Building out a new table full of terrain has been extremely gratifying. My techniques are neither new nor novel, but simple tricks applied with an earnest desire to make beautiful things happen on the tabletop. Even better, the fiddly little bits of the house are simple enough and forgiving enough that it’s teaching me how to paint with no depth perception. A little bit more of this and I might even be brave enough to try some figures once again.
Today we look at a handful of buildings that will add to the American Revolution terrain, all taken from products labeled American Civil War. Simple MDF buildings are a staple of the hobby, and for good reason. They are inexpensive, easily assembled, and if you prime them with a map varnish and halfway decent spray paint, they’re easy to get some color on them.
For all the Lamentations about “stuck culture” these days, stuck architecture is a wargamer’s best friend. For the uniforms of armed forces in America change every decade, at least the architectures remain stable for a dozen decades. The farm house and the barn don’t look out of place even in a modern table, when paired with a 7-Eleven or Taco Bell.
The weird MDF slotta-holes have been (badly) filled in with plaster, as is tradition, but this time I bought some cheap vacuum formed texture roofing tiles. The pack came with a sheet od natural stone texture that was way too fiddly to work on the chimney of the farmhouse, which was painted to look like natural Stone instead. The roofing tiles are barely adequate. They look okay, but the look isn’t nearly improved enough to justify the extra effort. The best thing I can say is that it keeps my village roofs from being too uniform. Would not recommend.
And every town from coast to coast (and beyond) needs one of these chapels. This one reminds me of The chapel at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, for example.
We still need some Fields beyond the pumpkin patch to really make this feel like a working farm. Not to worry…instead, stay tuned!