Lead Adventure Forum

Miniatures Adventure => Gothic Horror => Topic started by: Cat on January 12, 2018, 05:53:18 PM

Title: TFTB & CF Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Killian WIP)
Post by: Cat on January 12, 2018, 05:53:18 PM
The past few months I've been sending Joerg at Things From The Basement detailed illustrations of the buildings from Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow movie (1999) and other related historical buildings.  A few of us are working on a big Donnybrook skirmish game set there during the French & Indian War.  Hope to have it all ready in time for Huzzah! this May.

Sleepy Hollow was haunted long before the Hessian lost his head in the Rev War, and the Donnybrook rules will work fine for bringing many different factions and touches of Gothic Horror to the table.

The major game board will be a model of the movie set.  Outlying boards will include the movie set for the Western Woods, Tarrytown, and Continental Road.

The building kits are up on the shop now.  The Bridge, Inn, Van Allen House, and Van Tassel Manor are from the movie set. 

The Martling House was a historical house in Tarrytown, and home to their first murder; it's in the style of period small farmhouses of the area. 

The Schoolhouse is designed as a smaller version of the 2nd historical Sleepy Hollow Schoolhouse; there are no images of the 1st one, but the very small 2nd one was bigger than the 1st.

The Corn Crib is modelled after the historical one at Abraham Staats' farm in neighboring New Jersey.

I'll post photos of my models up as they get finished.

https://www.thingsfromthebasement.com/store/c35/Inspired_by_Sleepy_Hollow_-_The_Movie.html
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: SotF on January 12, 2018, 08:36:36 PM
I like the bridge and schoolhouse for my more frontier fantasy village...
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: NurgleHH on January 20, 2018, 09:23:24 PM
Sorry, these building didn‘t get the wonderful grotesk of the buildings in the movie. The important thing of these buildings was the impossible design, seems they are not from these world. I hoped for more, but these building is only normal fantasy... but only my personal opinion
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: Cat on January 21, 2018, 02:34:34 AM
What you're remembering from the movie is the emotional impression.  The blades of the Windmill are the only grotesque structure (the Windmill and a few more buildings from the set are in the request queue with Joerg at Things From the Basement).

All of the other buildings are very plausible real world structures (with lots of fog machines and post-production blue-filters applied).  What is un-real is that you wouldn't find all of these architectural pieces in one small village.  That was a very deliberate design decision to give the movie such a dreamlike quality.

With minimal concessions for design simplicity for the laser-cutting process, the models are quite screen-accurate.  I poured through screen-caps and making of videos and other illustrations to send to Joerg to work from.  The making-of vids were the biggest help for seeing what the buildings look like without the fog machines and filters.

The big Van Tassel Manor model received a little more design simplification to compress the size a bit to bring it down to about an 8" x 12" footprint.  The current photos of the finished model are of the first prototype piece. A few changes were made after that was built.  The tower is a bit taller and the tower roof spun 90 degrees, and the chimneys are taller.  There will be photos of the actual production version when I finish building my kit.

This making-of video has some clear village scenes from 2:03–3:11, and some quick bridge views at 2:17 and 2:54:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu25XTyqJM8&t=259s

This behind-the-scenes video has clear village shots from 2:52–3:30, a bit of the end of the bridge at 3:25, and from 6:04–6:25 is filmed inside the bridge.  So thanks to this vid, even the inside of the Bridge model is screen-accurate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a00FN5wiDmA
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: white knight on January 21, 2018, 11:52:52 AM
I like them. Would like to see them with some figures to judge the size.  :)
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: dinohunterpoa on January 21, 2018, 12:21:18 PM
Sorry, these building didn‘t get the wonderful grotesk of the buildings in the movie. The important thing of these buildings was the impossible design, seems they are not from these world. I hoped for more, but these building is only normal fantasy... but only my personal opinion


Agreed 100%! Not even a small hint of a Sleepy Hollow vibe whatsoever in any of those buildings, they're completely different from the movie scenery:

(https://pseudointellectualreviews.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/sleepy-hollow-architecture.jpg)

What you're remembering from the movie is the emotional impression.

No.   ;)
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: Cat on January 22, 2018, 04:26:06 AM
Wow, tough crowd! ~,^

The kit has arrived here and now I can check the actual pieces, you are correct on the Manor missing the vibe.

Looking at WIP photos of the design in progress, I was thrown off by the model being photographed from an upper angle compared to the low angle of the screencap.  Seeing the actual pieces, all the upper roof gables need to be raised up steeper.

And the timber framing needs to be quite asymmetrical to give the proper "What am I walking into here?!" feel.
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: robh on January 22, 2018, 11:05:23 AM
...........Seeing the actual pieces, all the upper roof gables need to be raised up steeper.
And the timber framing needs to be quite asymmetrical...........

Both ideas will certainly help, but the inherent weakness of these and imho all mdf buildings is their "boxy" square angled nature, they always lack character.

