2mm basing for WW2 North African wargaming

I began my interest in the North African campaign as a callow youth creating plaster dioramas with those classic Airfix HO/OO 8th Army and Afrika Korps sets. This coupled with my week-by-week collection of Purnell’s History of the Second World War was enough to build a passion of a lifetime! 

To supplement my toy soldiers, I moved on to board gaming playing The African Campaign (Jedko Games, 1973), PanzerArmee Afrika (SPI, 1973), Tobruk: Tank Battles in North Africa 1942 (Avalon Hill, 1975) ... need I go on! 

Tobruk in action - every cartridge case was accounted for (the land gaming equivalent of rivet counting!). Image courtesy of BGG

It's not surprising really, I was brought up on many, many yarns by my 'uncle' Stuart Marriner (was my mother's second cousin actually - but felt like an uncle!) who was a rat of Tobruk. You can hear a little more about this awesome bloke here: Meet the ANZAC who nearly ran over Charles de Gaulle

Anyway, back to tabletop gaming! My wargaming of the North African campaign was previously focussed on the Too Fat Ladies I Ain't Been Shot Mum (IABSM) rules using 6mm Irregular Miniatures. Their Operation Compass campaign supplement providing some great scenarios from the 'Italian invasion of Egypt  and the British response ... the five-day raid that turned into a campaign.' These rules support company sized actions with the infantry squad as the basic unit and a model representing individual vehicles/AFVs. Playing in 6mm, you can come pretty close to playing 1:1 figure scale.

11th Hussars Armoured Cars charge Turkish entrenchments on the 'Road to Fort Capuzzo', 14th June 1940

More recently I have been interested in TFL 'O' Group rules with supports battalion-sized actions. the basic unit is a section/squad and one vehicle model/base represents three vehicles. While 15mm or 6mm figures seem the most commonly used, I was greatly inspired by some AARs by The Crusty Colonel who was playing 'O' Group in 2mm - allowing for close to a 1:1 figure/model scale as well. The Irregular Miniatures 2mm 20th century WW2 range was perfect for this.

I'm in the early stages of building the forces but have some early results and wanted to take this opportunity to record/share the basing technique I have developed over a number of years.

Irregular Miniatures Matildas (left, code IKB1) and Universal Carrier Platoon (right, code IKB6)

Matilda section (IKB1)

Infantry section (IK1) - bit of a challenge to paint!

You can see the terrain texture I build up with sand and superglue on top of the sand base layer
in this picture. Irregular Miniatures BG141 18th Century Stone Fort in bottom left. Using this for an old colonial fort in North Africa.

So, to the basing technique:

1. First I lay a fine sand base with PVA. 
2. Then use sand and superglue to create dune effects. I lay out the sand in wind-blown arcs like dunes then drop superglue on top (make sure you have good ventilation)!
3. Apply a grey undercoat; 
4. Base coat with Naples yellow
5. Apply a dilute wash of Army painter dark rust
6. Give a light spray with a fairly dilute black wash (I use a pump pack bottle)
7. Dry brush Vallejo Iraqi Sand; 
8. Dry brush white. 

The flock I use is a muted olive green and the tufts are cut up 2mm desert tufts - anything that look the part for desert. I highly recommend Lead Bear's Tufts!

 

I’m sure you could vary the colours to suit what you have. It's basically a sand colour base with a red/brown wash, a light black wash and then light sandy grey and white dry brush.

It seems a lot of steps but basing is worth it to give 2mm a feel for a theatre of war.