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Miniatures Adventure => Call of Cthulhu => Strange Aeons => Topic started by: necrocannibal on 20 September 2011, 03:48:41 PM
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I've just received the rule books for SA and they look great. I know a lot of manufacturers for miniatures, but I don't know many for good looking buildings that can effectively be used for SA, apart from Miniature Building Authority and the two buildings Renedra and Perry Miniatures have (other Sci-Fi and Fantasy terrain isn't a problem). Sorry if this has been asked many many times, but I was wondering where I could find some good looking countryside houses, farms, barns etc. I love the look of the Miniature Building Authority terrain and I love the American Farm House and the North American Store from Perry Miniatures (although I don't know if they're the right size for 25-28 mm miniatures), so I'm looking for other great stuff like that.
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Train scenery is often a good (and cost-effective) option for the early 20th century. S-scale is closest, but you can get away with O-scale as well (the doors just look a little big at 28mm).
If you don't mind working with paper buildings, which can look excellent with some extra detailing, there's a program called Model Builder that lets you design and output at the correct scale: http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/model-builder.html. Their website has a bunch of pre-designed buildings, though of course you need the software to open and print them.
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Thanks, the only problem I still have is that I have no idea what type of buildings could be found in the 20s in rural areas, as I'm from the Netherlands (I do know what type of buildings were used in the 20s over here though).
So I found some nice terrain, would buildings like these be okay to use in a 20s Lovecraftian setting?
(http://www.magistermilitum.com/uploads/images_products_large/8333.jpg)
(http://www.magistermilitum.com/uploads/images_products_large/5797.jpg)
(http://www.magistermilitum.com/uploads/images_products_large/5795.jpg)
(http://www.magistermilitum.com/uploads/images_products_large/5794.jpg)
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They all look fine to me. Certainly I don't think any of them look too out of place for 1920s rural New England, but my girlfriend (who's an architectural historian) tells me that stone wasn't much used around Massachusetts, most houses being built with wooden boards.
I think the bottom one is the closest to the typical house of the period - but as I say I'd be happy with any or all of them.
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I think the bottom one is the closest to the typical house of the period - but as I say I'd be happy with any or all of them.
I have to agree with Red Orc - any of them seem to fit the bill.
At the end of the day if you create the right sort of atmosphere on your gametable then go for the style of building you like most.
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Nice looking kits! Have to agree that the stone two-story is a style you'd hardly ever find anywhere over here though. In a rural setting (or even a small town), virtually everything will be wood.
I took a quick look around, and found a Boston area photographer that has a nice collection of town and country shots to give you an idea of what things look like: http://robkipp.com/
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Even into the 1920s you might find an occasional log cabin out in the country as well. Especially for a lone hermit like the fellow in The Picture in The House.
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Those houses all look really nice. Who makes them?
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Thanks for the help. I've decided that I'm going to mainly go for wooden buildings.
Those houses all look really nice. Who makes them?
These are made by JR Miniatures and are supposed to be 25mm. I think that I'm going to buy one pretty soon (2-3 weeks or so) to see how big they are compared to some miniatures I have.
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Another option is to set your games in other countries - you could use WW2 European buildings for your own country.
I have my games set in the U.K. and I either make my own or I can buy buildings designed for VBCW games.
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I'm pretty sure that most of the Netherlands would be prey to Deep Ones wanting their land (sea) back... as well as Unspeakable Cults located on small Frisian islands, in the woods of Holland, and whatnot. Not to mention Dutch explorers bringing back endless idols of Blasphemous Gods from those trips to Indonesia and Suriname.
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I make whatever I feel like...plenty of stone obelisks and hobo villages as well as the big cities, creepy cemeteries...pretty much any horror or period piece you can imagine should work fine.
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I make whatever I feel like...plenty of stone obelisks and hobo villages as well as the big cities, creepy cemeteries...pretty much any horror or period piece you can imagine should work fine.
And so sayeth THE MAN!
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Have to agree that the stone two-story is a style you'd hardly ever find anywhere over here though. In a rural setting (or even a small town), virtually everything will be wood.
...and brick. You can find a lot of 18th and 19th century brick buildings, especially in the larger towns. Also, just because stone buildings are rare, don't rule them out. Many of your wealthier folks had large stone buildings, especially from the 1800's on. (Generally mansions and large houses built of flagstone and the like, not the smaller stone cottages as you'd find in Europe and the UK/Ireland. Your second pic from the top would be a fine example.)
