DIY Hay Bales

I wanted some round hay bales for games set both in Winter of '79 and Alcovia. Anyone who has played the farm mission in Ghost Recon on the X-Box will know the importance of the bales. So they are a must have.

Harburn Hobbies sell packs of five OO scale resin, painted hay bales for around £8, but we're talking a tenner including postage. So I thought to myself, how hard can it be to make my own?

Mark's Homemade Hay Bales

I already had a block of DAS Clay - long story I won't bore you with - so set down to making my own hay bales and it couldn't be simpler. I used a Humbrol paint tin as a template, cut the clay in strips and then placed the paint tin on top. Using a butter knife (don't tell Heather), I cut out the shape using the sides of the tin as a guide for the knife. It was then a case of using a cocktail stick to score in the hay effect. In all between 6-8 minutes per bale.

I'm really chuffed with the result. By the fourth I was a bit bored, but had learnt how to get a near perfect round shape. Plus there's enough DAS in a standard packet to make up to 10-12 bales.

Cheers
Mark