The roof profile on the film building is not a constant angle, it "flattens" as it reaches the bottom so it appears to splay outwards. Likewise the roof peak line is not flat, it arches upwards at the ends and the uppermost point of the eave on the front extension protrudes further than at the bottom ,  the underlying structure could probably be designed to incorporate this with a flexible card roof.

The buildings as they stand are good serviceable mdf models but as already said don't capture the otherworldy Gothic vibe which is the result of the lack of square angles and "balance".

(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/31/5822_22_01_18_12_11_57.jpg)
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: Cat on January 23, 2018, 05:05:14 PM
Stay tuned for photos of the actual build.

Joerg is making a few alternative parts, including steeper gables for the tower, swoopy spike pieces for the roof peaks, and taller steeper walls for the attic over the carriageway.  Other changes I'll be kit-bashing during construction.  The stock version is the one that makes the most sense by far for his shop since it can cover several centuries of historical periods for the widest sales appeal.

I am pretty sure I will be able to get the swayed roof profile with this.  The roof pieces are not cut from solid HDF.  They are chipboard, and shingle strips are applied separately.  This construction should lend itself quite well to shimming and bending.

The Manor won't be the first kit on my construction table though.  I'll be waiting for the Spooky Upgrade bits before I begin tackling this.  First up will be the Covered Bridge.
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: horridperson on January 24, 2018, 01:47:39 AM
I like them.  I don't see MDF kits as done out of the box;  I like they as a way of getting all the grunt work out of the way so you can get busy giving the bones some character of your own.  If I pick one up I'd start by cutting arcs into the pitch of the roof and ditch the exiting roof so I could emulate the sagging appearance of the film version.  The only thing I miss are the pokey bits along the rooftop.
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: Cat on January 24, 2018, 04:36:10 PM
If I pick one up I'd start by cutting arcs into the pitch of the roof and ditch the exiting roof so I could emulate the sagging appearance of the film version.

I started working on the bridge last night.  Was a good session's work with saw and blade adding wood grain texture and notching in the framing details on the interior.  The supplied roof pieces for the bridge are mdf.  I'll be gluing some thick balsa wood strips up under the peak; then I can take a half-round shop file to the top and give it a sag.  The heavy paper shingle strips will work to the new shape nicely.

The peaky bits on the Manor roof are dormers.  As soon as I figure out which sizes I want, I'll pick up windows from Grandt Line or another model railroad supplier to make a handful of dormers to apply.
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: horridperson on January 25, 2018, 02:18:32 AM
Post up once you add the grandt line furniture and your own embellishments.  I think you will have a winner.
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: shadowbeast on January 26, 2018, 01:20:55 PM
The kits would benefit from being made in multiple thicknesses of material. The sag could well be cut into the parts if the kit roofs were in 210-300GSM paper.
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: Wirelizard on January 30, 2018, 12:05:49 AM
The kits would benefit from being made in multiple thicknesses of material. The sag could well be cut into the parts if the kit roofs were in 210-300GSM paper.

Was thinking that swapping the MDF roof pieces for light card would be the easiest way to add sway and irregularity.
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: majorsmith on January 30, 2018, 11:07:20 AM
I think with a bit of modelling skill these basic buildings could be made to look exceptional
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: Cat on February 07, 2018, 09:07:20 PM
Modelling skills are indeed being applied =^,^=

I'll be writing up a full tutorial on each kit as I finish them.  Starting with the Bridge.  The trouble in Sleepy Hollow always begins at the Bridge!

Work is nearly finished, construction, painting, and all ground detailing* are done; just needs shingling now.

I added a beam along the peak of the roof and filed in the sag in the center, then added 1/32" balsa wood sheet to give some sway, and filed the seam line down to a very fine join.

* The rocks at the edge of the water were gathered from the Pocantico River this past Halloween when we went on a Holiday trip and foliage recon tour.
Title: Re: TFTB 28mm Sleepy Hollow Buildings
Post by: Cat on April 29, 2018, 06:24:18 PM
Writing up the tutorials for the builds won't begin til sometime after Huzzah! in May.  Still frantically modelling and painting as much as I can for the con.  Meanwhile, here's a few photos of the Covered Bridge and the Van Allen House.

There's one architectural detail for the Van Allen House that I will retrofit after Huzzah.  As I was studying the original for the shape of the sag, that's when I noticed that the bottom half of the chimney should flare out and down to either side.  But as the stock chimney was already completed at that time, that will be good enough to get me through next month's convention.




Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Bridge, Van Allen, Stable added 29-Apr-2018)
Post by: Cat on April 29, 2018, 06:29:44 PM
Just finished up the Livery Stable.  The chipboard roof panels that come with the kits lend themselves very nicely to working in the sags and the sways.  The individual shingle strips make the artistic process entirely possible.

