As I was laying on the beach this afternoon, sipping some Dom '63, I was pondering the issue of the bunkers, as discussed a few posts below. In that reply, I basically said- and I still say- that the construction of the bunkers doesn't really matter; the players generally don't care what they look like or what they're made of, only how well they're laid out and how well they provide cover.
I've played on fields with brand-new inflatable bunkers, well-placed netting and even a small section of bleachers, and I've played in the woods where the most sophisticated bunker was a pile of dead tree branches. All of them have been fun and interesting, and each presents it's own set of challenges.
But, the topic got me thinking. Generally speaking, a field's construction is dependent on the cost of the materials. Getting old oil drums, leftover pallets and scrap wood is cheaper than buying brand-new marine-grade plywood or top-of-the-line inflatable bunkers.
So let's throw this out to the Guild: What would be some good ideas for bunkers, if money was no object?
Now, let's keep it realistic. I'm not talking gold-edged marble slabs or door-sized, six-inch-thick blocks of clear glass... as cool as that might be.
Like a poster mentioned below, how about 'phone booths? There's gotta be a municipality out there somewhere that still has a storage yard full of old telephone booths. I'd imagine most are being auctioned off for scrap and crushed, but let's say somebody buys up fifty or sixty. You'd have to wash 'em pretty often or the glass will turn a milky translucent and then you'd just have a bunch of normal blocky bunkers rather than ones you could see through...
The pianos idea is surprisingly possible, too. There was just a news article (as I'm sure the poster read too) pointing out that pianos are basically giveaways these days. Used pianos- unless they're a name brand like Steinway- basically don't sell, and right now, huge numbers are being given away, and then tossed in the dump because nobody wants them.
If you were in the right area, and were patient enough, yeah, it wouldn't be too difficult to gather together two or three dozen upright pianos (or baby grands to stand up on end.)
On a similar idea, if you spent a few weeks going around to the various Salvation Armies and checking Craigslist, I'd bet you could put together an entire field of nothing but old tube-type big-screen TVs.
One idea I had years ago, was to buy old garage doors- the roll up kind. One door has typically at least six sections- take two, still attached, and bury them upright with the two halves in a slight V shape.
If you scrounge right, you can find old garage doors cheap (who cares if a section is broken or the screws are stripped out?) and the material is durable enough that they'll last a long time outdoors.
The only drawback being that if you bury the ends, they're tough to move around.
Though if you can find 10' or 12' doors, you could saw 'em in half, add some 2x4 "feet" and braces, and have more movable panels.
The sections can also be laid down like normal for wide bunkers.
Going back to the junkyard stuff, while the whole car might be impractical, how about just the hoods? Two full-size car hoods (especially from the old late 70s and early 80s stuff) welded together inside-to-inside at the nose (forming a skinny tent shape) would make a great bunker. Spread the base a little (the windshield end of the hoods) and weld a strap or bar on either side to keep 'em from spreading too far, and you'd have a near-indestructible bunker.
Trunk lids, too. Stack two pair (four total) if they're too short.
Check body shops and wrecking yards for those. (Though scrap metal prices are still somewhat high, you might have to pay scrap-plus prices for 'em.)
If you want to manufacture something, and again, money isn't too much of a problem, if you could get ahold of a fiberglass "chopper" gun, it'd be easy to make a couple of molds to do a front and back half of an upright bunker, something like a wide base tombstone shape. Spray 'em, let 'em cure, pull 'em, trim the mating edges, fiberglass 'em together (maybe embed a thin plywood reinforcement for the seam) and call it good.
'Course, there's more to it than that- you'd have to spray mold release and gelcoat and whatnot, and chopper guns need to be kept running, not just do one mold a day, so you'd need to make a bunch of molds...
It'd cost a fortune to start up, but once you're into "production", I'd bet you could get it down to less than $100 a bunker. Which sounds like- and is- a lot, but keep in mind that those bunkers would probably last 20 years or more.
Of course, if you can afford the materials, you could just build everything out of wood. Two sheets of half-inch ply, an inner "spacer" of 2x2", some 2x4 feet, spray each one with an airless and some good quality outdoor gloss latex. That's like $80 a bunker, but again, they'd last for ten years or more. Hose 'em off once every two years and respray the paint, and they'd last 20 years.
What else? Collect together a bunch of old washers and dryers? Rip the doors off a bunch of old refrigerators?
