1/100 Kursk Project - Scenery

I'm pretty much clear on what tank models I need for my GF9 'TANKS!' Battle of Kursk scenario. And what's more I half almost all of them and about 60% of them built...So...

Just what kind of terrain, scenery and scatter should I put together for the battle table?

A lot of the photos I've seen of the battle makes the landscape of the battle look fairly desolate, with large empty plains. But, the battle was actually a series of battles over an enormous front so whatever I produce will simply be a generic representation.

That said, I would like to add some cover - my past games of GF9T! has proven that adding obstacles in a line of sight tabletop war game greatly increases the tactical aspect and excitement (in my opinion). Hills, patches of trees, buildings and even destroyed tanks all provide sneaky patches of cover for tank duels.

Photo source: German Federal Archive. Photographer: Britting

My first thought is adding a Russian hamlet as both a sub-objective and area of cover. And so, the hunt for 1/100 Russian buildings began.

Note: GF9T! comes with some generic flat printed scenery in the starter box set and technically flat scenery has it's advantages, for starters you can drive your tank right over it easily! BUT, while perfectly serviceable, I found in the games that I played having proper 3D obstacles took a lot of the guess work out of determining just what or was not in 'line of sight'. So I prefer 3D models.

So, then the choice is: 3D printed, MDF laser cut, scratch built, resign moulded or paper-craft buildings???

Some rather nice Red Vectors laser-cut village buildings, but £18? Hmmm.

Out of these scratch built and paper-craft are the cheapest (maybe I should add 'can be the'), while unless you have your own 3D printer (I don't) the other formats mean forking out some dosh (boooo)! That's not to say it would cost a fortune to buy a set of 3D builings in 1/100, the resin ones, in particular, are pretty good value...

Peter Pig's Russian Timber Church (supplied unpainted), just £3.50! Not bad!

But, I'm of the mind that why should I fork out a sum of money for a set of buildings I will only use a couple of times and then have to store away. I'd much rather go for a cheaper and slightly more temporary solution. But that's a matter of your own opinion and choice.

As if to prove me a lair Paperterrain's Russian Hamlet is $20! For a papercraft
set...Mind you, it is a good one, but still. Phew!

After much Googling I eventually came across a rather nice little papercraft set that was definitely in my price range. On Wargamevault.com I found Finger and Toes Model's 'Rusgorod: Medieval Russian Hovels' PDF in 28mm scale.

Now, despite being in 28mm and being described as 'medieval' buildings this attractive little set was a very satisfying $5 - I could go for that, I thought! 28mm 2D models scale very nicely at 50% when printing and even though it says 'medieval' I didn't see much that differentiated them from a 20th century Russian hamlet...

I like the style of these particular models. Yes, they a bit more 'creative' in their decoration, more akin to a fantasy style than a historic one, but I appreciate that extra splash of colour. Some of the 'more historically accurate' models I have seen are a wee bit dull. I concede that's just a realistic fact of life as it was in Russia at this time, extreme poverty saw to that, but GF9 'TANKS!' isn't a serious game - it's war-gaming lite - and a bit of poetic licence in style is in keeping with the spirit of the game.

Anyway, I bought and downloaded the 'Rusgorod Hamlet' set and have done some test printouts to ensure that the scaling from 28mm - 50% - works, and it does.

The original 28mm scale design filled the A4 page. This is what the 50%
reduction looks like, it is now 15mm (1/100) scale and ready to cut out.

Battlefield Deleterious - Scatter Scenery
Quite apart from terrain and buildings, 'scatter' items give the tabletop battlefield a little flavour and provide some extra obstacles or cover.

From the beginning I knew I wanted to maybe add features like a railway line, a fordable stream or a road. While not obstacles in the true sense - being transversable - each of these features does have an effect on vehicle movement. Crossing a wide stream or railway line would slow down tank movement and a good road would speed up movement. However, these are not the the only reasons I wanted to add these - they also allow for the opportunity to add additional 'scatter' objects to the table...

Burnt out GAZ truck convoy by Peter Pig.

Again by Peter Pig, a knocked out Russian T-34 tank!

Something I really fancied putting together was a burnt out truck convoy on the road, this would be very atmospheric, provide cover BUT also stop either participant from doing a rush all the way up the road. Similarly, a destroyed train could provide a good means of tanks crossing otherwise open countryside.

How cool is this? A 15mm derailed train transport. 26 Euros, but so tempting!

This is all going to sound like it's a LOT - houses, destroyed trucks, etc - and there is a danger that I make the table too 'busy', especially if I start adding trees and small hills. So, there will have to be some thought put into what I add with a view to game balance - remembering that the Soviets fought defensively so they will probably need some in-placements for their AT guns and maybe some mine fields.

A lot to think about... (But THAT train, eh?) 😁

Next: Sketching a battlefield plan.