain, they come on a sheet with small connections to hold them in place.  These are easily cut with a craft knife and they were fixed together with PVA.  They are very easy to assemble, the frame and fence panels just glue into slots on base.

Lots of fences.

 The lower section of the fence panels were painted green to simulate algae and moss, then the upper part was painted taupe.  The base was coated with PVA, with mix of sharp sand & tile grout sprinkled over.  A pipette was used to drip on watered doan PVA/matt varbish to seal everything in place.  Some more dabs of PVA and I applies some patches of static grass, then a few small bits of Reindeer lichen with foam flock for larger plants.

Foliage detail.

These fences are excellent for creating a few barriers on your battlefield.  The standard sections are 4inches/10cm in length and the gate sections are 2 inches/5cm.  As mentioned above, the standard planked fence has some variation in height which means that the damaged sections fit perfectly with the undamaged ones. The bases are fairly thin and don't take up too much space.  Most figures can get close enough to poke their gun barrels over the fence if desired.

Showing fence size compared to 15mm figures.

The only real drawback with these fences is the lack of specific corner pieces.  The style of the bases means that there will be a small gap at the corner.  I've seen some from othet manufacturers (4-Ground?) where the bases have incorporated a small cut-out in one corner that enabled them to be fit together at ritha angles.  This is a small grumble though and overall they're good value and will be useful on all sorts of battlefields.  My next task will be to locate the previously assembled fences and texture and flock the bases to match the new ones.

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