Buildings for the Table We all drool over the incredible quality and detail of the custom made or resin cast buildings available to wargamers from various manufacturers. But after we drool, we pass out when we see the asking prices.
I like to scratch build stuff, and as long as I have the time to work, I can do a pretty fair job on a building, but all too often, the time just isn't there, or the subject is just a bit beyond my skills or patience. The folks who do custom work, do indeed do incredible work, and believe me, nothing that I say should be considered an attack on them. I am simply looking at things pragmatically, I know what my wargaming budget will support, and I am sure that the majority of gamers are in the same boat.
A lot of what follows, does depend on the scale of figures you are using unfortunately, or the type of game you are playing. If you are doing a skirmish game, or a game where a fort or camp is involved, then the buildings on the table, must be in the proper scale to the figures, and probably even need to have open doors and windows, and maybe lift off roofs. However, if you are playing games at a larger scale, or are using small scale figures, there are several inexpensive options.
The Dollar Store - One of the great untapped gold mines for the gamer. I try to visit the couple of local Dollar Stores, a couple times a month, as their stock changes fairly frequently. In the Dollar Stores, one can find small, decorative houses, in some sort of resin or ceramic material, nicely painted, and generally of European sort of character. The only drawback, is that they are often released for different holidays, and so might have some holiday trim cast into the model. This varies from very subtle, to large, pink Easter Bunnies, but none of it should detract the determined frugal wargamer from saving a buck.
What I generally do with such problems, is break or cut off the objectionable bits, and if possible, turn the area exposed into shrubbery, or if I can clean it out entirely, just paint it as part of the house. I also tend to give the building a wash of black or brown, as the colors tend to be a bit brighter than one would expect to see in reality. The finished buildings are very nice indeed, and for $1.00 each, I doubt that you can beat the price. Scalewise, judging by the doorways, the buildings fall between 6mm and 10mm. This goes back to what I said earlier about the type of game you are playing. If your games tend to be based on elements, where a stand might equal a company or more, then these buildings will work for figures up to 15mm in height, and look very nice on the table top. You may also find nicely done 20mm or so house packaged as part of gift boxes of certain brands of liquor around the holidays, so try to coax them out of your friends and relatives.
I have also recently noticed a range of flat-packed heavy card buildings, in about 20mm scale, that seem to be made for some type of small doll. They are simple models, one story with an attic t)rpe structure, and a separate roof, with the doors and windows open. They are again, $1.00 each, sometimes less, and basically provide the gamer with a time-saver. You couldn't use them as is on the table, unless you are playing some very odd games, but they make quick and easy raw models, that just need to be painted. I've seen maybe 4 different models, each slightly different in style. These would work with 20mm to 30mm figures.
Craft and Hobby Shops - One can find all sorts of larger sized buildings in Craft shops, painted and in the $ 15.00 to $40.00 range, These are usually offered as part of an "English Village" type of collection, and generally seem to be somewhere between 20min and 30min in size. My interest however, is drawn to the unpainted ceramic models on sale for between S 6.00 and $8.00. These are again in about 25mm scale and are solid cast. Most of what I've seen, seems to fit in to a Wild West type of background, probably also usable for American Revolution or Civil War. Again though, some of these may come with various sorts of holiday ornamentation already cast into the model, carve it off or paint it in a creative fashion, and no one will ever notice.
Scratch building - This is one of my favorite pastimes, when I have the time to do the research and building. Every now and then, you f ind something that makes things easier. Case in point, I needed to build a pillbox / bunker for 25mm World War I games, and was debating various ways of constructing the shape. It so happened that I was putting out the trash one evening, when an empty whipped butter tub fell out, complete with the lid. "Himim", I thought, this has possibilities, so I took it back in the house, and washed it out thoroughly, and took it down to the basement when it was dry. I mounted it on a base, covered it with a layer of spackle tinted with light grey paint, and put it aside to dry. I then washed and dry brushed various colors onto the dry model, and terrained the base, making sure all the while, that the lid remained a separate piece. There you have it, a simple and inexpensive way to build a pillbox. I forgot to mention, that before putting the spackle on, that I cut out slits for guns to poke out, and added a small observation turret to the top.
Terrain Bits - The Dollar Store, is a great place to lool- for useful bits to dress u p the table top. The cheap packs of toy soldiers that one finds there, generally have barbed wire sections, and sandbagged positions, that will work with 25mm WWI or WWII figures. You can also find the odd set of zoo or farm animals in around 25mm scale, that can be used in a variety of guises. Given the sudden interest in games set in "Darkest Africa", zoo animals could come in very handy indeed. The craft shop is another good source of odd bits. They sell a lot of items intended for use in doll houses and other sorts of craft projects, that gainers will find very useful. Barrels and Squares of various sizes can be had that can be used to build up hasty barricades for street fighting. The square blocks, can in fact also be used to make up buildings for smaller scale (6mm and 10mm ) figures, in cases where North African, Indian or Mexican type buildings are needed. The price on these wooden items, tends to vary depending on the number in the pack. I have purchased a pack of 2 large blocks, for less than $1.00. Another very useful item, is the plastic frame sold for needlepoint projects. This is basically a screen made out of plastic, sold in various sizes. It is great for making cyclone type fencing for compounds.
For Sci-Fi or WWII settings, a lot can be done with household items. For instance, empty cans can be turned into grain silos or water towers, empty film containers can be used as oil drums, the plastic cap of a dish detergent bottle, can be turned into a fine DBA camp style tent for 10mm figures. I already mentioned the butter tub, the list goes on and on. What is required, is a sharp eye and an open mind. It also helps to keep a metric ruler of some kind handy, to measure things before buying them. Make or cut up something that you can fit in your wallet, after all, it only needs to measure up to the size of the figure, which even with a 54mm guy, is not that big. Well, that's it for now, more as new ideas strike me!
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© Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum
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