Vines and vineyards.

[OotKust]

As I’m finishing my BUA fences/ boundaries I’ve more bases from them so I’ll expand on the scenics. Long time on the ‘list’ are vineyards.

Quite a lot about in battle terrain and while minor in detail, often important at the time.

Just as a fer instance, those terraced ones of the Moselle, Rhine, Krems Rivers and other areas including a tiny bit in Moravian hinterland- appear in the 1805 French campaign- Dürenstein, Schöngrabern (1805 not 1809), and two small places at Austerlitz- Tellnitz in the South and Stare Vinohrady on a central promintory.

But it was Winter then, so we are talking ordered rows of stalks- which according to both sides was enough to disorder both foot and horse respectively.

Anyone done them? I have some bare wood stalks of Bougainvillia plants that would appear to suit the Winter theme; then I have bought some Green Stuff ‘Shrubbery’ where the tall thin plants ‘flowers’ I expect can impersonate bunches of grapes to a degree.

Ideas Nigel??
-d

Swinging from left to right no matter where the hobby goes!

[Whirlwind]

I have done some vinyards before. I used the guide in Battlegames 023, which was pretty good. That was for ‘summer’, but I don’t think it would be too hard to use some brown foliage, or foliage drybrushed white, the bare wood stalks you mentioned or just some very thin garden sticks to achieve different kinds of winter effects.

 

 

[OotKust]

Thanks Whirlwind, working as we write…

Swinging from left to right no matter where the hobby goes!

[Patrice]

Interesting, I’ll follow this.

There is a number of battles fought in vineyards, for example Châteaubriant, in Brittany, 1223.

http://www.argad-bzh.fr/argad/en.html
https://www.anargader.net/

[Roger Calderbank]

You’ve probably already thought of this, but modern images of vineyards aren’t a good guide to the appearance of vineyards 200+ years ago. The current ‘cordon training’ systems depend on large amounts of wire, which I don’t think would have been available in sufficient quantity prior to industrial manufacturing in the mid 19th century.

It isn’t easy to find out what old vineyards looked like. Probably some vines were ‘goblet trained’ or maybe on individual stakes. There is a picture showing goblet trained vines in ‘Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry’ (around 1400) so may be appropriate for 1223. Vines were also allowed to spread into trees, but I wouldn’t think of the result as a ‘vineyard’. I’ve seen it suggested that ropes were used to train the vines, but again I doubt thay were available in sufficiebnt quantity (and sufficiently cheaply) for anything large-scale.

For wargaming, old vineyards may have been easier to move through than modern ones, where any movement that isn’t parallel to the rows is difficult.

RogerC

[OotKust]

Roger Calderbank wrote:

You’ve probably already thought of this, but modern images of vineyards aren’t a good guide to the appearance of vineyards 200+ years ago. The current ‘cordon training’ systems depend on large amounts of wire,

Thanks Roger, you are right, I’ve agonised over this for a year in between everything else… being an oenophile I’m very familiar with modern vineyards and the old/new styles enacted in NZ, where as you may understand there’s been a bit of local intiative to beat the old countries at their own games.

But I did know that wire wasnt present; individual posts and ‘tree’ draping canopies of Italy, the beautiful hill terraces that go back to Roman times etc. (I drove the Moselle for instance).

I’m going the subdued, single post/ trunks look for my Winter scene… more to follow… d

Swinging from left to right no matter where the hobby goes!

[OotKust]

Well the only modelling done in 6 weeks are these… my “ Winter Vines” scenics composed in haste whilst I added some fences to a partially built range.

And posed with a Eureka Miniatures (Australia) 1799 Range Austrian 6pdr for size comparison. It is a sample produced while completing the ordnance for the prior 1805 Russian Battery-Company.
Overview:-

Another view:

Served from the WIP spray tray on a crisp but sunny near-Winter sunshine-

Well as a small project necessitating a bit of fiddling about with live, spiky dried plant material, it went ok. I trust the snow effect is adequate, though I am worried I do not have a ‘typical’ snow mat on which to use them!

About 6 hours work from cutting the bases (as per the rail fences sizes) not including the overnight drying required of Polyfilla, white glue and who waits for paint To dry? A base layer of ‘seasoned’ gravel and then the final layer is the pure white aquarium sand as before for snow/ frost.

cheers -d

PS- I’ll use a similar form for more green and growing vines we’d more typically expect to see. But those are really fine tendrils that will require firm basing and supports.
—

Swinging from left to right no matter where the hobby goes!

[Whirlwind]

very nice – well done!

[OotKust]

Whirlwind wrote:

very nice – well done!

Cheers, appreciated.
I feel better achieving a small win in modelling than the dire events of computing in last few days!
d

Swinging from left to right no matter where the hobby goes!

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