Sudan hut complex idea

[Plynkes]

Inspired by Smokey's thread about his Sudan buildings I've been casting about looking for some ideas of my own. At some point I want to use all my leftover nudie Africans to build into a small force of Equatorial Sudanese. Inspired by all those lads like the Dinka, Bari and Nuba who liked to run around without a stitch on, maybe a generic force rather representing them all rather than a direct copy of any of them. But anyway I thought it might be fun for them to fight some Turkish slavers, Egyptians or Sam and Mrs. Baker. You know the kind of thing.

Anyway, quite by chance I came across this rather cool Nuba hut complex. Basically a bunch of mud huts collected together into a sort of villa, I reckon they would look damn good on the tabletop. So I thought I'd share...




Seems the Nuba are polygamous, and the poor put-upon husband has to build one of these damn complexes for each of his wives and her sprogs. I wonder if they all know about each other, or if the husbands live in a perpetual soap-opera/West End farce of deception and near-discovery (with hilarious results).


Plan view, very helpful for terrain builders. Note the keyhole-shaped entrance, so that the poor, put-upon wives can easily enter and exit while carrying bulky loads on their backs. Also the kids share their bedroom with the pigs and goats. That'll learn the little bleeders. Also there is a shower there, a container suspended on antelope horns which one tilts to allow water to trickle out on to oneself. No windows and small doors. This is apparently to keep the interiors cool against the merciless and ridiculously hot weather of the Sudan.

Probably wouldn't look out of place on a Mahdist war battlefield even though they're not from the exact neck of the woods where most of the fighting was. So off you go, terrain builders. Dammit, I'm going to have to learn some new skills if I want one of these, aren't I?

[Smokeyrone]

Brilliant. 


 Just when i thought I could spend time painting figures, and not building things, "They pull me back in!"      I must build that!

 You know, The Sudan has a lot of peoples, and a lot of diverse climes and terrain.  I'm more and more of the opinion that "if it looks good, I'm putting it in with the Mahdists!"  (Damn Hollywood is rubbing off on me)

Maybe I can offer a tip for building?

Use card, rolled into a cylinder, (even the paper towel roll segemnt) but cover with several layers of drywall tape (heck, I often use no card, just a lot of layers of mesh drywall tape, wrapped around a steel rod, and slide the sturdy tape roll off, that's what my thin Sudanese hut is made of)

Then spackle, and sculpt, texture, whatever.  The tape, in layers, prevents the card from getting soaked and warping while painting/spackling.

If you want sun dried crackle, maybe use "crackle paint" (That spray stuff, or in jars) as well, or drying spackle, caked on (works well)

A new trick I figured out, is to spackle heavily a strip of granny mesh, then reverse it (you get a great exotic looking texture on the reverse side) , and fix  ito a cylinder (remember to coat a layer of 50/50 PVA/water, then paint, over the spackle to prevent chipping

That is what the "Plynkes  Plymouth Door Sheild" tribute was made of in my diorama 

Here is a pic of a hut done ion this fashion, not included on my African buildings thread:

I really like the texture.  And the thatched roof (not pictured)is looking really nice (though taking forever to dry    )

[former user]

cool idea @ Plynkes

I had a similar idea some years ago, but pushed my africany back in schedule.

There are also similar family complexes of larger scale, with more huts, granaries atc and open courtyard.
all with round entrances to the inside, to keep the livestock out, and the same keyhole for the exterior entrance.
oh yes, and the concept is pretty wodespread, not only in Sudan, also with different materials

I wanted to do the bigger ones with open courtyard.
what will You use for roofs?

[Plynkes]

what will You use for roofs?

I have no idea. It is more of a daydream than anything at the moment. Just saw it and thought it would interest some of the people here. Haven't got around to any serious thinking about methods yet (and it is nowhere near the front of the to-do queue). I don't really have much experience making buildings, so as and when I do give it a go, I shall be scouring the Workbench section for ideas. I don't have much idea where to start.

This is the only building I've made before. My giant "Kong" gate. Turned out okay, but it was very simple. Just polystyrene, masking tape, cocktail sticks and wooden kebab skewers:

[former user]

looks cool
not easy for a start.

For the huts, I thought using cardboard tubing like the stuff you use to transport rolled paper.
for the roofs, there is grass foliage available (NOCH eg) which I could glue on a cardboard cone.
or felt? Don't know, never tried 

Well and the rest, structured paint
suggestions anyone?

[Smokeyrone]

Look at my post about drywall tape over carboard tubing.

Honestly, using towel for thatch, while looking pretty good now, sans finshing/drybrushing, was very difficult, at least for small 15mm huts (paper towel roll diameter, though, might be the same diameter useable for 28mm).  Much easier for larger, regular thatched building roofs.

Your grass like stuff on top of a card funnel idea looks promising.   I may try sculpey over a thin aluminum sheet funnel shape (card will burn up in oven).  Sculpey, at least for me, allows relatively easy thatching, that can look just fine.


Wait, looking at Plynkes picture of the fort, I think Cabbage Palm thatch (a natural weave that lines the sides of cabbagte palm trees)
might be the ticket,  The stuff looks EXACTLY like those roofs in that first picture.

 Same scale texture, look, color, and since it comes off the tree in 'sheets", and can be cut with scissors like paper, I must try that.

[former user]

the huts in the gate picture are resin casts.

If You are good with sculpting, well, I don't think I am   

I will look out for some thick fibred textile, but not anything that soaks too much fluid.
maybe some plastic stuff, I don't know

[Smokeyrone]

the huts in the gate picture are resin casts.

If You are good with sculpting, well, I don't think I am   

I will look out for some thick fibred textile, but not anything that soaks too much fluid.
maybe some plastic stuff, I don't know

I meant the Sudanese hut "fort", not the huts in the Kong picture.

Cabbage palm thatch looks just like it.

  If you don't have cabbage palms (it's our state tree, I think i have 22 of 'em  in my yard  ), and this works, I'll be happy to send a sheet of it to folks (I could put 8-11" in an envelope, it's that thin.

it's the stuff you strip away and discard every few months, to make the palm ,look smooth, and not all "squirrel chewed pine cone" tree trunk style.   

NOT that thick, multi weave, coconut fiber that they use for planters, this stuff is tight weave, and thin, maybe 1/32" thick. So tight, lay out a sheet, pour water on it, and it won't soak through.


LOL!  That floorplan sketch turns out to be actual 15mm scale!  yeah boy!  Unfortunately, the realities of gaming neccessitate building it biggger, I I want figs to go inside.