Russian Village Buildings (game report and new hut, 13 April)

[Wirelizard]

Wow, Wirelizard... That's an amazing result! Beautiful! 

Thanks, I'm very pleased with how it turned out, especially the domes. Since that photo was taken the domes have had a bit of a wash with burnt umber ink, which weathers the gold just enough.

I've spent the last week mostly prepping for this weekend's gaming convention here in town and the pulp game I'm running there, but I did have a chance to knock off a small piece of scenery to fill a corner of my Russian hamlet - a very basic pigpen.



It's all offcuts from the church project I had lying around, with the round posts hacked from a length of bamboo skewer.

The mud is hot glue, from a little glue gun - I dabbed it on and pushed it around with a stirstick, then after it was dry I picked off all the little "strings" of glue to which hot glue is prone, and cut a few of the peaks I'd missed down. It looks good as mud, it's still level enough for figures to stand on, and unlike globbing white glue around, the hot glue won't warp the scrap card I used as a base.

It's a technique I'll be using again, it does nice easy mud and hot glue sticks are cheap!

[oldskoolrebel]

I like 'em, very much so.

I'm going to book mark this page and when I restart my Gothic Horror project, I'll pull this page up for inspiration.

Magnificent; can't wait to see in game pictures

Cheers
Andy

[Wirelizard]

Added a pair of larger houses to the village last week, finally got some pics of them this evening.

The fence and muddy yard on the left-hand building aren't finished yet, but the rest is, unless I go back and add door- and window-frames at some point (which I probably will do, doorframes especially finish off a building nicely).



I suppose these are "Russian-esque" rather than strictly accurate, but they look the part and give the hamlet a couple of larger buildings aside from just the church. Also, and unlike the church, these are potentially tactically useful as more than just simple line-of-sight blockers, as they have windows and/or doors in every wall. (the church's only windows are high off the ground)

I have about ten pieces of small scatter terrain in progress, clumps of bushes, some more small fields, and such.

I also got some step-by-step photos while I was constructing the towel thatch roof of one of these two houses, so at some point I'll put up an illustrated guide to how I do towel thatch roofs.

[Ramirez Noname]

Those pair of houses really look the part. 

I had missed the finished church - really great 

Looking forward to seeing the WIP photos for the towel covered roofs.

RMZ

[mattblackgod]

How did I miss this thread? Beautiful work and very inspiring.  . How did you achive the weathered wood look?

[Wirelizard]

How did I miss this thread? Beautiful work and very inspiring.  . How did you achive the weathered wood look?

Thansk! The paintjob is a black basecoat, first drybrush of 1:1 grey and pale brown, then a second drybrush of 2:1 grey and pale brown only on the upper half or third of each wall, and on the corners. The upper sections of most buildings - where the walls are sheltered somewhat by the eves - tend to be less dirty. The brighter drybrush on the corners helps define the building a bit, by making the corners and edges "pop" subtly.

Finally I use a very thin brown wash on the bottom quarter or less of the walls, where mud and dirt are often kicked up by the rain or passing traffic. That really helps anchor a building, visually.

[Marine0846]

More buildings, nice treat.
I look forward to seeing the whole town when finished.

[Wirelizard]

More buildings, nice treat.
I look forward to seeing the whole town when finished.

Everything so far - the church, the two newer larger houses, and the two older much smaller houses - will be together on the table this coming weekend at the Trumpeter Salute convention in Vancouver, where I'm running an RCW game on the Saturday afternoon.

Pictures from there, I promise, sometime next week!

[Mr. Peabody]

Having had the pleasure of playing with these yesterday, I had to come right over here to see the WIP for these lovelies.

They are most impressive when seen in the flesh; WL these buildings are all the 'right size' for good gaming. They really look the part, they are sturdy and they don't need a huge table to work. Genius. 

[Wirelizard]

I've only had a quick look at the photos I took at Trumpeter Salute, but here's a quick glimpse of my Russian Civil War game featuring the buildings from this thread.


My Russian Civil War Game at Trumpeter Salute by WireLizard, on Flickr

Bottom left is the buildngs, centre is the White Russian SPAD just roaring away after a (fairly ineffectual...) strafing run of the Red-held hamlet.

More about the game itself either here in or in a new thread in a day or so, but short version is that unlike our playtest a few weeks back, the Reds held the village and gave the Whites a rough time, despite the White air support and other changes to the scenario.

[The Breaker]

Can't wait for the report!

[Wirelizard]

The game report for my Trumpeter Salute scenario is over on the Warbard: Even Whites Bleed Red

...and I've started scenery building again. Inspired by Tony's plank-roofed hut, I've started my own:


It's 2"x3", smaller than Tony's example but similar footprint to my existing huts.

[Marine0846]

Nice game report.
Its been a long time since I have a chance to attend Trumper Salute.
Maybe will be able to again someday.

[Poliorketes]

Inspiring.

[Wirelizard]

Inspiring.

Thank you!

I'm wondering what else my little Russian hamlet needs... I've got a church/chapel, two larger houses and now three smaller huts.

Using Google Image Search for "traditional Russian barn" found me this 15mm building set from TimeCast:


I like the roofline of these buildings, with the partially hipped ends over the barn doors. I might try a 28mm barn similar to the middle building, with a footprint around the same as the church, 5x3 inches or so. I've been looking for a barn design that isn't just a simple oversized shed, even of those would be far more typical!

I might do one or two more plank-roofed huts, too, although I can tell right now I will not be doing any more complex rooflines (hipped, or the L- or T-shaped buildings) in plank roofing - far too much work, towel thatch is so much more forgiving for that sort of roof!

Anyone have any other ideas for typical buildings in a Russian village or hamlet?