David Bickley's Wargames Blog

The occasional ramblings of an average gamer, journeyman painter, indifferent modeller, games designer, sometime writer for Wargames Illustrated and host of games in GHQ.



Friday, 5 January 2024

Вниз на ферму

Or for those amongst us who don't read Ukrainian all that well, if at all, that's 'Down on the Farm'! At The Other Partizan last October I picked up three MDF building kits from Warbases with a view to adding a small cluster of buildings to suggest a farmstead for use when my forthcoming Crimean War project reaches the tabletop battlefield ~

The kits are: the Animal Pen; the Village Well; and House #3. As with all Warbases' MDF kits they go together with the very minimum of fuss, though I did add a 40x40mm base to the well before painting commenced ~

Of itself MDF has very little texture, making dry brushing very problematic for me. {If these were resin buildings then I'd have painted them grey and washed then with Burnt Umber to suggest weathered timber}. With MDF I've opted for a dark first coat of Foundry Bay Brown, followed by lighter coatings of the mid and light Bay Brown triad. The chimney on the house I painted in a similar fashion using the Foundry Granite triad ~

I'm wasn't over pleased with the look at that stage so I added highlights using the same company's Spearshaft Shade. Perhaps some thatch on the house and animal pen shelter might be the way forward? Either way, there needs to be a good deal of further work on this to bring it up to scratch! I had two Lead Adventure pigs and a trough which would bring the animal pen to life I felt. The well is just fine for me, some texture and a few 'weeds' and perhaps a bucket from the 'Bits Box of Doom' I mentioned in the last post ~

Anyway, I have no thatch available as yet, though the pigs and their trough have definitely lifted the look of the animal pen. The house will pass muster for now at least. Thatch still seems the way forward while a base and some groundwork would definitely help lift the look on the tabletop battlefield. Whatever, it will have to do for now as I'm back to painting figures, Great War Miniatures Roosian Jaegers as it happens. Must get on with them now...


18 comments:

  1. You have worked up a fine base of stuff to embellish there.

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  2. They get the job done nicely David and the fact that Russian buildings are all wood does help out.

    Christopher

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    1. I will take that Christopher, many thanks.

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  3. Those are nice kits. I always find that with MDF buildings, either model railway roof tile sheets or something budget together add enough texture that it looks less "MDF-y".

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  4. that should have read "something bodged together" as in the madness I once got into with cut up pieces of cereal boxes for roof tiles. :)

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    1. I think I understood that anyway, gestalt reading skills and such. As to cutting roof tiles endlessly; been there, done that too...

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    2. Until midnight at ours the once I recall😂

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    3. Nearer 1.00am, seared into my memory by repetitive strain injury cutting out tiles!

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  5. Nice work. I am just starting my first mdf based project and hope it comes out as well as yours. Details certainly help!

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    1. Thank you for the encouragement! I hope yours turn out well!

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  6. The buildings work well David…
    I didn’t know Warbases made so many Eastern European buildings…

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly, nice to be encouraged along the way! Warbases have several Eastern European buildings in the range

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  7. Nice buildings and as with all mdf kits, a bit of attention to adding details really makes a difference. As for the roof, my preferred option would be wooden shingles/tiles.

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    1. Thanks SteveJ. My preference is still for thatch.

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  8. Very nice work! I like the timber effect you've created, the overall effect should more than suffice for the time being I would have thought.... they look splended!

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