Welcome to the first edition of this column. I will start by trying to encourage you to "have a go" at making model buildings for the battlefield yourself. As with all things practice makes perfect, and if at first your buildings don't turn out exactly as you wanted, don't be discouraged. You can always turn your mistakes into ruined buildings by doing extra damage to them, and adding rubble.
I thought I would start by telling you a little about myself and what the hobby means to me.
I started wargaming nearly 25 years ago and from the beginning one of my main aims was that apart from having a good game the look of the thing was very important. I've always tried to field the best painted figures, buildings and terrain that I could produce. (My talents were a lot of times outweighed by my ambitions).
I have wargamed in most periods and currently my main areas of interest are WWII, Medieval, Indian Mutiny and (dare I say the Dreaded F word) Fantasy/sci-fi. My first attempts at making model buildings for wargaming were very crude efforts made from cast plaster blocks with the details carved onto the plaster, which neither looked good nor were practical for gaming. After this I tried paper, wood and (it seems) everything else I could get my hands on to make decent structures.
It wasn't until the early 1980's when I found my first copy of Miniature Wargames magazine with beautiful color photos of figures and buildings. I began to read Ian Weekly's monthly column where he explained in detail his techniques for building construction which were a revelation to me. I can still remember the joy of finishing the first building I had made that didn't look like it was going to be condemned. Since that time my basic buildings ideas have remained the same, but my techniques have changed.
I started my own Model Building Company "Red Dragon" in 1990 and have since sold hundreds of buildings to wargamers and collectors. I have also been commissioned to build a few model railroads.
Some of the most popular items I make are small houses (all eras) western towns, fantasy towers and castles, mainly in 25 mm but also in 15 mm, 1/300 scale and even a few in 54 mm.
TOOLS AND MATERIALS
It's not practical to list all the tools and materials needed for all jobs. Largely depending on what you are making and what you are making it out of. In later editions of this magazine I will give detailed lists of materials needed for specific projects. The tools and materials below are a basic list of items required for the majority of projects.
TOOLS
Here are a few of the basic tools that you will need.
- Craft Knife
Steel tape measure
Fret Saw/scroll Saw (I use an electric one, but a hand tool will suffice)
Sandpaper
Dremel Tool
It also helps to have a set of small carpentry tools E.G. Hammer, files, planes etc.
MATERIALS
I use everything form 1/2 inch plywood to thin sheets of paper depending on what I need. I tend never to throw anything away. (A habit that your wife, like mine, may not appreciate.) A basic kit could be:
- 1/4 inch & 1/8 inch Plywood
Balsa Wood (I buy a bag of odd cuts from my local hobby store)
Cardboard
Foamboard
Celluclay (A form of paper mache sold at hobby and craft stores)
Plaster (I use hydro-Cal a very hard form of plaster)
White glue
Polystyrene
Various Paints - Spray & Bottle
SCALE
Whenever I start a new building I always make a scale drawing first. This is not always necessary for small structures, but with large ones I find it is a necessity. You should be extremely careful to keep the proportions of your buildings in scale. the conversion scale I generally use is:
| METRIC | IMPERIAL |
|---|---|
| 54 mm | 2 1/8 inches = 6 ft. |
| 25 mm | 1 inch= 6 ft. |
| 15 mm | 3/5 inch =6 ft. |
I tend to find that most commercial buildings are made proportionally quite small and most of them are not in scale.
After completing my plan I then transfer it to whatever wood I'm using for that particular project. As a rough guide I normally use 1/8 inch Plywood for 15 mm structures and 1/4 inch Plywood for 25mm structures. For castles and buildings with particularly thick walls I use 1/2 inch Plywood or more, depending on how thick I want the walls to appear.
Most of the buildings I make have lift off roofs and interior floors for gaming accessibility. I normally, unless required otherwise, mount all my buildings on a wooden base. So after cutting out the basic wall shapes (I generally find the most tedious part of making buildings is doing the windows and door cutouts in the walls.) I glue and clamp them together onto the base.
When this is fully dried, usually overnight, I begin to add all the details. Windows and door frames from thin brass or Balsa wood and stairs and chimneys carved from Balsa Block. If it is a stone or brick building I then add a random pattern of thin card rectangles which represent stone or brick, which I have previously cut.
Periodically through the years I've cut card stock into different size rectangles and squares which I use as bricks, stones, roofing tiles or paving stones. I try to keep a good supply handy as no matter how many I cut, I never seem to have enough to complete a project and always end up cutting more. Finally I give the whole exterior of the building a thin plaster wash (about 50/50 plaster to water) and then again leave this to dry over night.
In the next issue I shall continue this series with making roofs and painting the finished project.
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© Copyright 1996 by Mike Vogell and Phoenix Military Simulations.
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