When designing the building projects for inclusion in this book, I tried to balance realism with practicality. Buildings used for wargaming usually get more handling than say, model railway buildings, which in most cases are embedded into a layout where they remain unless the layout goes on display somewhere or the owner moves house. In contrast, wargame buildings are brought out of storage, placed on the terrain, possibly picked up or handled during the game, and then packed away at the end of the battle only to go through the entire process the following week. Unless handled very carefully, it’s inevitable that delicate items such as gutters and drainpipes will be accidently damaged over time, so I tend to omit this type of subtle detail in the first place (but by all means feel free to include it to further enhance your own model buildings). For example, constructing a Southern-style mansion was the subject of one of my ‘How to…’ articles in Wargames Illustrated, and wargamer Mark Densham added additional details to personalise it for his collection (Figure 292).
On the subject of preventing damage to buildings, I never design a building without first considering the box in which it will ultimately be stored. In fact I have been known to slightly adjust the overall dimensions of a building so that it would fit into a convenient box!
Figure 292: An example of a personalised building. (Mark Densham)
No matter how simple or complicated a building, I always create plans or at least a few sketches, diagrams, or constructional schematics around which to work. You’ll notice that none of the plans in this book show dimensions: I have several reasons for this, not least that there are so many different wargame scales that it would be impossible to include dimensions for every scale of figure, particularly when figures from different manufacturers which claim to be the same scale seldom match. The only way to be certain that your buildings and figures look right together is to scale the plans so that a based figure from your chosen manufacturer looks as if it could actually pass through a door without banging its head, or shoot out of a window without having to stand on a box.
Converting the plans to match your figures is straightforward and involves a couple of simple calculations:
• The based wargame figure is represented by (a)
• The height of the based figure on the plan is represented by (b)
• The conversion percentage is represented by (c)
• The length of the line on the plan is represented by (d)
• The scaled line length is represented by (e)
So:
• Measure the height of one of your based foot figures (a), and then measure the height of the based figure on the plan (b).
• To find the conversion percentage (c), apply the following formula: a/b x 100 = (c).
• To find the scaled dimension (e), use the formula: (d) x (c) = (e).
There are several options to create buildings from my plans: enlarge or reduce them on a copier, scan them and then apply the enlargement or reduction or if you don’t want to risk damaging the book, carefully trace the plans and then enlarge or reduce the tracing.
Most buildings just consist of an open-topped box (the walls) and a lid (the roof), to which are added doors and windows; however, many wargamers are reluctant to make their own buildings, which is a pity because there is considerable satisfaction to be gained – as well as money to be saved – by making your own buildings. To demonstrate this, the first building project covered in this chapter is a simple medieval cottage.
This basic building can – with a little imagination – be used from early Saxon to late medieval times as well as in countless fantasy worlds. This project is actually two slightly different buildings but with the same thatched roof.
MATERIALS
• High density foam
• Balsa wood
• Thick card
• Fake fur
CONSTRUCTION
Resize the plan (Figure 293) so that a based figure will fit through the door, and then transfer the dimensions onto your chosen material.
Figure 293: Plan for a simple village building.
I used high density foam for the walls, but you could use foamboard, or cork tile. The plan shows one side and one end piece. You’ll need two of each. I generally find it easier to cut out the doors and window apertures before cutting out the wall itself. Note that the feint dotted element indicates the position of the end walls when the building is assembled. End walls with a gable (pointed) end enclose the side walls.
Once the pieces are cut out the next step is to glue the side and end pieces together. It’s not essential, but will improve the look of your building if you line the exposed areas of the high density foam with thin strips of balsa: for this project, that’s the door and window frames (Figure 294). Next cut out the vertical timbers from balsa and glue them into place, and then add the remaining timbers (Figures 295–296).
Figure 295: The building with the main vertical timbers added.
Figure 297: An alternative style of building.
If you prefer to model a style of building with a completely timber construction without windows (such as reconstructions at the West Stow Anglo-Saxon village), don’t cut out any window apertures and just clad the entire building with balsa planks. For more variation you can add a window or two, so there are plenty of ways to vary the appearance of your buildings (Figure 297).
