ooops

well July appears to have escaped me... the manor house is waiting on some laser cut panelling from Fenris Games and I really want to get that bit done before moving on to other bits... I've been working on the trees, but am not 100% happy with the finish look, the heat hasn't really helped I have to admit (and Borderlands has been it's own time sink), but my plan for them just isn't working out - I now need to decide if I glue clump on top of what I have or strip it back and some more branches... I fear the latter is more likely. Just need some decent clump foliage.

basic build done...

ok, basic build is done, some little kinks to fix, narrow gaps mainly where the floors meet, but they are easy enough to solve...

forgot to cut a window in the attic at the very back - will do that later... actually, I had to replace that entire wall as it was a slight warp, measure twice and all that... hell, measuring once would be novel, I tend to cut a piece and then cut the other pieces to match... which isn't really recommended.

and so the attic - perfect for staff quarters, storage, dormitory or strange and vile experiments in the dark arts...

so, next (after the gap filling) is some detail both in and out, bannisters and so on, chimney is going to go here:

but waiting on a fireplace before I commit. Then the beaming begins... I may take a break before then though, just to recharge.

first floor WIP

first floor walls up... I haven't quite decided on windows in that end wall just yet, or door placement for the room at the top of the stairs, so those need working on...

I couldn't do balsa for floorboards as normal, due to the thickness, so I bit the bullet and carved the floor boards into the foampvc for the first floor, quite chuffed with the finish...

I also redid the stairs, made from scratch from foampvc, toothpicks, plasticard and a cocktail stick, which means they match the ones I had to make for the access to the attic.

the pub/manor/farmhouse WIP

ok, basic walls for the pub/manor/farmhouse

some interior walls needed, stairs aren't attached just yet... most furnishings won't be, so I can swap out for pub/homely furniture and so on...

I've altered the original footprint, so the building conforms slightly more to the classic T plan, this just meant narrowing the main hall - which has actually helped with a problem I hadn't forseen with the overhang needing to cover the bay window, it would have stuck out too much if it was flush with the main door wall as it was... this way is much better.

have skimped a bit on windows, I want a few plain walls to have some flexiblity with adjacent buildings/lean-to's and the upper floor will have plenty of light down into the hall... it should make sense... there will be a small back room for shady dealings and a hefty door - a cellar hatch gives some scope for smuggling and a passage into the neighbouring stables to avoid the local constable.

Dome Tents

remember that dome tent I made a while back?

Well, it's now available from Ainsty - I did another with the flap undone and the pair can be got for £4....

not my picture by the way - haven't even come close to painting those - but has got me thinking about getting on with that lot now... and I'm trying to build a pub and a wood at the same time... sigh...

foliage test

ok, following on from the sponge, it's painted dark green (which is not as easy as you'd think), leaf flock on top - needs some touching up, but on the whole it looks good from a distance, but close up, there are spots that just look too much like sponge... I'd hoped the holes would give a more layered feeling to the foliage, some depth, but not 100% it's worked...

may fill some too spongey bits with clump and reflock... or just go all clump...