Making this roof screen-accurate was more involved than the others because it separates in the middle of the complex joins!  I used flat and angled strips of styrene to make capping pieces to fit the joins.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Bridge, Van Allen, Stable added 29-Apr-2018)
Post by: Rabbitz on April 29, 2018, 09:12:53 PM
You’ve done an excellent Job on those.   Very nice.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Bridge, Van Allen, Stable added 29-Apr-2018)
Post by: Panama on April 30, 2018, 12:22:26 PM
Wonderful stuff can't wait to see more  :)
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Huzzah! added 22-May-2018)
Post by: Cat on May 22, 2018, 02:10:49 PM
First big trip for Sleepy Hollow and Donnybrook FIW game at Huzzah! this past weekend.  The game was a lot of fun, the set is coming along nicely.  The Church still needs shingling and a scenic base, and a number of proxy buildings are filling in while construction proceeds.

Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Huzzah! 22/5)
Post by: Cat on May 22, 2018, 02:29:33 PM
Other scenery is also progressing.  The corn fields are underway, using JTT scenery O Scale corn, painting light green and bright tan highlights on the stock corn before planting.

And the Western Woods are begun too.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Huzzah! 22/5)
Post by: Cat on August 21, 2020, 04:19:04 PM
After a two year hiatus, it's time to return to Sleepy Hollow.  After the long work focus getting it ready for Huzzah 2018, I switched to other projects after the convention.  Back on the workbench now.

First up is the final roof upgrade for the Van Allen House.  I didn't have time to add the flare to the base of the chimney before the con.

Started by steeling my nerves to cut holes in the finished roof to make slots where the new chimney wings would fit. Made the new wings out of sheet styrene, and carved the brick courses to match those on the main chimney. Painted these to match the existing brickwork, glued in place, puttied the joints, and blended in the painting and weathering.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Van Allen Chimney Upgrade)
Post by: marianas_gamer on August 21, 2020, 10:47:14 PM
I missed this the first time, very nice work. I think that the recent chimney improvements really works.
LB
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Van Allen Chimney Upgrade)
Post by: Bloggard on August 24, 2020, 09:07:06 AM
having also missed this first time 'round, great to see the project going again. Lovely modelling.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Van Allen Chimney Upgrade)
Post by: Cat on August 27, 2020, 04:47:15 PM
In the final few weeks before Huzzah 2018, I knew I wasn't going to have time to finish detailing the church roof; it was time to crank up painting on figures, other terrain bits, and prepping game aids. As can be seen in the game photos earlier in this thread, the main body of the church was completed, and the structural work done on the fancied up steeple roof. But the roofs were all just spray painted in dark primer grey to be reasonably table ready.

Getting back to the work now, I've completed all the detailing prep work for the roof. Carved and filed the top roof beam down from its original blocky shape to match the slope of the roof sides and cut off the extended beam ends. Also carved in the slight sag at the peak to match the movie church.

Added the flared out base to the bell tower around the original kit's simple rectangular tower. Widened the ledge at the top of the tower.  Fascia boards added to the ends of all the gables. Studying the movie church, there are no discernible rakes running the length of the lower roof edges, so the fascia is all the trim work that is needed.

As with all the other buildings, coloured the shingle strips with Prisma Color markers and included some blues because all of the movie is heavily filtered. The colouring will be toned down and blended together with heavy weathering after assembly. The bell tower has much much darker shingling than the main roof.

Like the rest of Sleepy Hollow, something's not quite right in this church!

Inside detailing had been completed in time for Huzzah.  For the stained glass window, I simply painted the insides of the window frames to show the big red cross.  Then to paint window frame shadows and light beams, I shined a bright light through the window and marked out the lines to be painted with pencil on the floor and the raised pulpit. 

There are a few pews to go in too, but those are just for candy when the roof is opened, they need to be pulled out to have any room to move figures around inside.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roof Progress)
Post by: OSHIROmodels on August 27, 2020, 04:55:20 PM
Great stuff  8)
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roof Progress)
Post by: Captain Blood on August 27, 2020, 05:37:27 PM
The buildings are all really great. Top job  8)
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roof Progress)
Post by: Codsticker on August 30, 2020, 02:57:34 AM
The whole project is wonderful but the buildings are really exceptional.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roof Progress)
Post by: Blackwolf on August 30, 2020, 03:05:14 AM
Lovely work!
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roof Progress)
Post by: Cat on September 30, 2020, 08:28:42 PM
Work on shingling the church is still progressing.  It's a muckle big roof and I've been doing a couple of sessions on it each week.  The next, and 10th, session may well see it done.  Between shingling work, I've been prepping other kits and moving them along too for modelling variety.

Just finished up this batch of wagons and hand carts, also by Things From the Basement.

They were a quick fun project to build and paint. Weathered wood is always fun drybrushing with a pile of colours! It's always nice to have set dressing items on the table, and wheeled transport is sometimes handy for the players to make use of.