Whichever style of building you choose, the construction of the thatched roof is the same. Taking dimensions from the building make a roof from thick card scored along the ridgeline so that it will fold neatly (Figure 298). If left unsupported the card roof would spring open so it needs something to stop this happening and also to prevent the finished roof sliding about. Draw a line along the underside of the roof where it will fit over the gables and using a pin vice, drill a series of holes the diameter of a small pin (Figure 299).
Cut two pieces of high density foam to the same shape as the triangular peak of the gable end, and glue them in position. To ensure that the roof doesn’t spring open while the glue is setting, push pins through the roof into the foam at a slight angle. Once the glue has set, you may remove them, but I prefer to clip the heads off the pins and push them in so that the ends are flush with the roof surface (Figure 300). Ensure that the pins aren’t too long otherwise they may protrude through the foam.
Figure 298: Measuring for the card roof.
Figure 300: A view showing the completed underside of the roof.
The thatch is simulated by using fake fur (Figure 301). First, cut two pieces oversize for each side of the roof. Fake fur naturally lies better in one direction than in another, so when you decide how to cut the fur, make sure that the direction in which the fur naturally lies is from the ridge of the roof down to the eaves. Glue the fur onto the roof using plenty of glue, then set it aside to dry thoroughly. This is particularly important because when you get to the next stage of combing the fur to give it the appearance of thatch: if it’s not glued securely it will lift off, so use bulldog clips or other clamps to hold the fur firmly in place while the glue dries (Figure 302).
Coat the fur with slightly thinned PVA glue. You’ll need to work it right into the fur and then, using a comb or something similar, comb the fur downwards from the ridge to the eaves (Figure 303). Once you’re happy with the sides, cut a thin strip of fur and glue this along the ridgeline to hide the join between the two pieces (Figure 304). This can be fiddly because the fur only wants to lie in one direction whereas for the ridge ideally you want it to lay equally well in two opposite directions. My approach is to use a lot of glue that then allows you to gently pull the fur against its natural direction. Be warned though: it’s a slow process.
The doors for the buildings are pieces of balsa cut to size and with the lines of the individual planks scored into the surface. The addition of a couple of cross beams adds to the realism of the doors (Figure 305). It can make it easier to fit the door securely if it’s stuck onto a larger piece of balsa that can then be glued inside the building from behind.
Figure 301: The roof awaiting its fake fur thatch.
Figure 302: A multitude of clips and clamps hold the fur in place.
Figure 303: Combing the fur.
Figure 304: A basic thatched roof with ridge piece.
Figure 305: A sample door.
Figure 306: One painted building…
Figure 307: …And a different painted building.
The exterior plaster was painted a pale yellow, then drybrushed white. The wood was painted in black and drybrushed in pale grey. The thatch was first given a black undercoat, drybrushed dark brown and finally highlighted with pale yellow (Figure 306).
The second version of this building was slightly different because the outer walls were completely timbered, so there was no exposed plaster to be painted; otherwise the painting was the same (Figure 307). Once you’ve built one of these buildings, you can easily vary the dimensions or details to create an entire village, and the next project will show how to build a hall as a centrepiece for your village.
PROJECT 23: A Saxon Great Hall
The great hall was the focal point of most villages (Figure 308). It was where the lord of the manor or the village chieftain lived, and it was the venue for feasts and meetings. The construction materials varied considerably. The walls of the earliest halls were usually made from wattle and daub with roofs made from thatch or similar natural materials. Other options had the walls made from vertical wooden panels with a roof of wooden tiles or shingles. For this model I chose wattle and daub walls and a thatch roof, as I wanted to use it with my Romano-British hill fort (shown in Chapter Seventeen).
Figure 308: The great hall in pride of place.
• High density foam
• Balsa wood or coffee stirrers (balsa is easier to cut)
• Toothpicks
• Textured paper
• Thick card
• Coco fibre
You can use fake fur instead of coco fibre, as shown in the previous project (Figure 309).
