A Day Out With the Wife

 Not much to say about gaming progress - I am working in the mdf river sections, so should have some pics of them soon.

To fill the gap, I decided to post about this trip we had into Auckland CBD a couple of weekends back 

The old Victorian/Edwardian central post office, now converted to a railway station!

A view up Queen Street

The Auckland Sky Tower - still the highest building in the southern hemisphere, I think?!

After this quick stroll, we went to look at the exhibition my wife had bought tickets for. Without jumping ahead, here is a clue 

If you have not guessed already, this will probably seal the deal

It was, of course, an exhibition on the RMS Titanic (one thing I found out during the visit was that RMS = Royal Mail Ship!)

A nice model of the ship 

Part of the route between exhibition "points" dressed up to look like a corridor in the Titanic

A mock-up of a first class cabin 

White Star Line crockery (not from the Titanic, but it is authentic - just from one of the sister ships)

A Swedish (I think) advert for potential emigrants

The Auckland town hall building

And a couple of views of Auckland's famous (thanks U2!) One Tree Hill - minus the tree that was taken down years ago after a chain saw attack by a Māori activist who objected to the tree being a non-native import!

A nice day out - the exhibition was interesting and well done - everyone was issued with a personal "device" where you selected a station number as you walked through the exhibition at your own pace, listening to the commentary about the different aspects of the story. One thing that did strike me (but was no surprise) was this statistic near the end of exhibition:

Survival Breakdown by Class

• First Class: 202 survived / 123 died (approx. 62% survived)

• Second Class: 118 survived / 167 died (approx. 41% survived)

• Third Class: 178 survived / 528 died (approx. 25% survived

Only about 24% of the Titanic's crew survived the disaster, making their overall survival rate nearly identical to that of the third-class passengers.

Out of approximately 885 to 892 crew members on board, only around 212 to 215 survived, while roughly 670 to 680 perished.

Survival Breakdown by Crew Department

The survival rate varied drastically depending on the crew member's specific role on the ship:

• Victualling Crew (Stewards, Cooks, Housekeepers): ~22% survived (roughly 106 out of 494)

• Engineering Crew (Stokers, Firemen, Greasers): ~22% survived (roughly 72 out of 325)

• Deck Crew (Officers, Sailors): ~65% survived (roughly 43 out of 66)

And on that sombre note, I will finish off for tonight!

Some Rather Different 3D Printed Figures

 Along with my recent "Defenders of Berlin" order, I added in a few random figures - here we see 5 of them 

Traditional Kano style illustration

Traditional Tosa school illustration

Traditional Kano style illustration

Tosa School

It obviously has a bit of trouble identifying the model's "shirt" was actually light grey!

Nice 3D prints again from Pot Belly Miniatures in Wellington. Next time, its probably back to WW2

And finally for this post, I asked my AI buddy for advice on how to paint up my mdf river - here is what it came up with (a lot of which it found on Blogger, apparently!)

 A lot of this I could have probably figured out with trial and error - but I would not have thought of sealing it with the watered down PVA - so that's a win right there!

To paint a realistic wargaming river on MDF (Medium-Density Fibreboard), you must first properly seal the material to prevent it from soaking up paint and warping. Once sealed, creating realism relies on painting a color gradient to simulate depth before applying a glossy clear coat for the water effect.

Here is the step-by-step process to achieve a realistic finish.

🛠️ Step 1: Seal the MDF (Crucial)

MDF acts like a sponge and will drink paint, which ruins its texture and can warp the pieces.

• The Mix: Create a 50/50 mix of PVA glue and water, or use a dedicated MDF primer/sealer (like Zinsser B-I-N).
• Application: Coat the entire river piece (top, bottom, and edges) in a thin, even layer. Let it dry completely. This creates a plastic-like barrier.

🎨 Step 2: Texture the Banks

Real rivers don't have perfectly smooth banks.

• Apply a thin layer of PVA glue just along the riverbanks.
• Sprinkle fine sand, ballast, or texture paste along the edges to create mud and gravel.
• Once dry, prime the entire piece with a matte black or dark brown spray primer to give it a solid base.

🌊 Step 3: Paint the Water Gradient (The Illusion of Depth)

Do not paint the river a solid blue. To make it look real, you need a gradient where the deepest parts are darkest.

• The Deep Center: Paint the very center of the river channel black or a very dark black-green / black-blue.
• The Transition: Blend outward from the center using a deep navy blue, dark olive green, or muddy brown.
• The Shallow Banks: Paint the edges closest to the shore a light greenish-brown, tan, or teal.
• Tip: Keep your paint wet while working to smoothly blend these transitions together. Rivers look more realistic when painted green-brown rather than bright blue.

🪨 Step 4: Paint the Banks & Highlights

• Paint the textured banks in earthy browns, dry-brushing them with lighter tans or grays to catch the texture.
• Add a very subtle dry-brush of off-white or light teal right over the blended water area to simulate ripples or small currents (keep this minimal).

💧 Step 5: The Water Gloss Effect

This is what brings the river to life by adding light reflection.

• Budget Option: Apply 3 to 4 layers of Gloss Varnish or Mod Podge Gloss over the water channel, letting it dry between coats.
• Premium Option: Pour a thin layer of Two-Part Epoxy Resin or a dedicated hobby water product (like Vallejo Still Water or * Woodland Scenics Realistic Water*). Resin gives a perfect, glassy, deep look but requires a level workspace.

🌾 Step 6: Final Details

Once the water layer is completely cured, glue down static grass, tufts, and small bushes along the banks to blend the river seamlessly onto your gaming table.

I found this helpful, particularly the tip about sealing it, which I did this afternoon - I will definitely attempt to follow the instructions for creating depth, too.

An Actual Bargain

 Spotted on our local online auction site, Trade Me, this is a product I have looked at purchasing for around NZ$50 I think - with a Buy Now of NZ$20 - so, I bought now! Going to be very versatile and useable in different scales 

MDF river section (plus a buckshee bonus of a couple of rubber fields!)

A few minutes later, I had added on the banks and small "islands" and also made one section into a ford

Approximately 4' or 1.25m of river

Here they are with 28mm cavalry

With 10mm Romans, it could be the Thames!

And of course, it will work with 15mm, too! Hopefully we have decent weather at the weekend and I will get it painted etc.

Thanks for stopping by.