As usual for MDF woodwork, I scribed the plank lines on the visible inside surfaces too, and gave the planks and bracing a good scraping with a razor saw to add some woodgrain. All the little square peg holes from joining the pieces have been filled with a dab of Testor's Contour Putty. And I put little magnets in the front axle pieces so they can fold back for more compact storage; and as an added benefit, the shave can be tipped down to the ground when they're not hitched to a team.  As a final touch for the Haywagon, cut a bit of twine to add a light strewing on the floor.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Carts & Wagons)
Post by: levied troop on October 01, 2020, 06:45:49 AM
A suitably nice addition to an already excellent table.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Carts & Wagons)
Post by: Chimpfoot on October 02, 2020, 06:18:21 AM
All continued goodness :)
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Carts & Wagons)
Post by: Chairface on October 05, 2020, 03:33:35 PM
Absolutely wonderful!
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Carts & Wagons)
Post by: Cat on October 18, 2020, 04:18:38 AM
Church roof is complete, that was a big surface with lots of corner bits on the belfry and vestry roof to cut to fit, whew.  Finished weathering it earlier this week.  Tonight, fashioned a styrene bell to add to the tower (the tower roof is removable for better storage and transport).

Next step will be the scenic base, and have already prepped most of about 5 linear feet of picket fence for the perimeter.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: Ragnar on October 18, 2020, 04:57:59 AM
Excellent build.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: OSHIROmodels on October 18, 2020, 07:35:31 AM
Lovely colours and weathering  8)
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: Cat on October 18, 2020, 03:19:57 PM
Lovely colours and weathering  8)

Thanks; getting the colours on these is a fun artistic challenge.  The actual set was done in all mundane colours, so the church is white with a light grey roof and a very dark grey belfry.  But then during filming they used a lot of fog machines, and then in post-production everything is heavily filtered blue-grey.  So I'm leaning towards the filtered look to capture the vibes of the movie.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: axabrax on October 31, 2020, 04:38:18 PM
Fantastic! You’d mentioned a tutorial earlier in the thread did that ever happen?...
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: Cat on October 31, 2020, 05:19:53 PM
Fantastic! You’d mentioned a tutorial earlier in the thread did that ever happen?...

No, not yet.  In the mad run up to Huzzah 2018, there wasn't time for tutorialling; and I've only done small bits on the project between then and now.  But now that I'm diving back into the project without any looming con deadlines, I may take some time to write up details.

In the meanwhile, happy to answer any questions as that would start the writing process.

— Cat
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: Mason on October 31, 2020, 05:55:24 PM
Lovely project!
It makes me want to build something similar myself, using the kits as a base to work from.
 8) 8)

Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: Grumpy Gnome on October 31, 2020, 06:19:02 PM
Gorgeous work!
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: Cat on October 31, 2020, 06:26:54 PM
Lovely project!
It makes me want to build something similar myself, using the kits as a base to work from.
 8) 8)

Thanks — and please do!

There's a chance Things From The Basement may add more kits next year if sales on this line pick up.  They made some great kits for colonial Salem to go with the Devil in the Wilderness game that was just on Kickstarter.  Next year there will be a Devil in Sleepy Hollow expansion.  TFTB might add something new for that and/or in the aftermath if the KS boosts enough interest in the kits.

I've put in requests for the Doctor's/Undertakers' house, the Watermill, the Killian/Midwife's House, the Blacksmith's, and the Windmill.  I have alternate kitbashing thoughts if need be; but even with the heavy modifications that I've been doing, it saves so much time working from these kits.

Right now, I'm in the midst of modifying the parts for the Notary Public from the Sleepy Hollow Inn kit which combines elements from the two thatched roof buildings in the movie.  And I've got the huge pile of parts filed down and prep underway for the Van Tassel Manor. 

If you get the Manor, ask for the 'Spooky Upgrade' parts too — haven't seen those listed in the shop yet, but he did the replacement pieces for a steeper roof over the carriageway and attic tower, plus spikier roof trim.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: Mason on November 01, 2020, 03:00:10 PM
Not sure that I would specifically order from there* but may use stuff I already have for a Spooky Hollow/creepy fantasy vibe to add to my own collection.
Thanks for the tips, though, as it is always good to know what is available and recommended.
 :)




*But several things are very tempting to build upon!
 ;)
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: Cat on November 01, 2020, 03:14:02 PM
Not sure that I would specifically order from there* but may use stuff I already have for a Spooky Hollow/creepy fantasy vibe to add to my own collection.
Thanks for the tips, though, as it is always good to know what is available and recommended.
 :)

*But several things are very tempting to build upon!
 ;)

Whatever you wind up doing, I look forward to seeing it!
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: Captain Blood on November 01, 2020, 03:23:26 PM
That looks great, Cat  :-*
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: Cacique Caribe on November 04, 2020, 04:58:36 AM
Incredible detail!

Dan
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Church Roofed)
Post by: Cat on November 05, 2020, 03:19:46 AM
Thanks for the kind comments, folks!