CONSTRUCTION
Great halls varied considerably in size and proportion. Some were simply an enlarged version of a smaller building, and if that’s the style of building you wish to create then you can use Project 22 earlier in this chapter as your starting point. However for something more dramatic, read on.
As usual, the first step is to create plans to match the scale of your figures (Figure 310). Cut out the walls and the door and any window apertures, and mark the positions for the timber uprights. Pin the walls together to ensure that you’re happy with the proportions (Figure 311).
Figure 309: A close-up of a fake fur roof.
Figure 311: The walls pinned together.
I prefer to base larger buildings to protect them. I normally allow about 2.5cm all around (Figure 312). Cut out your base from thick card, and pin and glue the walls onto the base (Figure 313). I was rather over-enthusiastic with the PVA glue so rather than waste the excess, I sprinkled on fine sand to give the ground some initial texture.
Next cut balsa strips for the timber uprights and glue them into position on the inside and outside of the walls. Add the horizontal beams, and give the base a coat of PVA glue and sprinkle on more patches of fine sand (Figure 314).
Paint the walls white and the timber black. You can leave the walls white if your building is intended to represent one that was recently constructed. However, I wanted my building to look somewhat shabby and well used, so I gave the buildings a dark brown wash (Figure 315). That’s it for the walls for the time being.
Now let’s take a look at the roof, which is a little more complicated than previous examples; however, if you study the photographs the assembly should be pretty obvious (Figures 316–317). The plans show the shape of the main part of the roof, which should be carefully cut out and scored to make it easier to fold it. Note that the upper triangles on the gables at each end have to be scored on the back so that they can be carefully folded into a perpendicular position. To finish off this supporting roof you need to cut another length of thick card to form the ridge of the roof. Once you have started to create your building, use your plans as a general guide, but take precise measurements from the model itself.
Figure 312: The walls in position on the base.
Figure 313: The walls pinned to the base.
Figure 314: Horizontal beams added.
Figure 315: The walls are given a dark wash.
Figure 316: The card supporting roof, folded and glued together.
Note the four pieces of card positioned to fit within the perpendicular end triangles of the roof and hold them in place. This ridge roof piece is glued to the main roof (Figure 318).
Most modelmakers have their preferred material for representing thatch; I usually use fake fur glued to a thick card supporting roof, coated with PVA and combed until it has the regular appearance of thatch. However for this building I decided to use coco fibre instead (Figure 319). It’s quite thick but can be easily pulled apart to make a thinner layer.
Once you have thinned out the coco fibre, cut it to shape to match the individual panels of your roof and glue them into position (Figure 320). Continue cutting out your thatch sections and gluing them to the supporting roof with PVA glue (Figure 321). To make certain that the thatch is firmly attached, I also stipple PVA glue into the outer surface of the coco fibre.
You could leave the coco fibre unpainted, but I gave my roof a black undercoat, followed by a dark brown drybrush, finishing off with a very light drybrush of very pale yellow (Figure 322). It will take several days for the glue to completely dry: don’t be tempted to start painting it too soon.
Figure 317: The upper roof section that forms the ridge.
Figure 319: Thinning out the coco fibre.
Figure 321: All of the thatch glued in place.
For several reasons, I wanted to have access to the interior of the great hall. Potentially this is a big building compared to the others on your wargames table, and it takes up quite a lot of the playing area: if you don’t have access to the building it basically becomes an obstacle around which your troops have to manoeuvre rather than a part of the game itself.
The lord’s private quarters needed to be separated from the remainder of the great hall, which was often achieved by wattle screens; the plan shows the construction principle for creating these wattle screens (Figure 323). The construction steps are very simple: cut a piece of thin textured card to the size of your screen panel and then make a series of parallel cuts taking care not to cut right to the edges of the material (Figure 324). To make sure that you’ve cut all the way through, carefully slide a blade along each slit, taking care to work away from yourself of course. Carefully interweave cocktail sticks or toothpicks to create the wattle panel effect (Figure 325). It’s always a good idea to make more panels than you think you’re likely to need in case you damage any of them. To complete the construction of the panels, trim off the excess cocktail sticks, and add reinforcing pieces to the ends, cut from balsa strip (Figure 326). Give them a black undercoat followed by a grey drybrush. Give the base a brown undercoat both within the great hall and outside, and then glue the wattle screens in position (Figure 327).
