Friday 24 January 2014

Old School Fantasy Cottage

Regular readers will know that I recently interviewed Phil Lewis about his time at GW and his contributions to photography, miniatures and beyond. You will also know that I am being treated from a dental abscess. I find that sitting for long periods, or bending over for any length of time, aggravates the infection and makes life uncomfortable so I have been able to do little Oldhammer stuff but write lately.

So I elected to work on something on a larger scale than normal that could be achieved when standing. I opted for the fantasy cottage Phil Lewis mentioned in his interview. Well, he didn't mention the actual cottage, he mentioned the series of articles he worked on and this reminded me of them.

It is a fond memory of mine the weekend I first used this plan to construct a fantasy cottage. Using various cast offs from my dad's model railway and some specially bought foamboard, I built a tiny little house and decorated it. That model is, of course, long, long gone but its memory inspired me to build another... Twenty five years later! So getting hold of WD130, I followed the article, added my own ideas and produced this, my first piece of Oldhammer scenery!

Timber frames are of course balsa wood, as is the door. The roof was made from cardboard taken from an empty cereal packet. as were the tiles. Door fitting made from the same card as the roof. Door knob a blob of Greenstuff. The building was based in my usual way. 
I had a go at sculpting the walls with Greenstuff. I used several ink washes to dry and make the brick work rather slimy and dank, just like a house would look if it resided in the Reikland of my imagination. 
I textured the walls with quick drying polyfila bought from Tescos. The roof was stained with ink splats and paint flicks. 
The timbering took a while to attach until I used Copydex. Never build a piece of scenery without the stuff, is my new modelling motto. Its excellent!
And here is the scale shot alongside the Muleskinner. I really enjoyed building this cottage and I have just started a second one. This time the building is going to have a lean to extension. 
What do you guys think?

Orlygg

10 comments:

  1. I make architectural models for a living and making warhammer buildings is something I enjoy just as much as painting minis. I think your cottage looks great. I especially like the 'speckling' on the roof and walls. The basing is very old school in that it is close cropped and square. I get quite excited when looking at warhammer scenery; more more more! :-) Maybe a barn or coaching inn or fortified manor? The old warhammer fantasy roleplay book has some good ideas and plans toward the back if you own it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are certainly right about the WFRP book containing loads of great ideas, but some does Warhammer Townscape. Its just a case of copying the measurements over to foam board!

      Delete
  2. I think you have done a great job, Orlygg. You nailed the shingles especially well- very off-kilter and random in that Warhammer-y way. I look forward to the first battle report featuring your new village farm. Nice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are actually going to be used in a series of scenarios I am preparing. Look out for another two buildings based on this original in the near future!

      Delete
  3. Absolutely lovely! It just goes to show, an article of sufficient quality from White Dwarf can live for decades and give joy to a community the following century.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Too right Paul, and there are many, many more to have a look at in the archives! The Town House, Mines, Shacks, Ruined Temples, Barns, Larger House and so on...

      Delete
  4. Great post Orlygg, particularly nostalgic for me as I built two of these circa 1990. You can see them here. I also started the forge, but I can't remember which WD it was in. I didn't even remember that this was from 130. It would be great to make a repository of these or at least share pictures of everyone's builds.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This brings back great memories, I made my own one when it was first published using stuff I managed to get from my primary school, I remember photocopying the plans as well there and it being my first time using a photocopier. I still have the cottage I made and use it for games, it has pride of place. Great article on something I would have thought hardly anyone else would have done, glad to know others enjoyed making it as much as me.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The first White Dwarf I ever bought. The article about making this cottage was the only six pages in the magazine that were remotely comprehensible. Mine was made of cornflakes box card and matchsticks rather than balsa and foamcard, though.

    ReplyDelete
  7. great work on that old school building, I wonder if you ever tried the coaching inn that featured in WD when you were younger, I know I tried and failed......

    ReplyDelete