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This is from 6 years ago…
It is a massive massive post so I will break it up into sections!
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I persuaded the wife (Samantha) to buy me the Irregular Miniatures Hougoumont Farmhouse a while ago.
Here is a picture or four of it in its current state:
Quite a big paintjob but am keen to use it in a game as it will be a great focal point.
Here are the basic browns with a thick inkwash:
I have been painting the brickwork, individually painting each brick in a variety of 6 different subtle shades takes its time… Looks good close up though.
The next photo will show the brick details.
Individual brick detailing as promised, the pictures don’t do it justice but you should get the idea:
The walls are done, not 100% sure if I like the way they look.
I will have to have a think.Here are some more shots anyway:
Done a bit more and actually finished one of the main buildings.
I have done the windows which were a worry but they look ok, they look a bit better in the flesh as they appear more glossy.
The rendered walls are quite nice too I feel.
Again I have painted each individual roof slate.
The shutters are painted white, not sure what colours they actually were but as mentioned this is a not an accurate reproduction, just my take on it.Aerial Shot:
Front view showing creepers:
Similiar view:
More to come….
Finished the walls and the barns down the side, again painting individual slates and tiles, the barn with the white walls has very similar coloured slates so they do not look like they are all hand painted, the orange coloured ones are a bit better in my opinion though.
Aerial view:
Obligatory front view:
Side view showing new work:
View showing interior:
View showing interior with main house removed:
In the background of this you can see the next project; La Haye Sainte.
No rest for the wicked…Well it has been a long slog getting this far but the actual buildings are all painted. (Well for now anyway, I will come back at some point and paint frames for the windows.)
Has it been worth the effort?
I think so, I am glad that I took the time to paint each brick and each roof tile one at a time instead of drybrushing it all. Selecting a few tiles or bricks to be singled out was an option but that seemed like half a job.The windows were painted black then had grey painted on to act as reflections and were painted several times with a gloss varnish to reflect actual light.
They are still not quite right but I am not sure I would want to invest any more time in experiments to get it just right, problem is I may never have got it just right.The vines/creepers were painted brown then several shades of green built up leaving some brown for the branches underneath.
Hinges on the gates painted, shutters on the attic windows all shaded and highlighted.
So all in all so far so good.
Next is the tricky bit. Deciding how to model the base it sits on.
The inside I am thinking patches of grass, vegetable plots.
Ideally I want to make the rest a mixture of dirt and cobbles. Though making cobbles at this scale will be a bit tedious.Once the inside is done then we have the outside, as it is a standalone piece I do not want strong tracks leading to the edge of the base as that will look daft if it does not join up with a track when on my games table.
The outside will be easy to do once I am decided.Anyway here are a variety of shots from various angles showing the project thus far.
I have painted on the outline of the buildings and glued the walls into place.
Which means sorting the cobbles is next.There seemed to be no easy way to get the cobbled effect in the courtyard so….. I am making each one by hand.
I will of course continue the madness and hand paint each one once I have finished doing them.Not sure how it will come out but fingers crossed.
Here are some shots.
We have a cobbled courtyard.
Again my camera skills can not quite pick out the detailing but hopefully you can get the general idea.
Here is a close-ish up shot:
Here is an aerial view:
I have also put some patches of mud near the gateways and in various spots outside.
Next the grassy areas inside the courtyard.
Now some shots with the buildings in place.
There are a few areas where the cobbles have fallen short so I will need to touch these up, anyway here we go:
The interior is all done.
All that is left is to plug up the gaps in the exterior walls where they join the main building and the entire grounds outside.
What a journey but the end is in sight now.
The mudded bare earth areas are painted and the first coating of flock is applied.
Blimey it is almost done….
Just thought.
There are no trees on my model.
I will have to drill holes in the base at some point but need to decide where they will go.How about this?
While I ponder the tree issue I was thinking that we should have some patches of tall grass.
I am not sure where but thought a few bigger areas and then some small clumps here and there.
Does this look ok for areas and amounts? I will add some paint to the grass when I add the next layer of flock.
In my last post I mentioned that a final layer of scatter material was needed.
Knowing me this was of course never going to be enough, just one extra layer of flock indeed.So, about 10 layers later with the trees stuck down and all done, here it is:
Finished.
(for now)
Direct above.
Aerial view.
Eye level view.
North gate view.
South gate view.
Offside view.
