Scenary

Okay started making a new Building yesterday using the ideas on the website i mentioned where the guy does some nifty Vietnam building's..

Main structure is made and i've created the roof and coated it with a towel to make a thatch look..

I'll take some piccies so you can see...

Things i've learn't so far..

1. When doing the PVA coat for the Towel, make sure you have the PVA well mixed with the water...Might try a spray applicator or dipping it in the solution next time...

It probably takes 2 coats as well so you need to make sure you have other things to be getting on with whilst it dries..

So, where are the pics then??? hmm???? Well???? and no excuses mister, I want pics!!!!

Okay Piccies here mate..

http://lupus-ukcord.spaces.live.com/default.aspx


Along with my samurai and other stuff...


Might have to see if we can do a Fangs of ire ala Qchem...

Okay managed to do the next stage of the building...all the beam's...

I'm hoping if the Glue dries i can undercoat it this evening and then paint it up tomorrow..

Need a nice day to spray the roof as trying to paint it will take forever..

Looking very nice mate, can't wait to see them painted up.

Looks really good mate. What reference material did you use? (if any)

I looked at what had been done by companies in resin and used some of the idea's from them..

Managed to get it undercoated last night, Mix of Black Paint and PVA yo help seal the walls and give it a little texture without going OTT.

Hopefully should get the main structure painted tonight..

Just got a few links that will help me out..

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...0US230%26sa%3DN

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...rmers_House.jpg

So, would you recommend the technique, with a few mini changes then?

Certainly would mate...

Finished painting the main structure tonight and even my wife says its looks good...I'll get some piccies tomorrow night at club for all to see...Just the roof to do..

Okay uploaded some more piccies of the Building showing the painted main structure..

Managed to spray paint the roof last night, so it just needs a few Grey Dry brushes for the thatch and its done..

Time to do another one i think...

That turned out really nice. Did you texture the walls or is that just a paint technique.

Just paint Technique to be honest..

Big Brush and then like Dry brushing but only in a single direction..

I think once the roof is done its going to look quiet nice..

Probably do another building same sort of size next and then see from there...Maybe a Batter one 3rd, village leader something like that...

I do need to sort out some village looking elements as well, well etc which should be pretty easy not i know what i'm doing..

Looking good.

WHat do you need to do to the roof? it looks like a towel.

I've undercoated it black now...

It needs dry brushing Grey to look like Thatch...

Now i know most people go its brown/yellow...But 6 months in the elements it goes Grey on the outside...

Okay nice tip from Jed on making your wood look better...

First get yourself a wire brush - really has to be steel wire or brass at a minimum.

Now take a piece of obeche or basswood (you can do it with balsa but balsa is very soft so be careful/gentle).

Now place the bit of wood so that it is flat and pointing toward you.

Take the wire brush and firmly but gently pull it down the length of the wood toward you..

repeat this until the brush starts to wear tracks in the wood (usually following the grain which is why basswood is better).

Remember to keep the brush aligned in the same direction and moved in the same direction all of the time - otherwise you'll just wear out the wood and not produce a grain effect.

Once you're happy with the grain then simply use as normal and drybrush up.


It makes fantastic wood grain. Other tip/trick is to cut out any nicks and edges in the wood before you use the wire brush, so keep taking out bits of the edges of the "planks" and beams etc.

Other tip is to fully weather and grain a full length of wood before cutting it down to the size you want - it makes things a lot, lot easier.

Once you get the hand of it you can get very subtle effects or as deep and heavy grain as you like. Using a softer metal brush (such as brass) gives a softer grain and is better on light woods such as balsa. on basswood and harder i'm using a very stiff very strong steel wire and a "brush" that you normally use to scrub rust off cars when doing repairs - often folks try to use a little delicate brush and get nowhere with it - you really need a bit of elbow some of the time.

Okay last piccies uploaded folks...Roof is now complete and its time to move onto the next one...

That has turned out really well. May try and knock a few up myself.

Yeah it look's nice, i'll do another slightly smaller one next or maybe 2 at a time to keep me busy...

Tried Jed's idea for the wood and looks really good..

Very nice mate. Wish I had the time to make some of these myself.

To be honest it doesn't really take that long to make...

If i added up all the times i spent its probably about 3 hrs though spread out over a week or so...

What did you use for the walls mate?

Looks like old foamboard from an advertising board. That is the only thing I will miss from HMV. Well that and the discount.

Yeah foam board...Work is going through it likes its paper at the mo...Once they done a Meeting most of it gets binned so i get first shout on it..

We have a nice pile at club now..

Feel free to post a load to me then.