DIY Rivers for 15mm Miniature Wargaming

I ran my first game at Historicon 2024. It was the Battle of Montgomery waged during the English Civil War. I used 15mm Steel Fist figures for the cavalry, command, forlorn hope, and dismounted dragoon figures. I selected Warlord plastic 15mm for the pike and shotte. 

Freshly painted river... next step silicone

As the day came closer I started work on the terrain. I followed this tutorial and came up with excellent results. However, they were a bit oversized. The rubber base made the rivers and roads too tall. I think his materials would be better for 28mm games. With that in mind I cast about for a way to scale things down. The first thing to swap out was the substrate... and I found just the thing: 1mm cork sheets with adhesive backing from Amazon!

How I did it

1. Pull off backing from the cork sheet and coat the sticky side with Aleene's Tacky Glue Original 1:1 water; let dry
2. Cut river shapes with 1.75" ends
3. Squeeze a bead of Aleene's onto the riverbanks, then add a quick sprinkle of Kaytee High Calcium Bird Grit (small birds) followed by a thorough covering of Woodland Scenics Fine Ballast (gray). Let dry.
4. Paint all over with (a) Folk Art 940 Coffee Bean paint thinned with water and let dry. Then (b) drybrush with Americana Desert Sand, then (c) drybrush shallows with Folk Art 524 Calypso Sky, and finally (d) paint/drybrush the deepest parts with Folk Art 401 True Blue. Let dry.
5. Add 100% Clear Silicone Caulk. I put a blob on some paper and used a thin piece of card to dab it onto the watery parts and spread it around. You don't need a lot to make it shiny. Use the card to follow the contours of the river and banks. Use dabs and short strokes and make it as smooth as you can... which is impossible and you'll end up with a subtle rippling effect in the water.
6. Add flock and tufts.

River with grit and ballast applied

Getting the cork with adhesive backing keeps the cork together nicely, and coating it with a thinned veneer of Aleene's glue gets it ready for the grit, paint, and silicone. The cork also looks good because its natural color matches the river banks so if you miss an edge it'll be okay. Now I'm ready for full production. These will look perfect next to my 15mm figures!

Blue prototype sections just need flock

I tried a green one but I didn't like it. I'm also experimenting with flock, scatter, and tufts. Now I need to find a bridge...