A Rubber River Runs Through It: Part I

For those unfamiliar with SAGA, the game is typically played through scenarios laid out in the rulebook.  The scenarios each require certain elements, like baggage trains, roads, or rivers.

These scenarios take the game beyond simply having two bands of thugs bash each other with axes.  They also require additional scenery or figures.  That's also extra investment of time, money, and effort, all of which I'm increasingly unable to give.

I did decide my last big scenery addition would be a river for the scenario, Battle At The Ford, which requires a river running across the board with two crossings.  I also just wanted a river.  I've never had any water terrain pieces and my small scenery collection seemed empty without it.

After spending a few days searching the Internet, I settled on Burgh Terrain.  I liked the look of the bridges more than any of the other offerings I'd seen and the price were certainly good.

 Within a few days, a package was at my door containing the seven sections I'd ordered.  The long sections are roughly 12" and the bridges are a bit under six.  They were all cast in a soft brown rubber.

The casting was nice, with only very small air bubbles.  There was some warping on a few pieces but I'm not too worried about it.  The only thing that's causing me some concern is that the rubber isn't very stiff; excessive flexing may cause paint and acrylic water to separate from the casting.  We shall see.

In the mean time, I've started work on the river sections.  Using PVA (white glue) diluted with water, I've added some ballast to the river bed.  The pieces were then primed black and sprayed with Krylon Ultra-Flat Khaki.  It's from their Camoflage line, which is readily available at PXes and Wal-Marts everywhere.  For wargamers or casual mercenaries, the stuff is phenomenal.  The superflat finish takes washes and drybrushing well and it's quite durable.  Conveniently, you can base-coat your figures on the hood of your MRAP and not even fuss about overspray.

In the mean time, I've got to go place an order as it turns out that I order the Woodland Scenics Water Effects when I meant to order the EZ water.  Whoops.