Figure 324: The textured card with slots cut to take the uprights.
Figure 326: The completed wattle panels.
The floor of a great hall in this period would probably have been covered with straw. To represent this I painted thinned PVA glue onto the floor area and sprinkled on finely cut pieces of coco fibre (Figure 328). It’s a slow (and messy) process because you need to push the fibre into the glue so that it thoroughly absorbs it. Take this process slowly: too much glue and the floor may warp.
After giving the ground outside the great hall a light cream drybrush, brush PVA glue onto the areas where you want to create grass and sprinkle it on (Figure 329). Make some short planks from balsa. Paint them black followed by a grey drybrush and glue them in front of each doorway (Figure 330). The final touches are to make the main doors, which are simply pieces of balsa scored to represent planks, painted black and drybrushed grey.
If you decide that you want to add furniture or other items inside, it’s probably not worth making your own because this can be fiddly and there are several manufacturers producing very good accessories. If you’re having difficulty finding what you want, take a look in the roleplaying section of catalogues: you’ll be surprised what you can find! I decided not to include any interior detail because I didn’t want it to get in the way of gameplay.
Figure 329: Static grass is added, leaving space for the wooden walkways.
PROJECT 24: Half-timbered Buildings
Half-timbered buildings are the epitome of the multi-period building. They span hundreds of years and can be found in various forms all over Europe. And of course they can be used for fantasy as well as historical games.
These buildings are easily recognisable: the inner and outer walls comprise timber frames with the space between them being filled with various materials including wattle and daub, plaster or brick. The roofs were steeply pitched, primarily because they were originally thatched and a steep angle was necessary to prevent water lying on the roof and rotting through. Another advantage of the steeply pitched roof was that it provided a usable roof space, which was important in towns where building space was limited. As building methods changed, thatched roofs were frequently replaced by tiled ones but the pitch of the roof seldom changed.
To create simple variations in your half-timbered buildings, you can make the roofs for your buildings detachable so you can switch between thatched or tiled roofs. Another characteristic feature of half-timbered buildings was that often the upper floor, or floors were jettied (projected forward), which can be easily recreated and is demonstrated in this project.
All the buildings in this project can easily be adapted so long as you follow the basic construction techniques. In very general terms, there are two styles of buildings: those with the gable at the sides (which means that the ridgeline runs from left to right), and those with the gable at the front and rear (in which case the ridgeline runs from front to back).
MATERIALS
• Cork tiles
• Balsa
• Various thicknesses of card
• DAS Pronto air-drying clay.
Before getting started on the construction, a brief word about the materials: I’m always trying out different materials and for this project I decided to use cork tiles as the basis for the building, primarily because they have an interesting surface texture, but you can as easily use high density foam or foamboard.
CONSTRUCTION
The first step is to create plans to suit your scale of figure, by resizing the plans to match a based figure (Figure 331). As a first step towards personalising your half-timbered buildings, you can add, remove or reposition windows. It looks better overall if you keep the windows on each storey vertically aligned … and it makes it easier to add the timbers too.
Figure 331: Plan for a halftimbered building.
Figure 332: Rear and side walls showing floor supports.
Cut out the walls, and also make some floor supports from spare strips of cork and glue them in place (Figure 332). You don’t have to stick with the position or number of windows shown because there’s no right or wrong configuration. The only consideration is that if you’re intending to butt buildings up against one another to make a long row, you might decide not to bother with windows in the side walls. Glue the back wall to one of the side walls (Figure 333). As ever, I’m a confirmed user of Lego bricks to create right angles.
The next stage is to add the floors. It’s not practical to specify the dimensions of this component because inevitably this will depend on the scale of the building and the thickness of the construction material being used, so the most accurate method is to take your measurements from the model itself. The plan view (Figure 334) shows how the walls and floors fit together, and where on the model to take the measurements for the floor.
