The first post was something of a test run, but thanks to those of you who have commented so kindly already. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my friend Phil Olley, who has kindly spent hours of his time showing me how to set this blog up. Starting up a blog was one of my objectives for 2021, but it couldn't have happened without the encouragement of several friends, and Phil's knowledgeable assistance in particular.
My plan is to first work through posting pictures and a bit of comment on those models which I made for myself or others and managed to get photographs of. These go from early efforts back in the 1980's up to about 2009, when I ceased taking on paid commissions. The next phase will be to get myself taking photographs again so as to be able to show the models I have made between then and now, again with snippets of information on the subjects being represented as well as how I went about them. When that is done I will hope to photograph future work stage-by-stage as I make it, which ought to be more helpful to anyone who'd like to try something similar. Somewhere along the way I will try to do specific "tutorials" on how I go about things, but also about the historical landscape- how to research it and try to represent it on the tabletop.
To get the ball rolling here's some photos of the fortified Swiss church I built for Simon Chick in the early 2000's. Some of the photos are mine and some by Simon, with his wargames figures setting the building off very nicely. The model was made as a couple of separate parts that can be used individually or together, and has had several "outings" in the demo games which Simon is often part of.
For those interested this model is basically made of three kinds of material. The walls are built of foamcard, the roofs are from the "Wills" range of model railway scenic sheets, and there are some parts where I made a master model, then moulded and cast them in resin. I have built up quite a stock of moulds over the years for parts like windows, doors, chimneys and roof formations.
Hi John - this will be a fantastic blog and a real go-to reference point for me and so many others. Nice to see the church and please feel free to nab any other pics of mine too.
ReplyDeleteAll the very best, Simon
Thanks, Simon! I hope the blog will add a little bit to the online part of our hobby, just as you and others have done long since.
ReplyDeleteGlorious building full of fifteenth century atmosphere. Thanks for adding the follower thingy at the side.
ReplyDeleteFantastic church, John. I am very interested to see how you create such masterpieces.
ReplyDeleteAlways interested to see how these buildings are created following with interest.
ReplyDeleteAnother beautiful creation John and I will be dropping by your blog regularly to see what you have posted! Are you also a gamer or solely a modeller?
ReplyDeleteAlways been a wargamer. That got me into modelmaking, because I needed the scenery to play over. It's a great feature of our hobby that there are so many byways to explore, if you have the inclination.
DeleteGreat to see some close ups of this model
ReplyDeleteA fantastic construction. Your painting on the outer walls is very effective. Drybrushing?
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Stokes
Yes, just drybrushing.
DeleteActually I don't think my previous comment was very helpful! The painting was indeed done entirely by drybrushing (apart from the wash of grime around the base), and there must have been two or three layers of successively lighter colour. But half the job is in creating a physical surface that drybrushing will enhance. I'll try to explain what I did here:
DeleteI was going for the look of stonework that has been heavily limewashed. The basic walls had quite a few individual "stones" glued on, using different thicknesses of card and then semi blended in with filler. I also used cast door and window frames, which again were only half blended in with filler, so that they are deliberately quite noticeable. All this gives the impression of there being a complete stone structure underneath.
I do have a long-practiced technique for representing a rendered wall out of foamcard and household filler. It takes longer to explain than it does to carry out though, so I will describe it in another post.
A great start John. Well done. It's been a pleasure to help out. Phil
ReplyDeleteBrilliant model
ReplyDeleteLooks magnificent!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work, thank you for starting to blog about it. I have added a link to yours on mine. Chris http://notjustoldschool.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chris. I went there, had a look and liked it. It is *mostly* old-school, though isn't it? Right down to the 1970's style female hussar! Hand-Built History values its politically correct status too highly to be linked with that sort of malarky! LOL.
DeleteI am joyfully working my way through all of your posts. Just remarkable work and I love that the pieces are not just evocative but practical too. One think I must ask - a daft question perhaps - is when using the polystyrene Wills plastic sheets, what glue is best to use when attaching those sheets to, say, foam core or wood?
ReplyDeleteThankyou Chris. Standard UHU is my default glue, and I would use it for what you refer to. This glue does attack the foam element of foamcore a little bit, kind of makes the foam shrink back slightly within its paper coverings. There wouldn't be a problem gluing styrene on top of foamcore, but you might want some scraps to reinforce the joint inside if you want to glue a Wills sheet edge-to-edge with a piece of foamcore. I hope that helps?
ReplyDeleteThanks, John. Now I have to find UHU. I know it is a German made adhesive, but not sure I can get it here in Canada. Obviously not your standard PVA.
ReplyDeleteNope, PVA likes porous surfaces really, as water has to evaporate for it to dry. It hates plastic! I don't know what countries UHU is easily available in. Might be worth a look to see if anyone in Canada sells it online for crafting purposes. Failing that, UHU is one brand of what's called "contact glue". I am certain that other brands of contact glue will be available in Canada. They don't all behave exactly the same; some you need to apply to both surfaces then wait a bit before pressing them together, which is more laborious. You *can* do that with UHU, but mostly you just squeeze it onto one part, press the two together and it sets fairly quickly and strongly. I'm sure there will be something available locally that does the job.
DeleteThanks for the clarification. There are several contact adhesives available but I think I can get UHU All Purpose adhesive through evil Amazon. Cheers, Chris
ReplyDelete