I've been hopping around doing various bits on several kits at once this past month.  Three smaller kits are pretty well along.  As these are on the more historical side of Tarrytown, they are much quicker straight forward builds: the Schoolhouse, the Martling House, and a Corn Crib.  (Well the Schoolhouse did get a bit of an improbable sag in its roof à la Rick Heinrichs' designs; but the Schoolhouse is soooo Sleepy Hollow, even if it wasn't in the movie.)  I'll post pictures of those once they're all scenicked.

Back on the movie lot, work has begun on the Notary Public.  The Sleepy Hollow Inn kit from Things From the Basement is an amalgamation of features from the two thatched-roof buildings in the movie.  I'm modding mine to be much closer to the Notary Public.  The footprint is a bit compressed, which is fine for budgeting table space and also gives some room for artistic interpretation.

The biggest change is reducing the length of the second floor to only cover the front half of the building.  Opened up two windows on the ground floor front wall.  Opened up a balcony doorway on the front upper floor, narrowed the window beside it, and cut down one of the window frames to fit the smaller opening.  Blocked in several other windows.  We never see a clear view of the back of the building, so I exercised creative license to add a Dutch back door; carved that in the wall, will add framing around it.

Putting in the balcony door necessitated moving the staircase to the other side of the room.  Used some of the excess floor boards from the cut away portion to make a filler piece to create a landing at the top of the stairs.  More of this extra floor board will be used for the outside balcony.

I had already got a head start on painting a few of the pieces while I was doing the spray painting for the other smaller buildings.  Now that I've decided to move the staircase, I had to fill in the peg holes for its original location.  And having shortened the back of the building to one floor, I had to carve some brick courses into what had been a blank part of the chimney that would have abutted the second floor.  Doing big mods on a kit is very much a wing it as you go along process!

There will be mods to the roof pieces as well, but that will happen after the main building and other creative additions are done so I can build the roof to fit.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Notary Begun)
Post by: Cat on November 19, 2020, 06:06:40 PM
Stepping off the movie set for a bit, the Corn Crib is now flocked and operational.  This kit is based on a historical crib.  The only mods I made were building the roof to be removable, added the fascia and rake boards to the roof with strips of basswood, and scribed the interior details.
 
It's always October in Sleepy Hollow — last year's store of corn has been consumed, and this year's is still out in the fields drying on the stalks.  This leaves the crib empty and a possible hiding place for characters or McGuffins.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Notary Begun)
Post by: Cat on November 19, 2020, 06:20:00 PM
Also just flocked up the School House.  This is also another historical kit, based on a reduced interpretation of the second Free School in Sleepy Hollow which was a little larger than the original (of which there are no illustrations).

Only made a couple of mods on this kit as well.  While it wasn't in the movie, the School House is worthy of receiving a Rick Heinrichs' style improbably sagging roof.  Also used strips of basswood to replace the mdf battens for the roof and to add corner boards for trim..  I also removed the slats from the bell tower window and fashioned a bell out of bits of styrene to add some depth.
 
The school is somewhat lost in the wilds of Sleepy Hollow, nestled in weeds and with moss encroaching on the roof:
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Notary Begun)
Post by: Cat on November 19, 2020, 06:24:26 PM
The two recent buildings also have little brown rats in residence.

Throwing flaming jack o'lanterns at people in the night is a bit of an established sport in Sleepy Hollow.  The remains of one such prank is splattered by the School House, and a rat is enjoying the tasty treat.

Another rat who lives under the back of the Corn Crib is eagerly awaiting the all-you-can-eat buffet to re-open again shortly.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Corn Crib, School House, and Rats)
Post by: marianas_gamer on November 19, 2020, 07:51:23 PM
Very nice work  :-* I particularly like your basing, very fall like.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Corn Crib, School House, and Rats)
Post by: Captain Blood on November 19, 2020, 09:57:13 PM
Another lovely, evocative creation  :-*
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Corn Crib, School House, and Rats)
Post by: Cat on November 24, 2020, 06:51:49 AM
When I run the full set-up at convention, it's a multi-board game with Sleepy Hollow and the Western Woods being the Gothic movie image, Tarrytown being the historical image, and Continental Road being a bit of both.

Moving over to the historical Tarrytown side now with progress on the Martling House.  This is a new house in town, built c.1758, and my games are primarily set in October of '58 to allow for the ghost of Colin Campbell of Inverawe, late of the 42nd Highlanders, to make an appearance after his fateful recent experience at Ticonderoga.  The Martling House is noted for being home to the first murder in Tarrytown during the Revolutionary War. 

The model kit is based on photographs (c.1906 iirc), and no need for gothicky modifications.  The kit comes with separate sheets of engraved shingle siding.  I coloured these with markers and pencil before assembly.  They have a very light weathering pattern for shingle siding, but befitting a newly built house.  I chose a red trim colour to foreshadow the future murder.

With the wall sub-assemblies done, I set up two walls at a time angled towards a light coming from the southeast corner.  Then painted over the light spots coming through the windows as they hit the floor and the walls.  Even though it is a new house, there are still muddy footprints all over the floor, because miniatures never pause to wipe their feet during a wargame!