:)
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I've decided I'm going to use everything I like...I'm now looking for a good reason to buy Tabletop World's scenery...their Merchants house and Timbered House look great (a bit Mordheim styled, but then intact), but they look a bit too medieval...their graveyard I'm going to buy and use for sure. Maybe those medieval houses could fit in with some strange old village not on any maps or something like that.
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I've got a bunch of templates in various stages of completion that I hope to be finishing up now that weather is turning colder here...but in the mean time, I would recommend tracking down various reprint books.
Lee Valley offers several from Algrove publishing:
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,46096&p=46100&ap=1
You can also find digitized copies of old books on Google Books:
http://www.google.com/search?q=construction&btnG=Search+Books&tbm=bks&tbo=1#ds=bo&pq=construction&hl=en&sugexp=kjrmc&cp=3&gs_id=c&xhr=t&q=architecture&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&safe=off&tbo=1&tbs=bkv:r&tbm=bks&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=arc&aq=0&aqi=g4&aql=f&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=711d2dd8fab9cdf8&biw=1440&bih=679
The Library of Congress also has a significant amount of information regarding various historical sites in the US:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
The search there can be a bit wonky - so I usually just hit the backdoor and browse the data files directly:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ma/ - Massachusetts
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ - Root (folders are marked with the state two letter code...so old west gamers and Civil war gamers should be able to find some useful bits as well in the appropriate states).
For the data files, browse down to the entry folder which will contain one or more of the following data, photos, sheet and supp - like you see here:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ma/ma0000/ma0007/
Data contains a PDF file which explains what the particular site is, its location as well as an index of the images. Photos contains actual photos from various periods (some are old photos...some are newer). Sheet contains plans and line drawings (various levels of detail often include elevations and other really helpful stuff). Supp is a variety of other data that is present for some entries. It can include copies of the original LoC data cards and the like (neat...but normally not too helpful).
Anywho - very, very helpful stuff for scratch builders. For those who are looking to buy terrain - you can use it as a reference.
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I went to Crisis in Antwerp yesterday and saw those JR buildings. I didn't buy them because they were 25mm and the cultist model (from Pulp Figures) I brought with me was as big as the whole door...a little bit too small for my models, which are mostly 28mm.
Instead I picked up these 2 great buildings made by Architects of War:
(http://www.architectsofwar.com/images/products/detail/JShackWebHeader.jpg)
(http://www.architectsofwar.com/images/products/detail/ShantyWebsiteHeader.jpg)
I think that I'm also going to buy their church and barn:
(http://www.architectsofwar.com/images/products/detail/Meetinghsechurch.png)
(http://www.architectsofwar.com/images/products/detail/Barn1.jpg)
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How much were those buildings?
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Barn - http://www.architectsofwar.com/oldbarn.aspx - $65
Church - http://www.architectsofwar.com/meetinghousechurchkit.aspx - $80
Jebodiah's Shack - http://www.architectsofwar.com/jebodiahsshack.aspx - $60
The barn is the only thing that is a little bit off to me. It is marketed as a regular barn (like you would see for livestock) however the design is more similar to what you would see in the South used as a tobacco barn or in Northern climates as a corn crib. The open construction aids in the drying of what is stored within, whereas it would not really be all that useful in protecting animals and things like hay or equipment from the elements.
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... just because stone buildings are rare, don't rule them out. Many of your wealthier folks had large stone buildings, especially from the 1800's on... Your second pic from the top would be a fine example...
My thoughts exactly, that screams Boston Old Money to me. Exactly the sort of people who would never pahk the cah in the Hahvard yahd.
Interestingly I just saw a piccy of the rebuilt Governer's House in Williamsburg, Virginia... the Governer's House is a lot bigger and has a weird tower in the middle of its roof, but there are definitely similarities (google 'williamsburg governor's house' and I'm sure you'll see what I mean).
I like the plank church and the two shacks too. They look like they'd fit right in.
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I have a village of PMC Games buildings:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/pmc.games/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3686
I'll also bring these along to the Strange Aeons event at Ducosim :)
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Some very nice buildings there, also prepainted. I guess I'll see them for real at Ducosim.
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Thanks for the help. I've decided that I'm going to mainly go for wooden buildings.
These are made by JR Miniatures and are supposed to be 25mm. I think that I'm going to buy one pretty soon (2-3 weeks or so) to see how big they are compared to some miniatures I have.
Did yoy buy one? and how did they compare to 28mm miniatures?