Buildings

Good strong walls, warm in winter, cool in summer, and the roof don't leak. What more could you want? Well how about some loopholes knocked through so you can shoot at the guys outside?

China - 1850-1865

The Chinese House
This is my first scratch built house. I based it on a painting from a Chinese history book which showed a series of these in a dark and dingy alley somewhere in Canton. I was inspired to build it by seeing pictures of the village from the reports of the attempted rescue of Sir Peter De Gee from where he was being held captive by Manchu Fouie. The house is two stories high, with a removable roof and removable floor on the second level. The figures shown here are large 25mm scale Old Glory Boxers.

The house itself is made from corrugated cardboard, of which I have an excess after several moves. It was cut in one piece, and the corners glued together to form the whole. The exposed edges (wherever the corrugations were visible) were plastered over using the same pre-made wall compound as used in the hills. The cantilever balcony is made from sections of Starbucks stirsticks cut to size and glued down to thin cardboard from a cereal box. Wire pins add their support to the balcony, while a block of corrugated cardboard holds the floor more or less firm. The railing is a bamboo skewer cut to length with supports cut down from toothpicks and held in place by floral wire dowels. The two level roof is an insert from a cookie tin scored and folded, with a half straw glued in place to maintain the fold and to provide a bit of space between the roofs.

Pretty much everything that was glued, was glued with rubber cement, since white glue would cause the paper of the cardboard to shrink, warp and bend while drying. To finish the piece, the walls and roof were spray painted, white for the building and black for the roof. The spray dries evenly, without shrinking or making the cardboard warp. The roof was painted dark green then drybrushed a lighter green to highlight the tops of the curves. The walls were covered with a light coat of antique white, which is a yellowy-white, giving a bit more used and worn look. A spray coating of matte sealer covers everything to add to the durability of the finish.

Dominion of Canada - 1875-1885

The Cabin
This is a neat little log cabin that I found in a Christmas store (the now defunct one at Bayshore Mall, it's since become a Winners). It was on sale at half price, so I snagged it for a mere $6 Canadian. I have no clue what this thing has to do with Christmas...I mean, there's no way to hang it on a tree or anything. There is a hole in the floor, maybe to stick a light through? Perhaps it's a fake Dickens villiage knock off. Anyway, whatever it it, it's perfect for the Mad Trapper's cabin, or that little farm in the hinterland of Saskatchewan. I have a photo somewhere of a cabin much like this one, with a hand painted "NWMP Post" sign hanging on the door.  This may be the Q Division base!  

The cabin itself is made out of that pressed and stiffened cardboard stuff, and I'd like to carve off the roof so that I'll be able to stick figures inside. And it's timeless enough that I think it may show up on the battlefields of 1812 too. 

  Spare blueprints? Extra floorboards?
E-Mail them to me!

Buildings