Cut out your floors and test fit them before gluing. Trim if necessary. Glue the other end wall into position taking care to ensure that the floors sit on the supports (Figure 335). Next glue the three front walls into place (Figures 336–337). Note that before gluing these in position I mark some guidelines for the vertical timbering.
Figure 334: Plan view showing how the floor fits within the outer walls.
Figure 336: Rear and side walls glued in place with the floors also fitted.
Figure 338: Adding the first timbers.
Figure 340: The timbering for the ground floor.
With the basic building constructed, the next stage is to add the timber framing. The pattern of framing varied from building to building, but as a general rule it looks better if all the vertical timbers line up on each storey.
The first timbers to be added were the uppermost horizontal timbers that will fit beneath the eaves (Figure 338). Next to be glued in position are the vertical timbers that form the edges of the jettied floors and the main upright that runs the full height of the building (Figure 339). The vertical and horizontal timbers for the ground floor were then glued into place (Figure 340). Next the timber framing for the first floor was positioned (Figure 341), and to complete the front of the building, the upper floor framing and the framing for the gable was glued into place (Figure 342).
Additional bracing beams were added, as well as the timbers to support the jettied upper floors. I also added doors made from pieces of balsa sheet with the appearance of planking created by ruling in vertical lines with an old ballpoint pen (Figure 343).
Note the position, or rather the angle, of the window bars. Before the introduction of leaded glass windows, the window aperture featured wooden bars, which, contrary to how they are often depicted, were often positioned at an angle as demonstrated in the following photograph taken at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, West Sussex (Figure 344). I have concentrated on the timbering for the front of the building, but the sides and rear of the building had simplified timber framing (Figure 345).
Figure 343: Additional timbering and doors.
Figure 345: View showing the simplified timber framing on the side.
The next stage is to make the roof. As already suggested, it can add variety to your buildings if you have a choice of roofs available, which means that the roofs themselves must be removable. Each roof starts with a supporting roof made from thick card scored along the ridgeline so that it will fold cleanly (Figure 346). It will save time if you use black card because you won’t have to paint the underside of the card where it overhangs the walls to form the eaves.
To ensure the roof retains the right pitch you need to cut some supports with the same profile as the gable end and glue them to the underside of the roof taking care that they are fitted away from the ends where the roof will rest on the gables (Figure 347). I augment the gluing of the supports by drilling holes through the card and pushing short pins through into the foam.
Next up is the chimney stack. Now, there’s no such thing as a standard chimney stack; in fact in Victorian times when the first mass produced housing appeared, many builders used the chimney stack as a way of retaining individuality. From a modelling point of view, the way in which you build your chimneys depends on whether you want them to be attached to the roof, or extend them from the uppermost floor. If you choose the second option, this means that you will have to cut a fairly accurate hole in the roof, but the chimney stack will be more secure; this is the technique I adopt for buildings with particularly tall chimney stacks. The photograph (Figure 348) shows two such buildings under construction with their chimney stacks built into the outer walls and supported by the upper floor.
Figure 346: Supporting roof scored along ridgeline.
Figure 348: Tall chimney stacks need to be built into the outer walls and supported.
The chimney stack for this particular model is not very tall and it fits directly onto the roof which means that its lower edges must match the roof’s pitch (Figure 349). Cut out the individual parts (Figure 350), and glue together one wide, and two narrow sides (Figure 351). Glue the remaining side in place and once dry, trim off any excess to ensure it fits the roof neatly (Figure 352).
Figure 349: Determining the angle for the base of a chimney stack.
Figure 350: The chimney stack components.
Figure 352: Trimming the chimney stack.
My method of simulating the chimney brickwork is to first coat it with Das Pronto air-drying clay and then engrave the brickwork using an old scalpel blade (Figure 353). Before starting to engrave the bricks, you should smooth the clay to create a good surface onto which to work. One useful tip is instead of just moistening the scalpel blade with water, dip it into a 50/50 water and PVA solution, because as the glue dries this helps to toughen the surface of the clay.
