Author Topic: Finished my church and churchyard (Read 7245 times)

Captain Blood · « **on:** January 20, 2008, 02:29:18 PM »

Well, it's one of the long running topics on this forum - where to get a decent 28mm English church?

I think this is about as close as I can get with what's out there at the moment (although Dave Bodley of Grand Manner keeps threatening to make one, so that may change!)

The model shown below is an expanded foam church made by Scenic Effects and available here in the UK from TM Terrain at a pretty cheap 20.00 GBP (unpainted).

In fact, it's 20mm scale, and is supposed to be St Mere Eglise in Normandy. Having seen some photos of that famous church, this model actually bears only a passing resemblance - but is far the most 'churchy' looking church that I've seen on the market so far.

Because it's 20mm, it looked a whisker on the small side for 25mm/28mm, so I decided to mount it on a mound with a churchyard around it - to raise it up a bit in relation to the other buildings (and figures) around it, and also to give the church a bit more 'gravitas' in the landscape (to nick Hammershields's lovely term :wink: ).

The mound is made from pink foam blocks, glued together on an MDF base (I used wood glue in the end - good advice guys - does take time to dry, but sets rock hard). I carved to shape, covered with polyfilla, then a coat of PVA/paint/sand/grit gloop to finish. Then painted, obviously.

I incorporated a small cliff and a few pondlets at the rear, to add visual interest and provide some more obstacles.

The churchyard wall is made from a few old resin bits of wall, built up (and broken down in places!) with aquarium gravel... Yes, I built a 28mm drystone wall from aquarium gravel - in part, at least.

I know... I need to get out more. :mrgreen:

(If The Last Valley had come through with the walls I ordered 8 weeks ago, it might have been a more substantial churchyard wall - but that's another story which I won't go into again!)

I bought some Fantascene graves and gravestones to go in the churchyard, but decided they were too fancy, and the integral grave mounds wouldn't work with the slope anyway. So I made my own - balsa wood and a daub of polyfilla over. Think they give the effect.

Anyway - there you have it... A church for my village at last!

Sorry about the big pix - one of these days I'll work out how to re-size them. :wink: (Actually, I quite like to see the detail though... )

Lowtardog · « **Reply #1 on:** January 20, 2008, 02:33:46 PM »

A lovely model (you swine) I am painting my Fantascene grave stones as we speak/write but now you have put me off

:mrgreen:

Captain Blood · « **Reply #2 on:** January 20, 2008, 02:39:34 PM »

Sh*t - sorry Karl :

:
Tell you what - if you like the Fantascene gravestones, you can have my ones - free and gratis. PM me and I'll pop 'em in the post to you. Then you can have an extra big graveyard!

Lowtardog · « **Reply #3 on:** January 20, 2008, 02:46:42 PM »

Quote from: "Captain Blood"

Sh*t - sorry Karl ::
Tell you what - if you like the Fantascene gravestones, you can have my ones - free and gratis. PM me and I'll pop 'em in the post to you. Then you can have an extra big graveyard!

Thanks Captain for the offer I went a bit mad with the Fantascene stuff and have around 30 already, starting to look like the local cemetary..

.

I dont mind them as I tend to play on club terrain which is a flat table so the mounds give a bit of sculpted terrain where none would normally be. I can see why you went with your own though and it is very lovely. :love:

matakishi · « **Reply #4 on:** January 20, 2008, 03:03:09 PM »

Well that's pretty impressive.
The style of the model and the way you've painted it reminds me of the Elastolin castles I used to have many years ago, ahhhh nostalgia!

The quality of your base far outshines the quality of the church model itself, the front path and the wet areas at the rear are just superb.

Are those POP buildings in the background?

Phil Robinson · « **Reply #5 on:** January 20, 2008, 03:08:07 PM »

Really nice work there, I too like what you have done on the surrounding terrain.

Captain Blood · « **Reply #6 on:** January 20, 2008, 03:20:22 PM »

Quote from: "matakishi"

Are those POP buildings in the background?

No, they're the cheap n cheerful pre-painted Conflix models - available just about everywhere! (They're now so popular and ubiquitous, you wonder why they don't extend the range!). But I think they must have been modelled on the old handmade POP range, because they do bear a striking resemblance. But these are solid resin, whereas the POP buildings (I think the guy died, didn't he?) were beautiful little hand built lightweight jobbies.

I agree the church does look a little Elastolin-like, but still think it's superior to the Hovels model which is the default choice for many people, simply because (bizarrely) there seem to be very few churches available in this scale.

PMC / Sellthatstuffboy do a church as well, but it looks a lot more like a chapel.

Apart from that - Hornby? I see a lot of those pressed into use, but they're 20mm (or HO anyway) as well.

This is the best option I've found after a couple of years looking.

Hammers · « **Reply #7 on:** January 20, 2008, 03:30:28 PM »

Curse you Cptn Blood, for rubbing my nose in such wonderous things! I declare you my mortal enemy 'till I find something else to divert my evert fluctuating attention to (Which probaly means the next post I read.)

Lowtardog · « **Reply #8 on:** January 20, 2008, 03:50:02 PM »

Quote from: "Captain Blood"

Quote from: "matakishi"
Are those POP buildings in the background?

PMC / Sellthatstuffboy do a church as well, but it looks a lot more like a chapel.

This is the best option I've found after a couple of years looking.

Yep I got that one, it will do for me :mrgreen: . There is a nice kit on ebay which might suit, a bit late to tell I know but it does have possiblities

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wargames-Scenery-Terrain-Gothic-Church-Chapter-House_W0QQitemZ350016993806QQihZ022QQcategoryZ56363QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

matakishi · « **Reply #9 on:** January 20, 2008, 04:33:51 PM »

Ian Weekley's Battleground range made a couple of churches that were quite nice but I already had my Hovel's one by the time I found them.
I plan to make a church sometime this year for Walmington-on-Sea (and elsewhere)
Here's a quick shot of my Hovels church (painted in 1991) which I'll be selling once I make my own, this year is the year of the clear out

It's nowhere near as nice as yours so I won't miss it when it goes.

The POP chap did die

dominic · « **Reply #10 on:** January 20, 2008, 05:43:33 PM »

Hey Capt Blood, that's a great looking church! When I saw it at the TM Terrain stand in Crisis last November, I thought it might pass as a 28mm church, but I didn't dare to buy it. You've proved that it works! Time to order one for myself!

JollyBob · « **Reply #11 on:** January 20, 2008, 05:50:14 PM »

Nice one Captain!

You're right, it doesn't look a lot like St Mere Eglise, but it makes a very nice English village church.

Lovely basing too.

I am a jealous Bob.

Rhoderic · « **Reply #12 on:** January 20, 2008, 05:56:22 PM »

You've done a great job, and I love seeing it put to use in a swashbuckling setting as well.

The size looks alright to me, sort of compact, but in a good way (sensible for gaming). One must remember that miniatures often look "too big" next to scenery that's actually in scale, what with their clothes flapping about and the footprint of the bases. Account for this and the church immediately starts to look bigger.

Driscoles · « **Reply #13 on:** January 20, 2008, 06:03:45 PM »

This is a very very nice Chruch Captain Blood.
Björn

UncleRhino · « **Reply #14 on:** January 20, 2008, 06:35:23 PM »

Lovely, LOVELY work! You have motivated me to move my ruined cathedral to the front of the painting/modelling table.

UncleRhino

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