Re: Building a Wild West Town - One last time (update 12/09/23)

[tinned fruit]

Putting away the Xmas decorations I came across an unmarked box  which had enough balsa to make a Gary Chalk Wild West town. With the upcoming release of "What a Cowboy" and with Dead Man's Hand and the TRWNN as back up it seemed like a sign to break out WI 160 for inspiration.



Starting with a barn I must have cut out about twenty years ago...



A bit a TLC it quickly became this:-









The barn will do duty in my ACW and TWI games as well and is shown with some 28mm Boot Hill New Orleans Greys. Really enjoyed doing this.

Next up - The Hotel. Again starting froom one I put together twenty years ago.



which turned into this-









The Hotel being defended by 28mm Boot Hill Miniatures New Orleans Greys. Inevitably it will be known as "The House of the Rising Sun"...

I cobbled together some fields after all something needs to be stored in the barn.





Next up will be a couple of run down shacks and storerooms.

More pictures on my FB page - https://www.facebook.com/tinnedfruit/

Thanks for looking.

Phil

[has.been]

Good work & nice pictures on your FB page.

[FifteensAway]

Looks nice. 

Now, no reason there can't be two in the modelverse but Nick Nascati here on LAF also has a town named Purgatory, too.  Just sayin'.     If you explore the thread on the Old West home page Old West Town Roll Call you can find pictures of it. 

Why, heck, two towns with the same name claim just might lead to some flyin' lead!   

[Cacique Caribe]

Marvelous terrain!

Dan

[Captain Darling]

Nice work, looking forward to more!
😊

[NickNascati]

FifteensAway,
                    Thanks for the mention, but my Purgatory has long been dismantled for kindling. 
                      Nick

[tinned fruit]

Building number three for Purgatory - this one bringing a bit of class and no doubt the future home of "The Temperance League"









I'm still using the bits rediscovered from a box last opened in 2002.

Next up the two out buildings that I neglected to finish this.

Tomorrow it's back to a long overdue river, some 15mm Afghan compounds in effort to clear the decks to start on Mosul...

More photos on my FB page - https://www.facebook.com/tinnedfruit/

Thanks for looking.

Phil

[has.been]

Nice addition to the town.

[MaleGriffin]

Absolutely lovely and thanks for pointing out your Facebook page! I really enjoyed looking through the pics! (And stealing ideas! Imitation is the highest form of flattery!)

[CapnJim]

Great work.  That house can be used for just about any US or Canadian setting, from the mid-18th century up to now...

[terrement]

FifteensAway,
                    Thanks for the mention, but my Purgatory has long been dismantled for kindling. 
                      Nick

So it has, so to speak, gone to hell...

[Major Weenie]

How did you make the 'fields' of grain ?  Unless that's already been answered, and I missed it ?

[terrement]

Phil,

They look pretty good.  I have a few questions if you are willing.

Putting away the Xmas decorations I came across an unmarked box  which had enough balsa to make a Gary Chalk Wild West town. With the upcoming release of "What a Cowboy" and with Dead Man's Hand and the TRWNN as back up it seemed like a sign to break out WI 160 for inspiration.

Through the years there have been different requests for the Gary Chalk plans for the Old West buildings and signs.  Do you have a copy that you could share or point me in the right direction?  I tried digging through old links but came up empty.

Not a subscriber to WI, and can't find it locally.  Is WI 160 "new" or do I need to go looking for it as a back issue?

I like your buildings, but to me the blue windows look peculiar, tough they certainly work and are easy.  Is there a reason you didn't use acetate like from food packaging?

Other than ease, is there a reason you chose to build the structures with the boards running up and down rather than side to side?

Do you make the roofs removable for game play for all of your structures or just some of them?  Any recommendations or lessons learned would be appreciated.

I like your hay / tall dry prairie grass - cut up door mat or how did you do them?  They really look great and I don't think I've seen them previously.

Only other question is whether you will finish the building with some light weathering.  Certainly not required and as a matter of personal preference you might not want to.

John

[tinned fruit]

Thanks for the comments and questions.

The fields are just door/ welcome mats with a rubberised backing glued onto 3mm mdf. The trampled areas are cut down VERY CAREFULLY using a sharp Stanley Knife blade and always cutting away from your body and fingers - basically anything you need! I use coloured filler to fill merge the mat into the mdf then sand, paint and drybrush.

The blue windows are only noticeable very close up. I thought about using acetate but then would have to either cut out window holes are colour the area behind. This way I just glue prepaint paper behind the windo pain and stick it on the building. Lazy but at 3/4 foot on the table you really don't notice it.

It just happens the first couple of buildings have boards running up as I'm planning on doing a mixture for variety - my town, my planning rules...  Plus if they run up I don't have to cover the joins which to my mind gives a better look.

All the roofs are removable though from experience I just forget there are figures inside so they are MIA for a while. The floors inside the two storeys are removable as well  - habit I suppose though there are no internal decorations.

I remember when the articles first came out that not only did I really like the look of the buildings it also reignited my interest in the hobby so it's a bit of a trip down memory lane. I didn't/ don't want a realistic muddy "Deadwood" I want Silverado or Rio Bravo though every building has three shades of weathering...

Hope that helps...

Next up some outbuildings and some unpleasantness at the Purgatory planning committee meeting.

[terrement]

Thanks for the reply.