Like with the School House, this one has a board and batten roof.  I cut 45º angles into the nooks of the roof boards for a tighter fit up against the chimneys.  Then had to shorten one of the pieces so that they both meet flush at the top peak.

Next steps are finishing battening down the roof, adding shutters, and flocking the base and the herb garden.  Will probably add a cellar bulkhead that is hinted at in one photo.

Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow Buildings (Corn Crib, School House, and Rats)
Post by: Cat on November 24, 2020, 08:02:30 PM
Very nice work  :-* I particularly like your basing, very fall like.

Thanks!  I flinched a lot before investing in the model railroading scenic supplies; that was a hefty tab with Scenic Express, but I have not regretted it at all since.  It's quite delightful having a cache of big jars of Super Leaf in a variety of colours, goldenrod, cattails, and other bits all at hand.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Martling House Done)
Post by: Cat on June 16, 2021, 04:27:14 PM
Back in December or so, I pretty well completed all the work, weathering (very light, the house is newly built in 1758), and scenicking on the Martling House.  Once the herb garden was all planted, I realised it really needed a little visitor.  I had a pack of rabbits on hand, so I trimmed and primed those.  Then the whole bevy of bunnies went AWOL.  Finally found the little rascals; painted the New England Cottontails (cis-Hudson Cottontails really), and selected the one to enjoy nibbling on the dill weed.

There are marigolds planted out front, and some medicinal Joe Pye Weed growing outside the back fence.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Martling House Done)
Post by: Chairface on June 16, 2021, 07:08:26 PM
Beautifully done! Little touches like the rabbits make such an impact
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Martling House Done)
Post by: OSHIROmodels on June 16, 2021, 07:29:28 PM
Lovely work  :)
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Martling House Done)
Post by: marianas_gamer on June 16, 2021, 07:49:48 PM
Like the bunny
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Martling House Done)
Post by: majorsmith on June 18, 2021, 05:09:53 PM
Excellent
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Church Done)
Post by: Cat on June 21, 2021, 02:13:27 AM
Thank you for the kind comments folks!
 
I had pulled the Martling House out for its final flourish as I was working on the much larger project of detailing the scenic base for the Church which I've been working on for the last several weeks.  I had finished shingling the Sleepy Hollow Church back in October (see earlier in the thread).  And then procrastinated on doing the scenic base which has a fair area to detail because of the perimeter fence.  Just making the fence to fit was a fair amount of fiddly work.

The fence is modified Renedra plastics, with the fancy gateposts and the church sign board scratch-built from styrene.  The hitching post is made from limbs clipped from a Woodland Scenics tree armature. 

The sign board in the movie set is quite the anachronistic detail.  These began appearing in the 1920s and 30s, and didn't become popular until the 1960s and onward.  My bet is that because the director called for a big stained glass window behind a high pulpit for Baltus Van Tassel to be yanked through, that Rick Heinrichs — the award winning Production Designer — then decided to run full First Church of the Anachronist!  There' no legible shot of the writing on the sign in the movie or in any production photos that I could find, so I went with the typical modern basics for lettering it.

The gravestones in the back of the church are also modified Renedra plastics, with thematic names carved in on the ones facing outwards.  From left to right: Van Tassel and Van Brunt for family names from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a cameo appearance by an ancestor of Washington Irving, Philipse for the original chartered landowner in Sleepy Hollow (the Philipse Manor is across the street from the actual Old Dutch Church), and Van Dam the ghostly rower of the Hudson River.  As a foreshadowing of events to come in the movie, there is a trail of red autumn leaves leading from the big stained glass window to the fence where Baltus will get his head cut off.  Just beyond the Van Dam gravestone at the corner of the foundation is a little brown rat — not all is well in this church.

I have a lot more gravestones, some with names added, all prepped and painted for doing the larger graveyard on the hillside beyond the side gate of the church.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Church Done)
Post by: Roo on June 21, 2021, 07:03:21 AM
Nice work
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Church Done)
Post by: Blackwolf on June 21, 2021, 07:07:09 AM
Lovely work,that lighting effect is very clever :-*
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Church Done)
Post by: marianas_gamer on June 21, 2021, 07:31:46 AM
Great work. I love this whole thread!  :-* :-*
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Church Done)
Post by: Cat on June 21, 2021, 07:49:23 AM
Lovely work,that lighting effect is very clever :-*

Thanks — it was quite fun to do!  The red of the 'stained glass' is just painted on the inside of the mullions and stands out very nicely at the usual game table viewing angles; and shined a flashlight through the window and marked out where the light and shadows fell for painting:
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Cemetery Hill WIP)
Post by: Cat on July 05, 2021, 03:36:27 PM
Work has begun on Cemetery Hill.  As this will be a detailed terrain piece, I wanted a baseboard and backboard to protect the foam from chipping.  Once you start bringing plywood into base construction, then anti-warp measures need be taken.

