wild west towns

[Furstenburg]

Hi people

For a couple of years I've been dabbling with the old west system and slowly painting up my black scorpion lawmen. I figured it's about time to start on a town of some description as more people I know are drifting towards playing smaller skirmish games. I'm just wondering if people have any links/advice on building a cheap town suitable for wild West games. Funds are tight these days and buying all the buildings is out of the question. I'm hoping there are guides out there or even templates for buildings.

Is there an easy way to do a western style town or is it much easier to try for the Mexican style adobe buildings?

Also on a side note we are looking at pirate game too and any advice on building pirate buildings would be appreciated (wrong forum I know)

[Heisler]

Adobe are probably the easiest. Foam core for the walls, cut the windows and doors out. Get some spackle from the hardware store and apply it to the outside, take a large brush (like a house brush) and stipple the exterior to get that classic adobe look. Add the exposed rafter beams and any windows and doors that you like. Templates aren't really necessary for this kind of work in fact I would recommend against it as it tends to give a very uniform look to the town. Typically you either have adobe or false front buildings they aren't typically mixed within a town unless separated by railroad tracks or a stream/river.

For false front buildings, the same principles apply. Find a box of wood coffee stirrers and use those for the exterior walls, window framing and boardwalks. Use a razor saw to add grain by stroking it across the wood before you glue it and give it a quick swipe with some sandpaper to get rid of the fuzzies. Paint and stain as desired. Remember weathered wood tends to have a grayish/silver look to it although that does vary by the area you are in.

[NickNascati]

I have an adobe town that doubles for my pulp games, and a more traditonal western town made from foam board, balsa and card, thta has been shown on these pages.  My advice, if you are not building for public display or serious river counters, build what makes you happy, that is what I did.

[Cory]

I have built a great number of log building using bamboo skewers. If one isn't picky they can be built with a butt end instead of a v cut and put together fairly fast - only a couple of buildings need false fronts.

[grubman]

Here is my thread from a few years back.  I've add a lot since...but you can't get cheaper than this http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=34974.0

[DS615]

Yup, Popsicle sticks.
Cheap, easy to work with, and they look right. Probably because you're trying to make them look like wood and they're, you know, wood.
You can get thinner ones at craft stores for just as cheap, if you want smaller board widths.
Advice, don't buy the colored kind! Whatever they use to color them seeps through whatever paint you put on them. They just aren't worth it.

I built my town out of them, but I didn't use a hardboard template like grubman. I built them more like a "real" building using stud boards and such.
Either way works.  The hardboard idea would probably be way easier.

Paint them with a dirty brown/green wash, let dry, lightly sand the edges. Poof, a weathered wooden town.

[Elbows]

May I suggest coffee stirrers over popsicle sticks?  More realistic side for 28mm boards, and MUCH easier to cut and work with (and you get something like 1,000 for $5).  I found popsicle sticks to be a real paint when clipping/cutting them continually for an hour or so.  Coffee stirrers are fantastic.

[Gutbukkit]

May I suggest coffee stirrers over popsicle sticks?  More realistic side for 28mm boards, and MUCH easier to cut and work with (and you get something like 1,000 for $5).  I found popsicle sticks to be a real paint when clipping/cutting them continually for an hour or so.  Coffee stirrers are fantastic.

I echo this. Better size, dirt cheap and easy to cut. They will drive you insane sticking them on though which is why I've opted for a foam core building with very thin balsa scored with planks for my 15mm version of Schitte Creek. Not as cheap but still pretty cheap, especially if you use corrugated card instead of foam core for the main body of your buildings, it works just as well.

[Elbows]

While we're on the subject, I actually brought this up to my buddy who does the laser-cutting stuff.  I mentioned the idea of supremely simple/zero detail MDF buildings...just basic walls and a roof with doors/windows cut out - but zero details.

I thought it'd be cool to sell them for dirt cheap and let people "create" whatever they wanted.  Kind of an in-between of scratch build, and buying nice MDF stuff.  Might have to bring that up again.  Not to mention, a single building design could then be used for a huge variety of buildings.  You could sell 5-6 buildings for $30 or so...hmmm...

[Mason]

That 'simple' design idea sounds top drwaer.
Just a plain template to add to as you wish would work well when combined with simple coffee stirrers and balsa.
 

[Heisler]

I agree, I think that idea has a lot of merit. I have two boxes of coffee stirrers that I'll be using on my Saloon.

[grubman]

Found this thread (that I never finished) that shows some close ups of all the buildings (If you are still considering popsicle sticks instead of these fancy high falooting coffee sticks everyone is talking about!)

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=35299.0

[6mmfan]

Yep I made some adobe buildings a few years ago. They were very cheap to make and look great. I think they would work well for Pirate games and that my original intention as well.

Sorry theres no WIP but lots of info in the thread

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=2165.0

Also I redid them a couple of years ago with different paint schemes and added shutters made from large cable ties

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=51862.75 (scroll down a bit)

Cheers
Kieran