A Bit of Half-Timbering (Better photo, 29 June)

[Wirelizard]

Because I am as distractable as a cat wargamer, I've started another project without finishing the previous ones... this one is a small quick project, though. Really.

Having wandered into English Civil War/Thirty Years War stuff recently, I wanted to do a couple of period buildings, with an eye for also using them as "quaint Olde England" scenery for pulp games. Half-timbering can be fairly gnarly looking, though, so I wanted to start with something straightforward to practice and experiment on.

What's that line about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery? Warlord should be feeling kind of flattered, although my proportions are off from their fine example.



Main structure is foamcore; the stonework is 1/16th thick foam salvaged from a take-out container; the timbering is 1/8x1/16th balsa from the stockpile'o'doom. The "wooden" arch over the main door is milliput. There's a man door on the back wall too.

Still todo: Additional timbering and cleanup at the corners. The roof, of course - towel thatching on a sheet styrene frame. Doors, possibly opening (at least the big doors). A base, once I get around to picking up more mattboard. The inside will get a lick of plaster and maybe some timber details, not a lot though to keep it usable. That'll all wait until tomorrow night, right now the glue is still wet at the corners and the milliput hasn't cured yet.

That's a pair of Warlord ECW cav coming around the corner of the building; you saw them in LPL5. Yes, that's a pterodactyl in the far background on the very right-hand corner of the photo. Pulp player, remember?

Something I read suggested trying one new-to-you technique per project... this little building breaks that rule good and proper! Foam stonework is new to me; ditto halftimbered buildings. Never done towel thatching, either! This is mostly one evening's work, with some basic cutting and the foam carved last night. Tomorrow night will be the roof. I might even finish this thing by the end of the week. (I should never say things like that. Watch, this poor building will be unfinished a year from now...)

[DonVoss]

Looks promising...

Want to see it finished, especially the windows and the roof...

DV

[Wirelizard]

The roof in progress. Glue still wet, actually!

Styrene sheet under the towel, lots of white glue, strips of tan towel bought cheap at MallWart. I glued the strips of towel down, then soaked thinned white glue over the whole thing, should be pretty damn sturdy once it dries!

Edges to be trimmed and glued down properly after the main glue is dry, then paint. It still looks a bit too much like towel right now, I think.

Also, finally put a base under the barn, and most of it is primed black.

HellMart also sells 12"x15" pieces of a quite-grasslike white fake fur, so I snagged a piece both as a possible alternate source of thatch and to do some more grassy fields and such with. I'll have to see what sort of paint or ink it will take. Experimenting with the fake fur will be next week's project, this week I want to get this barn finished!

[Drachenklinge]

Because I am as distractable as a cat wargamer, I've started another project without finishing the previous ones... this one is a small quick project, though. Really.
[...]
(I should never say things like that. Watch, this poor building will be unfinished a year from now...)

You're not allone out there! Same problem as well! 
 

The roof, of course - towel thatching on a sheet styrene frame. Doors, possibly opening (at least the big doors).

towel-hatching - that one is new to me, but it looks quite nice. I have done it with the fake fur, You have described, too.
I am curious about Your tests and the resulting comparisons between the two materials, then!

Also about the doors! Like to know how You will do it!

best wishes
Drachenklinge

[Mindenbrush]

Nice work and the 'towel' thatch really does work well though used a really old towel.

Odd thing is on a recent trip back to the UK all the thatching I saw was even and without ridges. I have always done mine in layers so maybe the 'smooth thatching is a more modern day format?

[Drachenklinge]

I bet, throughout the regions there might be many different ways to do it - though all of them very strictly traditional. In my country I think it is mostly done in northern Germany. And while surfing the net it is amazing how BIG the thatched house could be and some have jutties (jutty, gazebo, oriel?) in their roofs, too. There are even houses with decorations cut out of the grass.
And we do not even started to talk about some of the tropical areas. ^^

best wishes
Drachenklinge

[Wirelizard]

Not as much progress in the last week as I'd hoped for, but painting is basically done on the barn, although on the back wall I have to repaint a lot of the stone, as I managed to remove some of the paint while attempting to wipe off an overly-dark black wash...  The inside also need a second coat, as I'd forgotten how badly ballpoint pen bleeds through paint and the dimensions I wrote on there during assembly are clearly visible through the paint!

The roof is primered black, hopefully tomorrow I'll have a chance to start drybrushing it back to looking like thatch again.

[widgren]

this is coming along very well! yiou could try a drybrush to make the stone tones come together and combine thet with the wash. ill follow this.

[Funghy-Fipps]

Heavy-handed washing is a mistake I frequently make, too!  Fantastic work though and I really look forward to seeing the finished article.

[Wirelizard]

Repaired the stonework on the rear where I wiped out most of the painting with an over-done wash, sealed the painted foam with white glue after a much more careful black wash, might still do a quick very light drybrush over the stonework to tie it together a bit. I like how the stonework has turned out, though. Pencil-carved thin styrofoam is definitely a technique I'll be reusing in the future.

The thatch is done, I used black paint and thinned white glue for a primer, then several shades of light brown/tan/off-white to drybrush it up to a nice thatch colour. I might still trim that right-hand edge in a bit, though.

The doors are barely started; that white shape in front of the building on the cutting matt is going to be the main portion of the main doors; I got that fitted but haven't cut it in half to actually create the two seperate doors, never mind anything more.

The base needs a quick drybrush; should have done that tonight while I was drybrushing the thatch, but nevermind. It'll get that and then some flock tomorrow!

Still a bunch of stuff to do, but I could put it on the table right now as-is and not be embarrassed!

(Warlord Pike & Shotte horse inspecting the building on the left, probably with an idea of first looting it bare then burning it down...)

[Mason]

Was waiting to see how the towel roof came out, as I hadnt heard of this technique before and  I must say it looks GREAT!
Please consider the idea stolen, oops, I mean borrowed, of course .
A very impressive model, cant wait to see it finished.
Good job, Wirelizard!

[Wirelizard]

Was waiting to see how the towel roof came out, as I hadnt heard of this technique before and  I must say it looks GREAT!
Please consider the idea stolen, oops, I mean borrowed, of course .

Hardly stolen, just passed around, as I'm far from the first to do towel thatching, just the latest!

It looks much better primed black then heavily drybrushed than it did as raw towelling, even though I picked a towel with a colour approximating thatch in the first place... strange how the eye and mind work, isn't it?

Glad you're enjoying watching this come together!

[Christian]

That's a lovely building! I like the colours you used on the wall. Will it have an interior?

[Wirelizard]

That's a lovely building! I like the colours you used on the wall. Will it have an interior?

A very minimal one, probably. It's a barn, so the limit of interior detail will likely be some internal beams and maybe a stall for an animal.

Took the barn out into the garden after work today; it was too windy to use my usual photo spot on the back deck but here's a snapshot with much better colour and lighting than my previous midnight workbench shots!

[Mason]

Hardly stolen, just passed around, as I'm far from the first to do towel thatching, just the latest!

It looks much better primed black then heavily drybrushed than it did as raw towelling, even though I picked a towel with a colour approximating thatch in the first place... strange how the eye and mind work, isn't it?

Glad you're enjoying watching this come together!

Enjoying it very much, Wirelizard!
Doing some very similar buildings myself, only ruined. So any tips I can pick up are appreciated.