I cut a number of rib pieces for the skeletal framework of the hill to aid in warp prevention, and they also provide nice guides for shaping the foam pieces that will be fit in.  Gluing the whole frame together involved my usual anti-warp technology™ — which involves applying all the clamps, big iron anvil attachments, hammers, and any other heavy objects that can be brought to bear down while the glue sets.  (I have a cherished anvil, so the workshop is fairly wealthy in these sorts of objects.)

After the glue had dried thoroughly, then gave it a coat of spray paint and began fitting the foam pieces.  I dry fit the foam blocks and trimmed to shape before gluing them in.  The trusty French Chef Knife and Surform Shaver are the tools for this job.  (The French knife definitely needed a re-sharpening after this before being returned to the kitchen!)

Those wooden ribs were perfect guides for sliding the knife right along the top edge to cut the foam contours for a perfect fit.  For the complex contours over the large areas, I would cut smaller pieces as needed — cutting as much as I could, then twisting the knife to snap and break the cut foam piece off.  For the deeper areas, I made a vertical cut, and then cut horizontally towards that and snapped that piece off.  The Surform Shaver then blends and smooths everything together.

There will be a road coming down the hill at the widest point.  I marked the road on the foam and used the shaver to make a nice smooth grade.  The longest wooden rib cuts across a stretch of the road.  After grading with the shaver, I took the foam out and filed down the top edge of the rib where needed to match the grade of the road.

Then all the foam blocks were glued in.  Yes, hammers and iron anvil attachments were used to hold it all down snug while the glue set. 
: 3

After it dried, a light pass with the shaver did a finally blending together of joints in the foam.  Now on to the detailing work.  I think I'll use a thin layer of gesso to give the foam surface a hard protective shell.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Cemetery Hill WIP)
Post by: Dr Mathias on July 16, 2021, 01:42:16 AM
Interesting project, that church is beautifully done.
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Cemetery Hill WIP)
Post by: Blackwolf on July 16, 2021, 02:46:18 AM
Wow! Great stuff :-*
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Cemetery Hill WIP)
Post by: OSHIROmodels on July 16, 2021, 05:37:19 AM
A good start  :)
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Transport Boxes & Photo Shoot)
Post by: Cat on July 25, 2021, 11:22:45 PM
Thanks for the kind comments folks!

Two days ago, I made the storage and transport boxes for the buildings that are finished to date, and yesterday brought them up to New Hampshire for a photo shoot.  Dave Valentine will be using the photos he took for use in his upcoming The Devil In Sleepy Hollow game.  Here are some of the ones I took.

Up til now, I've been using a random assortment of boxes, but the plan all along has been to eventually unify the storage system for the most compact space I could get.  In order to protect the scenic bases during transport, they all have magnets in the bottom and they sit in 1/4 sized cookie sheets.  Those cookie sheets fit easily into file storage boxes.  I finally got around to picking up a bundle of those boxes and it was easy to cut each one down to the needed height, with just an extra 1/4" buffer space.  This will help ease the storage space crunch in my basement!
 
Then it was great having the chance to see a gaming friend live and in person, since we haven't seen each other since Huzzah Con in 2019.  And it was great to have an excuse to lay all the finished buildings out on a table and see them all together.

Cemetery Hill, the Notary Public, and the Van Tassel Manor are all still in various stages of progress, as are a few more historical style models for Tarrytown proper.

Boxes, and a few fun close-ups here:
Title: Re: TFTB Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Transport Boxes & Photo Shoot)
Post by: Cat on July 25, 2021, 11:28:29 PM
After Dave got the photos he wanted, I set up a village scene with all the current buildings and staged a little action scene.
 
The corn is JTT scenics autumn corn which comes in monotone tan; I brush painted some light green highlights to make more transitional late season corn.  The grasses are cut from twine.
 
The Wesquaesgeek Indians were the local tribe.  I've modified Old Glory figures for Wappinger Federation style long hair and with their raccoon-mask style warpaint.
Title: Re: TFTB & CF Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Small Shed & Carts)
Post by: Cat on December 20, 2022, 08:52:21 PM
The Muse has brought me back to working on Sleepy Hollow again.  Working on a number of kits at once that all share woodwork weathering, so whenever I clean my paintbrushes, I can just wipe them on something for detail.
 
I have several Charlie Foxtrot kits in the mix now that are pretty easy conversions to make the movie buildings.  The smallest one is completed first, a small shed that stands in the field where the sheep graze.  Only glimpsed in a few scenes, but adds some nice tactical cover for gaming. 
 
This is a very straightforward build.  I added raised trim details, and filed a slight sag in the roof because Sleepy Hollow.
 
Down by the goldenrod and the late fall asters, a  rabbit lurks in wait for the sheep.* 

* From our own pet rabbits, I can attest that they crave the tasted of sheep and will take any opportunity to nibble on sheep skins.  We can only presume that sheep in the wild face this problem too.
Title: Re: TFTB & CF Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Small Shed & Carts)
Post by: Cat on December 20, 2022, 08:55:24 PM
A few more little carts in a red oxide vein.