Once Attack! has been and gone I will start work on the gardens and orchard…
Thanks, not finished yet though…
Here is a rough sketch of the next 2 stages.
The gardens and the orchards.They will be done as separate pieces, that way I can use any combination of them together or as stand alone pieces.
Does this look like a fair layout?
I have gone with the above layout.
Here is a dry run with the extra bits from Irregular that I will be using.
Extra walls and orchard trees.The main wall is long enough that an entire company can fit behind.
The wall that extends from the garden onto the dwelling tile will be cut and the little section will be an extra loose bit as I wish each tile to be usable on its own.
It is getting to be quite a chunky project.
I have sloped the edges of the sections so that it blends into the table nicely. Drawn out the layout of the garden and laid out a section of orchard and glued the tree bases into place.
Now how to actually do the gardens….
The problem I have with HOOGY is twofold.
Firstly it needs to look pretty but be functional.
The big wall has been measured so that it is just big enough for a company in line formation to fit behind it.
It is also a big piece so has been split into 3 sections, each can be used on its own in its own right.Secondly as with so many 6mm buildings it is too small.
If you study it and look at a single 6mm figure the actual farm is too small.
So by making the gardens look in proportion with the building they end up looking too small when you stick a figure on them.All these things must be balanced to create a usable model for gaming purposes and something that looks neat.
Anyway, do we think that a vineyard in the gardens is ok?
Below is the current state of affairs, I have added a small wall, some pumice in between the gardens to be painted as a gravel path, undercoated the outer walls and placed the vines.
Right as I am not at work and have been ordered by the doctor to relax I have done a bit on HOOGY, I have started the orchard.
I have slapped some sand texture gel around the bases of the tree stands, this is so that they do not look as raised.
Any bit that is a bit sticky-outy I will paint as roots.I have painted the trunks brown and the leaves green but am pondering how best to flock the trees as I want them to look less like lead so they fit in with the trees in my woods and the 3 trees on the HOOGY farm base itself.
(the trees are resting on something unrelated to project HOOGY)
I have a good feeling these 2 weeks off will see HOOGY finished!! Huzzah!!
More to come.
Got distracted by the ornamental gardens…
Have painted the exterior walls, again brick by brick making them mostly the one colour but picking out a few in slightly different shades (so slightly different that you can not see them all in the images)
Then decided to paint the pathways in the garden, they are a gravel style.
Now whilst a lot of posh gardens have chalky paths to look pretty I have decided that for a farmhouse where they clearly have lots of grey stone around I will do them in light grey.I also carefully removed ny homemade balsa walls and replaced them with some walls by Irregular Miniatures, much nicer.
Painted some brown on the trees too.
WALLS
GARDEN
WHOLE THING
taking shape now.
Just a small update as I have been busy doing customer orders. sheesh!!
I have decided to do the Irregular lead trees by flocking them.
Here is the first coat of 2 colours, the next one will be lighter and a different texture.I have dabbed the recessed areas with green paint and dipped the wet trees in a flock box.
Once dry I will dab the protruding areas and apply the lighter flock.The orchard base has been painted brown and washed and highlighted, I have tried to avoid painting the tree roots yet as these will be finished in the same colour as the actual tree trunks.
Hope to get some more work done tomorrow.
have done some work on the orchard, some brown flock near the roots. Tufts in between the trunks where the grass gets trodden on less. (these tufts are the same as the ones used on the main house – silflor) I have added 2 shades of woodland scenics green to the ground as a base covering.
Next will be adding some of the short strand seasonal grass as sold on the website.
The trees are also flocked in the 3 tone scheme, images will follow soon.
It is a labour of love no doubt.
The orchard floor is done, I have added Hay and Summer flock from the AB website as well as a bit more brown hornby flock.
I was inspired by 6milphils orchards and wanted to copy that trodden down path look between the trees:
Don’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me
Here is my take on it:
Just the trees themselves next…
Done some more to it, at last.
The trees have been covered in a dark green scatter.
On top of this I applied a lighter shade of the same scatter to the raised areas of the trees trying to create a highlighted effect.This was sealed with pva mixture.
Once dry the trunks were painted a wood brown and stuck to the base.
The trees then needed that fruity appeal, they are an orchard after all.
Some of the light green scatter was mixed with a small amount of red scatter. This was then lightly applied to the trees and has hopefully created a nice fruit tree look.