With the chimney stack completed, the next step is to add the roof tiles. This can be a laborious task, particularly if you apply the tiles individually. However, I now make strips of tiles and this is much quicker; the illustration (Figure 354) shows the principle. I create the grid for my tile strips on my computer, but you can just glue graph paper to a piece of thin card instead and use the squares as your guide.
I started tiling on the roof side without the chimney stack. Glue successive strips of tiles to the supporting roof (Figure 355). With that side completed, carefully position the chimney stack and draw around it; repeat the tiling process, avoiding the point where the chimney stack will be positioned (Figure 356). To make the securest fitting possible, drill a series of holes through the roof just inside this line. Glue the chimney stack in position and push pins through the roof from the underside to hold the chimney securely (Figure 357). Note that for this side of the roof I cut out some of the tiles and positioned them at an angle to suggest a few slipped or damaged tiles.
Figure 353: A close-up of chimney stack brickwork.
Figure 355: One side of the tiled roof.
The next stage is to paint the building. I nearly always undercoat my buildings in black and drybrush them as required. In this case, the building received a drybrush of grey to pick out the detail of the wood (Figure 358). Although the roof is separate from the building, I always prefer to paint the entire building at the same time. Next I picked out the plaster infill areas in white, and drybrushed the roof tiles in a brick red, picking out some tiles in a lighter tone of the same colour (Figure 359).
When I returned to the building after leaving it to dry thoroughly, I decided that it looked too ‘chocolate-boxy’: too clean, too neat. On a whim, I gave the building a brush over with Army Painter Strong Tone Quick Shade. I’d had some lying around for a while and had never plucked up the courage to use it on my figures, but thought that the buildings would be a good way to use it. The end result certainly toned the colours down (Figure 360)!
Figure 357: The completed roof.
Figure 359: The plaster infill painted white and the roof tiles drybrushed with brick red.
Figure 361: An alternative halftimbered building design.
With minimal adaptations to the basic plans, you can create many different buildings with their own individuality (Figures 361–362). One of the most obvious variations is to have the ridgeline running from left to right instead of front to back, which means that the gables will be on each end.
The assembly procedure follows a similar sequence as before: the gable ended walls enclose the other walls, the side and rear walls are glued together and the floors are slid into position. The front walls are glued in place, and the timber framing is added. The chimney is constructed, the roof is tiled, the window bars and doors are added and the model is painted.
PROJECT 25: A Yarn Market
This project is inspired by the yarn market at Dunster in Somerset (Figure 363), close to where I live. It was built around 1590 by George Lutrell, and was designed to shelter fabric traders and their goods from the elements. The original building has a large overhanging roof to offer shelter to customers viewing the goods. As a model, the yarn market makes a good centrepiece, but the construction of this octagonal building is not for the faint hearted, although it is relatively straightforward if you take your time.
MATERIALS
• Cork tiles
• Thick card or mounting board
• Thin card
• Textured wallpaper
CONSTRUCTION
The first step is to construct an octagonal template for the base and the underside of the roof (Figure 364). You’ll need a compass and a ruler.
• Draw a square the size of your required octagon onto a piece of thick card or mounting board, and connect the corners to create the diagonals and find the centre point.
• Divide the square into eighths by drawing a horizontal and vertical line through the centre.
• Draw a circle with a radius set to half the width of the box.
• Connect the points where the circle crosses the lines to create your octagon.
Cut out two of these octagons from cork tile or high density foam. Glue cobblestone effect textured wallpaper to both sides of one octagon. The reason for gluing it to both sides is to prevent warping, which may happen if you only glue the wallpaper to one side (Figure 365).
Figure 365: The yarn market base with textured wallpaper.
The yarn market has a wall around its outer edge with a single opening for access. The walls are made from two thicknesses of cork tile, but with the innermost layer slightly shallower to create a step. You’ll need to clamp the cork sections together for 24 hours to ensure a good lamination (Figure 366).
