Continuing my series of buildings for SOBH Fantasy Dark Age (ish) period I've started a barn with a birch bark roof based on the Warbase Dark Age (http://war-bases.co.uk/BUILDINGS/DARK%20AGES-28MM?product_id=68) barn kit. Unlike the first couple of houses, these have the timber etchings on the walls so I will not need the wood filler rendering seen here (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=61379.0). As this is a warts and all build I think I should have masked the etched wood off and undercoated / painted the walls before building but its more fun to glue bits than paint :D
I remember seeing a couple of articles and web pages on birch roofing using crepe paper and decided this would go well with the grass roof buildings I have built on the principal birch bark was often used as the first waterproof layer and why should the villages spend more time than needed on a lowly store.
Once the kit arrived, I opened the pack to a smell of burnt MDF and a nicely cut kit:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XBcSpa_YwGs/Uv-AR59IxBI/AAAAAAAADtM/sFtm-B7g_Xk/s800/P1000942.JPG)
Wonder if the smell of burnt wood will mask that of the unwashed gammers at shows over time ???
First step is to get the walls up - so a drop or two of PVA glue and one elastic band later:
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-t39lSVjxQ-A/Uv-ASk0-sgI/AAAAAAAADtU/MrJstrJ02Qc/s800/P1000950.JPG)
Note the reinforcing run down the corner - I feel happier with these though I have never seen a building fold in without them to be fair. At this time the bottom is not glued in as I will paint it first - see I did think about that bit (but that's about all the planning I did).
So while that is drying I got down to the roof and cut up rough rectangles out of crepe paper about 1cm by 2-3cm. The pack cost me 65p (plus £2.70 for Sues cotton she needed) and will do around 2000 kits with no issue. This build will take less than a 12cm by 8 cm strip of 4 layers so I have plenty to do the second kit...
I found a pot of 'mod podge' in the cupboard and thought I would give this a go as my PVA is a bit thick and wanted it to soak into the paper. Part way through I remembered I bought this to try on a river and it was gloss - oh well, I'll try a matt varnish on the top when dry - if that does not work the contents of a paint pot will hide it (or I claim its raining hard). So off I go, laying down tiles and coating with glue:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7Kg9PooeMxc/Uv-AR24wWCI/AAAAAAAADtI/KeUAsyfZv6s/s800/P1000955.JPG)
Anyone spot the deliberate mistake - you start at the bottom when tilling and NOT AT THE TOP (by now you will realise why I am not a model maker by profession and other folks skills make me green). So peeling off the duff layers, I cover the roof panels in crepe and glue (https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RitpPJ1GeW7H-aJRblfADtMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink) and tuck the edge under (with much glueing and sticking of fingers) and leave both sides to dry on two 35mm film cases:
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-OFUilnLdABs/Uv-ATetT3oI/AAAAAAAADtk/TnBE2LkJX_U/s800/P1000961.JPG)
As it dries I can see it is really glossy and the overlaps are significantly darker than the single layer bits (cheap paper I assume). Maybe a paint will be the best after all? One of the FIW longhouse builds has this (Ray Roussell - Don't throw a 1 (http://onelover-ray.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/how-to-build-no1-fiw-indian-longhouses.html)) and it works well even though his paper looks thicker than mine and crinkles better (it was also cheaper and darker).
I assume mine is the 'new and improved' more costly version though so I can sit here with a smug grin lol