Here it is:
(it is still a bit wet but this is a WIP after all)
To finish I need to paint the trunks and branches some more and then the roots and apply small touch ups to areas of the flock.
Gardens next!!
Finished the orchard now, added some extra long grasses of various colours and added more flock to the trees to make them a bit more irregular (no pun intended)
A few different angles and a close up.
Right back to the gardens now:
I have decided that as all 3 pieces are meant to be able to be used as stand alone pieces that the gardens will be slightly different from the actual historical ones.
To that end I have enclosed the gardens in a wall. Tall around most of the garden but with a low more garden-esque wall at the rear as you look at it.
I have used windsor & newton gel to make muddy patches and have also used it to cover up the joints in the walls. These joint covers will be painted as ivy etc.
Here is the gel:
and the painted gel/mud:
On a side note, it is bloomin’ cold here.
Started on the lawns and posh beds.
Popped to Hobbycraft and managed to find nothing of use.
So if I want more than red flowers I had better think of another plan.I did the ivy on the walls but it was too flat so I have added more so that it looks like plants and not a green painted wall. They are now quite clearly 3d, will paint them up next.
My main reason for posting was to ask what you think should be in the rear bit of the garden.
I have debated the following:
Lawns with a couple of trees.
Lawns and a gazebo (did they have them then, no idea?)
Vegetable garden, not sure if that is right though for this area.
Small hedge maze (quite like this idea, but not the thought of making it…)
Still not sure what to put in the spaces.
Had a few suggestions but none have made me excited.. Not sure that anything will….
Ok I am a bit late on this but work has re-commenced.
HUZZAH!!
The delay was because I was simply not sure what to do next.
I have now decided.
The rest of the garden will be basically a large lawn.
On this lawn will be a few worn paths with dirt showing and some extra trees.
The grey stone gravel has been extended around the interior of the walls and I have added a dovecote.I was thinking of a statue, then of a fountain but GUNGNIR suggested a dovecote and I thought it would be a nice unusal touch.
I am going to fashion some benches for the good folk to sit on and maybe some pillars here and there..
Here is a shot of it so far (minus the orchard section)
more to come…
Strike a light!
It is almost done.
It is odd, as it approaches the last few hours of work I am a little sad.
I have been slogging over it for a year and waiting until it is finally finished, now that time is here I wish it wasn’t.Anyway.
I have added some lighter grass to the large rough lawn area, done a little bit to the dovecote.
Added some base green flock for the grass outside the walls.
Then added 4 or 5 shades/layers of short strand static grass.I have added some more static grass to the house base too as it was not matching quite as well.
Here are a few pics showing all 3 sections (of how may though??)
The next post will be it FINISHED.
watch this space…
ONE YEAR AND ONE DAY SINCE I STARTED IT – FINISHED
The painter finished his work and saw that it was good.
Well it has taken a while on and off but all is done.
What took so long?Each roof slate and roof tile is individually painted.
Each brick and each wooden plank is individually painted.
Each cobble in the courtyard is individually hand made and guess what.. yup individually painted.The fruit trees have been layered in 3 shades of flock, twice.
Then the apples added to make them look like fruit trees.The normal trees have had extra flock added to bulk them out.
The grass is a blend of 6 shades of static grass and 6 shades of normal scatter.
There are 5 shades of tufts dotted here and there.I think you get the idea…
Oooh, I just thought of something to add to it….. bugger.
Between these there is a gap in the wall.
I am making a little section of wall that will be removable.
That way you can still use each piece on its own and then you can add the wall section to link them up.Then there will be barricades and stuff.
minor touches really.
The first shot shows the main complex and how that looks fine as a stand alone piece, but once you add the formal gardens (which also look fine on their own) you have a gap between the two walls.
This will of course let the baddies get into the complex.STAND ALONE AND ALL IS WELL
WITH GARDENS AND WE ARE BREACHED
I could make a section of wall and attach it to the main piece but then that would look odd when used as a stand alone piece.
SO I have made a removable wall section.
The problem to overcome is how to make a 1mm thick wall not fall down during playing.I decided to attach the wall section to a small base of some sorts and place that on the main piece, I decided to try the Irregular Miniatures haycart as that comes with a small lead base and attach the wall to that.
Here it is…
THE BREACH IS MENDED
THE WEE CART
Not perfect but good enough and does the job well enough.
Some barricades and things next methinks…
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