Due to the octagonal shape, the end of each wall section must be cut at an angle so that they all butt up perfectly. I found that the easiest method was to lightly draw a line between each opposite corner of the octagon and then cut the first wall section roughly to size; hold it in position and trim the ends by cutting vertically downwards using the lines as a guide. Glue this first wall section in position (Figure 367). The remaining walls are cut to size by butting one end up to the previous wall and then trimming the other to match the drawn guide lines. Glue each wall section into place and fill any gaps as necessary (Figure 368). Cut strips of textured wallpaper and glue them to the inner and outer surfaces of the wall (Figure 369). The basic walls are finished off by adding card pieces along the upper edge to simulate stone slabs (Figure 370).
Figure 366: The inner and outer wall pieces clamped together.
Figure 368: The other walls in place.
Figure 370: Capping the walls with stone slabs.
The yarn market roof uses the second octagon. Carefully draw guidelines on one side linking the opposite corners (Figure 371). As if the octagonal shape wasn’t enough of a challenge, construction of the roof needs a bit of extra thought too! Eventually I decided upon a full width profile piece (Figure 372), to which would be fitted spoke-like shorter angled pieces. I used balsa sheet for my profiles rather than cork, because I felt that the cork was too thick. First the full width profile piece was glued in place (Figure 373). Next, take another profile piece and cut it in half. Take one half and trim the innermost edge until it butts up to the first profile piece and lines up with the edge of the roof, and then glue it into position (Figure 374). Trim the other half as necessary and glue it in place (Figure 375). You need another four roof profiles, so follow the same procedure (Figure 376). Because of the thickness of the material, make these the same size as the preceding ones but gradually trim them until they fit.
The roof is surmounted by a cupola that needs a base on which to stand, so cut a small octagonal piece of balsa and glue it on top of the profiles (Figure 377). Each of the eight roof segments features a window to help illuminate the area beneath the yarn market roof. The plan shows the general shape of this component but to be accurate, take measurements from the model itself (Figure 378). Obviously you’ll need eight of these window panels, but unless the assembly of your roof so far has been incredibly precise, each of the roof sections will be slightly different so you’ll have to measure each one. Start by gluing the first panel in position (Figure 379). I used a piece of scrap balsa to push the lower edge inwards to get the panel vertical. Taking measurements from the model, make the remaining seven window panels and glue them to the roof profile pieces (Figure 380).
Figure 372: Plan for the basic roof components.
Figure 373: The first stage in building the roof.
Figure 374: Adding the first half profiles.
Figure 375: The other half profile in position.
Figure 376: Completing the roof profiles.
Figure 377: The cupola base.
Figure 378: Plan for the window panel.
Figure 379: The first window panel in place.
Figure 380: The remaining window panels glued to the roof profile pieces.
The roof of the yarn market is split into the lower and upper sections. Both sections are tiled but first they need a supporting roof. The dimensions for these roof sections must be taken from the model. Working one by one, measure, cut out, and glue each lower roof support in place (Figure 381). I made mine from balsa.
The upper roof also needs supporting pieces for the tiles, which are made from individual pieces of card glued to the roof profiles (Figure 382). I used card instead of balsa because the thickness of the balsa made it difficult to get a neat join between the roof panels at the top. The tiles are made from strips of thin card that are partially cut to create gaps between the individual tiles (Figure 383). These tile strips were created on my computer, but an alternative method is to glue graph paper to thin card and use the squares of the graph paper as the grid. Start by adding the lower line of tiles all the way around the lower roof (Figure 384). For the subsequent rows the process is basically the same: cut a strip of tiles to the width of the supporting roof and angle the ends to match the taper of the roof. Work your way around the roof to complete that line of tiles before proceeding to the row above. Continue until the lower roof is completed (Figure 385). The upper roof follows the same procedure (Figure 386).
Figure 381: The lower roof sections in place.
Figure 382: The upper roof sections in place.
Figure 383: Tile strips.
Each gabled window also needs a supporting roof, which is made from a piece of folded card. As usual, take measurements from the model (Figure 387). If you want your model to have leaded windows they must be added at this point by cutting small pieces of aluminium mesh, spraying them black, and gluing them behind the window panel.
