The Seven Colored Sea - and The Essential Accessory

So, much progress courtesy of winter sunshine and the assistance of Joe B., Nils, Rob, Charlie, and Chris this past weekend - and a delivery by Joe R.  Have to go pick up the last buildings from Mike O. tonight.  That brings everything except a few casualty figures back to "home base."

Yesterday I finished painting the "great canvas" and you will be able to see it in the photos below.  I've also included some shots of the process of building the islands for those of a mind to try something similar. So, without further ado:

Above is the mangrove swamp island laid out and awaiting assembly.

 Here is the bottom piece with 1x1 framing in place.

 And then the top is added.  Glue and a few strategically placed screws hold it all together, the clamps until the glue dries, of course.

 This shot shows the insulating foam being cut up and glued in place - not nearly as messy as beaded foam (giving any of that I have left away and sticking with insulating foam when not using real wood.)

 A closer shot of the carved foam - cuts easy with a serrated steak knife.

 Here it is with a placement of mangroves and some figures in the distance.

 Closer shot of the figures seen above, Spanish.   This is before the spackling compound is applied.

 Four main islands assemble into one large island - not for this game but showing how advanced planning gives greater versatility to our efforts.

 An excellent reason for bracing!  That bottom board is warped something fierce.

Which is why compression is of such value during assembly and storage - those four cans are full.

 We will have some field works here and there in our game and this was laying out the template for them.  Which reminds me, Nils still has these in process so I guess not everything at home base today - but I'm sure he will do a great job to match his paint job on these gabions.

 Actual evidence of people helping!  That's Joe and Nils furiously cutting and glueing insulating foam.

 Spread out are all the island pieces except the ones currently being worked on.  All those paint cans are because the day was pretty breezy.

 All those containers on the floor have the figures and buildings in them, actually makes a fairly compact pile when all stacked up.  Still some figures in process.

 A first shot of the two canvasses spread out together and ready to get painted.  That shadow - no, not the photographer's image - reveal that there is a palm tree across the street to study when painting the ones that will be in the game.

 Just another shot - with a couple of colors added, and more weights as the day passes and the breezes arrive.

 All but the last color added - the "white caps" - and all of the terrain laid out to finally see it as a whole.  A satisfying and edifying moment.  Satisfaction in seeing - and realizing how much more work still needs to be done!

 The "west" side of it all.  You can see the colors on the sea a little better here.

 And the "east" side.

 With a quartet of ships sailing around to help put it all in perspective.

 From a different angle.

 One ship sails by one of the lagoons.  Strong late day winter sun.

 And the seven colors of the sea!

 And the absolutely essential accessory - KNEE PADS!

 The pirate town in its first layout on its appropriate island.

 A closer in shot showing a pile of barrels - and some rats in front of it.  Those come from an Essex pack - I think in their fantasy range.

 Here's that seagull flying around with a camera again.

 One of the native islands with some of its planned content in place.

 Those cool little huts were a great find at a long closed local store - they are wicker baskets and come in the perfect size and color and with a door.  Bought everything they had and so glad I did.

 What would we do without the aquarium decor department at the pet stores?   Cool.

 If you look close you can see that the edges have been bevelled and the 1x1 given a bit of a "bull nose."  Only took three hours with a belt sander last Friday but well worth the effort.

 And what happens to the those bull noses once the foam and spackling is in place.  Not only does it help prevent warping but makes for  a nice bit of terrain.

 Mango Island from a masthead view.  And a nice shot of the ocean coloration.

And lastly, for now at least, a different angle of the same.  Now, in your imagination, add about two dozen palm trees and some long grass on the "plateau" of the island and you'll begin to see where we are going with all this.

Next stage is a lot of glue and sand on the glue.  When that dries, apainting we will go.

Less than two weeks to go to the play test and vast amounts of stuff still to do.  Today, except for this post, I am taking a well deserved rest from the project but will be back hard at it in another day (tomorrow I have a date with a backyard full of leaves and such).

If you are going to be in Sacramento area on January 28th then plan on swinging by the Carmichael Library's meeting room between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM to join in the fun.  The game will not be in its full glory but we'll get a sense of what is working and what is not and have a better idea of what still needs to be done by mid-March for the Big Day.

"Cut free the lines 
And square the yards 
Get the black flag stowed away"