In dire need for strange resources

[Glitzer]

Hi Guys,

I'm finally back from forestry exams and now really want to finnish one of my long running procests. I was wondering if I could buildsome more east-coast style buildings and terrain for my Wild-West/ACW collection, but I have no idea where to look for the background information I need. One of my major Problems are the roads. Did they really look like todays car-shaped countryroads? Did they already use gravel for roadbuilding? (I'd rather bet: no)?

I have lots of Pegasus-Hobbies farm animals and Bush-Modell Garden plants, so I want to build some nice gardens and animal stables too. But how did they keep their pidgeons back then? How and where did they grow their vegetables? How small were orchids or fields? If anyone of you can answerone of those questions or point me somwhere were I might find an answer I'd be very gratefull.

PS: I also want ot build some middle to upper class town buildings with nice flower gardens. how small were those and what kind of fences should I use?

[VoodooInk]

You've got a lot to tackle there! Let's talk about roads...

Roads could vary greatly depending on where you were on the east coast. You could always go with a classic sunken road, as they played pivotal roles in several ACW battles: Antietam, Fredericksburg, Shiloh, and Waterloo.

Here's a link that might give some inspiration (even though the guy didn't bother to paint the minis ):
http://volunteersinparks.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

A video:


Another link with picture:
http://www.nps.gov/frsp/historyculture/preservation.htm

Hope that helps!

[Rob_bresnen]

A bit off topic I am afraid, but how do those pegasus farm animals sacle up with 28mm? I was looking at them yesterday.

[Glitzer]

They scale up very well. Though 1:48 is more 35mm (like Reaper, Corvus Belli and some others) the legs of the cows look a little thin comparerd to pewter models,but I thonkthey look fine. The only real drawback is the soft plastic the miniatures are made of. I'll post a comparison photography with some Minis (Perrys, Westwind and Foundry) as soon as I come around to paint one of them (which might be this weekend).

I allready feared something like those sunken roads, but did't know an English term for them. Unfortunately I want modular roads, so I have to look out for some optical tricks to make them look like sunken roads.

[Cory]

Sunken roads were the result of use and not every road was a sunken road by any means. They mainly were to be found where the road ran over a low hill or rise perpindicular to the incline.

Any dirt track can reflect a rural lane of the mid 19th century - depending on use some might simply be modeled by a fence on either side while others will range up to a broad mud track. By the time of the civil war some major roads were being macadamized with a gravel layer while roads in especially wet areas may be paved with tree trunks.

As to land use and such google Sanborn fire maps for the area you are interested in. They start in 1867 and are good for understanding the distribution and use of structures.