The farm cart by Charlie Foxtrot Models is the best mdf cart kit I've seen.  The side stakes are U-shaped pieces that glue onto the bottom, giving great side stakes.  The axle is a provided 3mm round toothpick,so the hubs in the wheels are round rather than square cut.

Also up is a much more standard basic cart by Warbases.

Carts are like wolves, I tend to throw them in the shopping cart whenever I buy from a company that has some I don't own yet!
Title: Re: TFTB & CF Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Small Shed & Carts)
Post by: FreakyFenton on December 20, 2022, 08:57:38 PM
Lovely buildings and if I may as I missed it before, the effect with the light through the window is very clever and looks effective.
Title: Re: TFTB & CF Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Firewood Prep)
Post by: Cat on December 26, 2022, 05:42:24 AM
So, it's midnight on Boxing Eve and I'm cutting and splitting tiny firewood.

Had an early evening cup of coffee with desert, which was a good help with staying alert for the drive home from New Hampshire after a lovely family dinner, but means I'm still quite wired now.  Eyes aren't up to reading or any fine modelling though, so it's a great time to work on the woodpile.

The central feature of the Killians' Cabin is a big honking fireplace, so a good sized woodpile outside will be a nice detail.

Last week, I gathered the twigs.  Sprayed them with industrial vinegar and let that dry, then gave them a good cooking in the microwave to sterilise them to make sure nothing grows on them or crawls out of them later.
Title: Re: TFTB & CF Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Firewood Prep)
Post by: Grumpy Gnome on December 26, 2022, 08:27:26 AM
Sounds like a fine evening… producing some miniature magic. 👍
Title: Re: TFTB & CF Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Firewood Prep)
Post by: FierceKitty on December 29, 2022, 12:59:55 AM
Beware of trusting the microwave to sterilize such things. I tried at length with some black beans, which I wanted to use as sandbags; the weevils inside them, sealed in by heavy undercoating, paint, and varnish, settled down to a happy feast. It appears that the wavelength of kitchen microwaves is too large for life-forms under a millimetre or so, and thus doesn't boil up their water content. If your twigs were damp, and therefore came out of the microwave oven too hot to handle, you may have killed infestations with ambient boiling; otherwise, you'd better soak them in alcohol.
Title: Re: TFTB & CF Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Firewood Prep)
Post by: Cat on December 29, 2022, 02:28:02 AM
Good to know on the weevils, eek. 

After spraying the twigs with industrial vinegar, I dried them by the furnace.  Then nuked until they were hot to the touch.  My goal is to nuke them up until just before the point of sight or smell of smouldering wood (and poised to hit the stop button when that point is reached).
 
I've used this technique before on  twigs and not had any bad results, but may not have had any infestations yet that really needed the full cooking.
Title: Re: TFTB & CF Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown Buildings (Killian WIP)
Post by: Cat on December 30, 2022, 05:38:31 PM
Work is progressing on the Killians' Cabin and Small Barn.  These are similar log cabin construction, so doing them at the same time keeps the modelling and painting unified.

These are both kitbashes of Charlie Foxtrot kits.

The walls of the original kits are plank construction.  WIth Xacto knife and shop file, I've widened the grooves to make a more log cabin appearance.  The movie buildings have planed logs, not full round ones, so this was a straight forward conversion.
 
The L-shaped Cabin splices together a New World Cabin and Kitchen model.  The big chimney has been assembled and filed to round the corners; field stone detailing will be added later after the final roof details are fitted.

When splicing the floor pieces together, I scribed plank detail in and moved the locking tabs to line up with where they would fit with the wall pieces. 
 
Planking details on the interior walls are simply drawn in with a ball point pen after spray painting.

I assembled the walls of the house and the main roof structure.  Now that those are glued and the chimney fitted, I can proceed with adding the final roof pieces and get a solid fit.  Once the roof is all assembled, then I can proceed with shingling both buildings.

The house will also have a front porch with steps.  Actually, I'll just go with one step up to the porch so I don't have to raise the house too high for the overall balance.  My bash has a reduced footprint from the movie one, with only one window on the front wall, rather than a center door flanked by a window on each side.  So with the smaller frontage, I don't want to raise it too high and give it a towering appearance.
 
With the house assembled, I'm now fitting and gluing the raised foundation pieces and will spray paint these before attaching and doing the final puttying and detail painting.  The corner magnet clamps shown in the assembly pic are invaluable tools for this sort of thing.
 
I don't have a pre-painting and assembly pic of the small barn, my phone was on the phritz during that time.  This was a much simpler conversion of an Eastern Front Cabin kit.  Swapped the placement of the front door and rear window to get a center door, and added a hayloft door above it.  After cutting out the door frame from its original location, I then cut out a similar sized chunk of wall with the rear window to do the swap.
 
Because this is Sleepy Hollow, each roof has a little sag filed into it.