Add tiles to the gable roofs following the same procedure already covered for the lower and upper roofs (Figure 388). Next the windows in the gables need to have outer frames added from balsa strip (Figure 389). To complete the windows, carefully add the bars (Figure 390).
Making the rooftop cupola is the next stage. The roof of the cupola is made from an octagonal piece of balsa, a card supporting roof and a wooden bead (Figure 391). The cupola roof itself needs a supporting roof made from folded card. You need to create a plan which takes the length of one side of the cupola base for the base width for each of the eight panels (Figure 392). This is a bit of trial-and-error. Once you’re happy with the shape of the cupola roof, glue it together and add the wooden bead to finish it off; like all the other roofs this one needs tiling using the technique already covered (Figure 394). The cupola has a small surrounding wall on the base, which is made from strips of balsa glued around the edge (Figure 395). The cupola roof supports are also cut from strips of balsa; I started with four supports to hold the cupola roof and then added the remaining four once the cupola roof was in place (Figure 396).
Figure 384: The upper roof sections in place.
Figure 385: The lower roof completely tiled…
Figure 386: …And the upper roof tiled.
Figure 387: Supporting roofs added to the gable windows.
Figure 388: The eight gable roofs tiled.
Figure 389: Adding the window frames to the gable windows.
Figure 390: Window bars in place.
Figure 391: The components for the cupola’s roof.
Figure 392: Plan for the cupola’s roof.
With the cupola assembly in place, give the roof assembly a black undercoat followed by a grey drybrush (Figure 397). Usually I prefer to completely assemble my models prior to painting, but it would be impossible to paint the underside of the roof once it was joined to the base. I picked out random tiles in a lighter grey and also painted the ridges on the gable roofs in a contrasting colour (Figure 398).
Although the main roof will be supported around its perimeter, the Dunster yarn market also has an octagonal central pillar to support it. It’s not strictly necessary to make this for the model, because it’s difficult to see much underneath the roof, but I decided to make one anyway to make the model more sturdy. I used the octagon created for the cupola to save me having to make another template. Cut out two octagons from high density foam. Next cut eight pieces of balsa to make the sides of the octagonal pillar; this involves a bit trial and error because their width will depend upon the thickness of the material itself (Figure 399). The height is easier to determine: make it high enough so that there’s plenty of room for a based figure to stand underneath. I made my column sides 4cm high.
Figure 393: The cupola’s supporting roof assembled.
Figure 394: The tiles added.
Figure 395: The cupola’s base wall.
Figure 396: The initial cupola roof supports.
Figure 397: The completed roof assembly undercoated and drybrushed.
Figure 398: More detail picked out on the roof.
Lay one pillar piece on its side and glue an octagon at each end (Figure 400). Once the glue has dried, carefully turn the octagons round one face and glue another side piece in position. Once all the sides have been glued in position, glue it to the underside of the roof assembly (Figure 401). Cut a strip of textured wallpaper to same height as the pillar and glue it around the pillar. Now is a good time to paint the underside of the roof and pillar because it will be impossible to do so once the roof assembly is glued in place.
Figure 400: The supporting pillar, part way through construction.
Figure 402: A roof supporting pillar.
The next stage is to create the supporting pillars that join the roof to the base (Figure 402). These are made from square section balsa. To make a really strong joint, I drilled carefully into the end of the pillar and inserted a pin, clipping off the head. The first pillar is pinned and glued to one side of the opening (Figure 403); fit the remaining pillars and give the base a black undercoat followed by a grey drybrush (Figure 404). Pick out random stones to break up the grey. Once satisfied with the overall look, glue the roof and base together. With the model assembled, carefully pick out the area surrounding the gable windows in pale yellow or white to simulate plaster (Figure 405).
As mentioned at the start of this project, the yarn market is quite an involved building to construct – but all the more rewarding and satisfying for that reason – and so it’s a fitting model with which to end this book, which will hopefully provide inspiration and give you a few ideas to get started or to help you develop your own terrain and scenery making.
Figure 403: The first pillar to support the roof is positioned.
Figure 405: The completed yarn market.