Trencher Blockhouse

What on earth did Tom do now?

Simply put, I cut a blockhouse into two pieces, and made a structure that I felt fit the two halves. When I originally bought the model, I wondered what was inside it. Was it a big block, or hollow? Turns out, it’s a big block of resin. It cuts easily enough with any saw. I used a chop saw with a fine blade.

Some foam, plaster, and bits later, and I have two Trencher Blockhouses. In the last mystery box sale, I picked up a trencher infantry unit (hoping for commandos, because I already have two of these units). The extra dudes meant I had some guys to drop on top of the buildings.

No in-work pictures?

Nope. I wish I had some cool anecdote about how I accidently did something that caused them all to disappear from every drive and network app I’ve got access to, but truth is I just didn’t take any. But here’s some finished shots of the tower and hidden bunker.

The tower

The Trencher on top can duck down behind the sandbags if someone returns fire. As long as it’s small arms fire, he’ll probably be okay. If things get hairy, he can open the hatch and pop down to the first floor, and join his buddy to fire from the more protected stone bunker.

1. The top.

The hatch is taken from some old WWII model I’ve had for eons. Looking at it, I probably could have cut this from scrap plastic, but my rivets still aren’t awesome. I’m punching them from cardstock, but I’d rather have tiny balls cut into two, like the ones on the actual trencher blockhouse.

2. Sandbag gap.

The gap in the sandbags on top look like they’re there for some intake or port, or something. There is a cable that runs off from it on the roof, but there isn’t a good explanation here. I think it’s probably some sort of aiming device, like the eyes of a Defender warjack. I left the gap open to avoid blocking the port. In hindsight, I probably could have dropped some bags on the thing, to help protect the guy on lookout duty.

3. Rifleman inside.

A rifle pokes out from the left side of the tower. The little dude inside feels well-protected from most anything, and can shoot anything in that left arc. He needs a name. Fenton. That’s his name. Fenton MacCoulagh inside, and Baynor Reid is on the roof.

4. Door jam.

The door did not work out as well as I intended. I tried to cut elements from bits of plastic, but I don’t think it looks right. I need to practice with greenstuff, and just carve it out or mold it into the shape I want. I also could have laser etched the indentations on draft board. Having spent so much time on the rest of the model, and getting tired of the project, I just stuck what I had onto the back of the tower. Maybe in the future, I’ll revisit it.

Camouflaged Bunker

The trenchers in this bunker know a thing or two, because they’ve seen a thing or two. No, they’re not farmers, they’re combat vets. They’re hardened by battle and certain that wearing bright blue and sparkly brass will get them killed out there. They’re the same ones who painted over the Stormwall, and started painting their Grenadiers drab. They’ve done their best to hide the gun under bushes and camouflage netting. They’ve built up earthen barriers to connect the back door with their trench network. They’re ready for a fight.

The netting is from a potato bag. It’s plastic garbage, salvaged for a greater purpose. The gun is from another Privateer Press kit… either a Trollblood weapon crew, or a warjack (I can’t recall, because it’s just in my bits and bobs box). Bushes are woodland scenic, and the fencing was wooden stirrer sticks and craft sticks. The dirt mounds were made from plaster I bought to fill some holes in the wall in our house. It’s the stuff that starts pink and dries white. That’s an awesome feature.

Sandbags in all cases are made from air dry clay. I think I followed the Terrain Tutor’s video.

Tom’s thoughts on Trencher paint schemes

I’ve noticed that over the years, I’ve painted my trenches in a myriad of ways. The problem with picking up elements of an army over many years is that you forget what you’ve done unless you write it down and go back to reference it. While I did record how I painted these guys at one point, I lost some of it when my site got hacked (dummy me, this was the only place I kept that info).

Anywho, you can see that even between these two buildings, the trenchers are sporting different coats. No worries. Military clothing and paint suppliers are notorious for making different shades of green.


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