Over the last two years I have been concentrating my efforts on the Russo-German Campaign of World War II in 15mm. I think at one tine or another in this hobby, we all get bitten by the "other- period" bug! You know.. .you're right in the middle - or even the end of a period and you begin to get distracted! It can be anything from a new book your reading, a movie recently seen or just a catalog you've been browsing through. Anyway, now you find your time divided and start to struggle with two periods. Well, when QUALITY CASTINGS released their Afrika-Korps line - I was hooked. I started to dust off the reference material, buy more and now my orders to Quality were split between T-34's and Matilda's. I am lucky enough to game in a room strictly devoted to wargaming. I have the usual setup: a five by nine ping-pong table on which I place various layouts of GEO-HEX terrain with the appropriate buildings, etc. I have found that the GEO-HEX sets which feature one inch roads work equally well with 1/285 and 15mm vehicles. Ok - that's enough of a preamble - here was my problem: I wanted to be able to simulate the Western Desert Campaign(s) of 1940-43 with a minimum of expense and trouble. NO NEW TABLES, NO NEW CONSTRUCTION -- YET IT HAD TO LOOK RIGHT. I wanted to use my existing table and be able to change from the frozen steppes to the Port of Tobruk as quickly as possible. I read and reviewed my reference material and the one overiding conclusion was that the desert is not flat - even the flat parts! Wind and erosion constantly move sand and soil in soft areas of the desert and even in the coastal areas where terrain and top-soil are relatively hard the wind takes it toll. Conclusion: I just couldn't paint the ping-pong table a sand color and leave it at that! The following paragraphs explain step-by-step the process I came up with. It's painless, inexpensive and applies to any desert campaign - not just World War II. It allows you to game two different periods on the same table with a minimum of tine spent switching terrain. You will need the following: one and a half gallons of flat latex paint. a minimum of two "stipple" rollers (paint rollers). one paint roller/one tray. at least two cans of RED DEVIL SEMI-GLOSS LAQUER SEALER. The paint: go to your hardware store (I bought mine at HQ (HOME-QUARTERS - here in Norfolk) and check out the sand colors that are available. Now, don't be suprised that you can't find any gallon can that says "SAND" in big bold letters on it! What you will find is a large selection of sand-type colors that range from mud to almost white. NO pre-mixed color I found even came close to what I considered to be the appropriate color. I was forced to go through a color-chart and have a sand color mixed; a custom color if you will. The cost is not prohibitive; I spent $13.40 a gallon (I bought two gallons - more on that later). Also: this is not something you will find in a "Mom & Pop" type corner hardware store. HQ here in Norfolk is a large chain - this is the type of store I suggest you shop in. Do not buy a semi-gloss or gloss paint. It will look terrible - like some mutant sand ice-skating rink! For those who are thinking - Hey - what about SEARS - "Where America Shops" etc. - well I have a SEARS card too - but I found that their cost to custom mix paint was too high. Ok, you have your paint - now for the fun part. Before you leave your friendly hardware store, stay in the paint department and pick up the other items. STIPPLE - ROLLERS are simply paint rollers that leave a stucco effect on any flat surface. This is the key to the effect. I picked up a paint roller tray, roller and one stipple roll enclosed in cellophane for $9.95. I purchased an additional roller for good measure. Your last stop before you leave will be for the RED DEVIL spray cans. Ensure you buy at least two cans! You will need that much. Go home and tape off the edges of your table (playing surface) I used Scotch lift-off tape made especially for painting and was very pleased with the result. Do not paint on a humid or rainy day and ensure your space is well ventilated. You simply roll the paint on your table! Unlike a flat bush that leaves streaks (especially on a wooden top ping-pong table), the stipple roller will leave an uneven surface layer of paint on your table and the stucco effect will create the sifting sand desert you are looking for. It took more paint than I anticipated to cover the five by nine area. Reason: as you lightly roll the paint on (and even after your first coat dries) you will notice that you do not get anything close to even coverage! That's fine - don't worry! In fact, the extra roller I bought contained instructions that stated that more paint than usual would be required to completely cover a flat surface. It took approximately six coats; two completely covered the table itself - the rest where used to build up the sifting surface appearance I was looking for. After a little experimentation, I found that the best way to "build-up" the surface - to get that desert effect was to allow the previous coat to dry - I waited 24 hours. Then to lightly load the brush and paint the table on a diagonal vice in straight lines. Remember: you're not painting the kid's room - throw away your conventional ideas. It took me some time to discipline myself not to paint in straight lines! The table was painted over a week - I spent about one hour per night on it. When you have completed your painting - allow it to dry overnight. Now, take your RED DEVIL spray cans and have at it. I opened up the garage door (where my table is) and put on an inexpensive paint respirator. I found that one can was completely used up and still I had not covered the table. For those who have not used this product before - it goes on in a very "wet" state and dries to a light semi-gloss finish. I like it so much that I have switched to this product for all my figures and vehicles too. It's not as cheap as other finishes that are available but I feel that it's protection and durability are well worth the extra expense. Right - you now have an excellent version of the Western Desert - it's not flat - yet - what about all those high dunes and escarpements you've read about. Well, at this point you have two choices. Three Levels I wanted to simulate three levels of desert terrain: (1) low level (5 - 10 meters), slope level (10 - 40 meters) and finally - hilltop level (40 - 100 meters). At this point you can buy extruded foam sold in hardware stores and create your own terrain, paint and flock with the leftover latex paint as has been described in numerous articles in MWAN. I took a slightly different route. For my low level terrain - representing small dunes, etc. - I purchased TERRAIN MAKER kits from GHQ and using a STANLEY shaping tool - created dunes out of 1/4" x 4" wide hexes. These I painted the same color as the table. I realized that I desired an easy way to determine various height elevations. I broke out the pictures I have taken in Libya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Suez, etc. I noticed that at higher elevations the "sand" appeared to be a lighter color broken only at higher elevations by rock and vegetation. I placed a phone call to TERRAIN SPECIALITIES (258 E 100 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 / (801) 328-3387) and received a catalog loaded with custom foam terrain of all types. I ordered their basic hill set in desert tan and when received immediately began to re-order! This stuff is great; it's hard to describe the color - it has a yellow hue - but it fits in perfectly with the color of my table. I ordered several "Ridgeline Sets" to serve as escarpements. All in all I am extremely satisfied with a minimal expenditure of time and effort. Back to MWAN #63 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1993 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com