In between two rounds of golf (both distinctly average), a mountain of ironing (yes, I'm a New Age man), fixing the in-laws guttering and watching the Grand Prix (Go, Jenson!) I managed to paint, drill and ballast over 48 lolly sticks for the barbed wire.
I learned through trial and error that the best way to do these is paint the sticks a dark brown, then drill the holes, then PVA the top and stick the talus (ballast) down. Once dry, drybrush the talus with a medium then light coat of paint (to represent a sandy base). Then poke the cocktail sticks through the hole, cut to size then paint a light woody colour. Then attach the wire. Trust me, this way is much quicker.
Onto the walls. I was in B&Q today and found a better base for the sea walls - a plastic 'L' shaped strip which is easier to cut to size and shape. The cocktail sticks go on the front, and some talus is stuck on the back. Photos to follow to show how this works. I think it will be quicker and better looking than the ones I've knocked out so far and so allow me to finish them off this week.
Then I can focus on the troops themselves and the smoke markers.
PS The Shaw painting method (as some have requested info on) is to slap on paint in a fairly haphazard manner (usually on 6mm figures) with little thought to accuracy or aesthetics. This results in troops taking the table looking like they've simply been dipped in assorted colours. From a distance they look ok - as long as the distance is measured in kilometres.