Terrain for Tanga

Tonight was the "final" research to prep for the game boards and terrain for the Tanga, specifically the Longido Mountain portion of the game. I've been stumped with two two terrain pieces for the first five scenarios: small trenchworks and palm trees.

Now, Longido Moutain isn't a tropical paradise, but between the rain forest bands around the mountain and their use around the port of Tanga, I'd rather invest in one type of tree at a time.

I made an ironic face-palm when I discovered the secret for those people who have palm trees but not the skills to make them by hand: Bakery suppliers.

Two words: cake decorations.

I can get bulk numbers of trees in two sizes for the prices I saw for four or five at conventions.

2 1/2" double palms

4 1/2" single trees

My second discovery confirms the belief that if you trudge through enough message boards and blogs, a true gem can be discovered. From the blog "Armored Ink" a fellow used a square 1/2 " yard stick as a base and used wooden coffee stirrers for the fortification, followed by a healthy dose of Kel Seal to resemble a dirt embankment. The blogger used it in one foot sections for a Victorian Sci-Fi game and it looked solid, so turning the stick into two 9" and three 6" trenches should be easy, and a heckuva lot cheaper than the resin jobs I've seen online.

Beyond supplies for the hills, the only major model/fig purchase looks to be the Guard Tower from Miniature Building Authority.
Yeah, it's $44.95, but me making this out of wood has disaster written all over it. Let's make some trenches, and cut some insulation first.