In the last issue of the Heliograph, I reviewed some paper buildings from The Virtual Armchair General from their Kris And The Flame 28mm line. I pointed out a few problems, but overall was pleased with the product. However the editor showed me an email from TVAG’s Patrick Wilson thanking us for what he termed a 'brutally honest' review and that they would soon be sending us a revised and reworked edition of these paper buildings. I was pretty surprised.

So later we got a package containing the Eastern Up Houses, Bundelkhand Rectangular Houses, Wattle And Daub Houses with Slant Roof, and a Wattle And Daub Farm in 15mm; as well as the reworked editions of the East Indies Huts #4 and #8 in 28mm. All are on thin card with well-printed graphics. The 15mm buildings all came two on a sheet except for the Wattle And Daub Farm with came on two, the 28's each came on two sheets. Each building represents a simple four-walled building with the exception again being the Farm; which is the most complex building with an open gate, courtyard, and four separate slanting roofs.

Even though there were nine 15mm buildings to assemble, including the large farmhouse, it took only one and a half hours to build them start to finish. As several of the buildings had "floor plans" which often included a wood patterned porch or dirt courtyard we glued them down to thick card bases which will help their stability. The 15mm house's directions said to back them with thick card or foamcore, though when finished they’re small and sturdy enough not to need it unless rough handling is expected or you want to leave the roof unglued to place figures inside. An interesting feature on each model was the inclusion of separate door frames and roof caps on the sheet. When backed with card and glued down they make nice 3-D projections that add a bit to the illusion.

The farm house is a little tricky to put together, mostly at the end where you have to hold all four building pieces together to keep gaps from forming in the walls, but that's only to be expected on a kit of this nature, and the resulting building is definitely nice enough to be worth it. The only gaff on the 15mm buildings I noticed was that gate section's inner and outer walls are mirrored making it so the gate's interior walls are both on the same side, this made us turn the outer wall section upside down. This was not a real problem, but it is something that can be easily addressed in future printings.

The 28mm East Indies Huts have been changed quite a bit since the last review; with the graphics being sharpened up and the colors corrected a bit (last time they were a bit greenish) and the directions are better and more plentiful. The roofs on both buildings have also been made larger and improved, though the one for the East Indies Hut #4 is slightly too short for a good fit. The wood patterned platform for #4 has also been made quite a bit smaller this time, which looks better but doesn't give nearly as much room to place figures around.

In the last review I talked about the confusion around what do with the platform/floor of East Indies Hut #8. While it has been made clear in the directions of this version, the area of the platform is wider than the area it's supposed to be slotted into; in fact, it's wider than the building itself so some modification is necessary. On a construction note: The 28mm huts are large enough that they NEED card/foamcore backing to prevent damage or warping, especially if you want to put figures in/on them.

Overall we were very pleased with these new buildings and would recommend them as an inexpensive and fast way to build up villages for the colonial period. And the response to our review and subsequent modification of the designs for ease of assembly is very encouraging. Thanks Virtual Armchair General.