More work-in-progress shots of the ruined Rattenloch

In an attempt to actually finish things, here’s some work-in-progress shots of the destroyed version of das Rattenloch.  I’ve loved making this ruined bunker from the Siegfried Stellung, the destroyed version of the intact bunker I blogged this summer here.

I don’t want to show too many of the work-in-progress pictures here, as I’ve done a full article for the TooFatLardies Christmas Special setting out some of the thinking behind the building, and wargames buildings generally, as well as some far more colourful photos!

The above photo just shows the undercoating stage of the bunker, after the remaining walls, rebar and damaged wall sections have been finished and glued in place.  I’ve since added some more elaborate rusting rebar,  destroyed communications wiring and some sandbags around the main vantage points.  There’s also a few more touches I’m in the process of adding to try and really bring the model to life.

Here’s a close-up shot of some of the destroyed wall sections, with Milliput concrete effects….

I’ve continued looking for images of destroyed bunkers online.  As you can see below, again with images taken by photographers from the Mannerheim Line in Finland, I’m not at all sure that many bunkers would actually shatter in the way I’ve depicted on the terrain model.  However, I think its reasonably clear that some took a terrific amount of damage and were capable of collapsing.  So, in the end, I’m fairly comfortable I’ve stretched history slightly, but hopefully in a dramatic fashion which adds to the theme of the games I've got planned.

I’m looking forward to getting the final destroyed version of the bunker onto the wargames table around Christmas or New Year and having my clubmates tentatively exploring what may be lurking in the concrete fractured and unstable remains of das Rattenloch in a number of scenarios. I'm hoping to post the scenarios here on the blog when we've played them through, hopefully in January next year.