Friday, 12 June 2020

A Temporary Distraction

With life getting back to some level of normality now that we have moved out of our lockdown here in New Zealand (social distancing is gone and only the borders remain closed now), I have felt the need for a break from painting American Civil War infantry and I have spent this week painting some resin buildings for a friend.

The first is one of two Hovels pieces. This is what they call the “Old Country Farmhouse”. It is quite a nice piece and well cast.






The second piece is a fairly random piece of table decoration. I think it is a beehive with a dead tree and a few pieces of  hedge and wicker fencing. A perfect place as my friend says to hide a few dragoons or a sniper. I am not sure who the manufacturer is, but it looks like a Acheson Design piece.




The third piece is a timbered structure with a stone base. Again I am not sure of the manufacturer, but it is a very nicely cast piece. The ability to remove the roof  is a nice touch.







The final piece is another Hovels model. Not as well cast as the first one - there were a lot of air bubbles in the brick work that had to be filled with GreenStuff and covered with ivy where the damage was beyond reasonable repair.


I think this is the “Thyme house-Kentish framing, double bayed...” model that is no longer available.






The intention is to build this model into a significant built up area, surrounded by these brick walls. The walls had a lot of mould damage that saw some big areas filled in with chunks of resin, so the application of some foliage was necessary.


The complete built up area will probably be another week away.

18 comments:

  1. I do like your realistic and gorgeous buildings Mark!

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  2. I do prefer resin for buildings and walls. Nicely done,

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    1. Thanks Norm. Resin buildings were my speciality - 30 years ago I designed and marketed a range of resin buildings that counted over 200 items across three scales. So this was a bit like discovering old friends. I am not a fan of the MDF models that I find too precise, too prefect. I like the character that comes with imprecision.

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  3. Great looking buildings, lovely terrain! You can also end up with big flat areas on MDF models,the imperfections help on resin,plastic and even foamboard!
    Best Iain

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    1. I agree Iain. The depth of texture on the resin that can be achieved with resin castings makes all the difference for me.

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  4. Very nice work on all these Mark...lucky friend to have you do such a nice job for them..anyone I know??

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    1. In deed you do know him and you will see him, and these, in the flesh tomorrow.

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  5. Excellent work, Mark! You must have a storeroom full of buildings and terrain.

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    1. Thank you Jonathan. I have six or seven large plastic storage containers that stack in the roof space.

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  6. Great stuff Mark, the Hovels stuff still stands up well and in my view lasts longer on the table than some of the newer MDF alternatives.
    Cheers
    Stu

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    1. I think the only negative of the resin is the weight.

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  7. Terrific work Mark, especially on the daubing. Mine always comes out looking too white. Is this a combination of GW paints?

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    1. I started with a black undercoat, then a base of mid-brown, followed by a lightened brown and a drybrushed white. To tone that down it all got a wash of Aly’s Brown Liquid and a slight touch of white drybrushed as a highlight. Finally to give definitions to the point where the timber and daub meet I applied a thin line of Nuln Oil. This gives lots of depth.

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    2. Thanks Mark, it was thew final washes I was missing. I'll give that a go next time. Nuln Oil is one of my most used pots, although it must have been a year until I read the label properly and realised it wasn't "Nun Oil".

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    3. Makes me ask how you extract oil from a nun? Do you use something like an olive press?

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  8. Lovely buildings Mark ...
    I do like the Old Country Farmhouse... I may have to get one myself....

    All the best. Aly

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    1. I struggled a little at first because I hadn’t any resin building for more than 20 years, so it took a while to get the technique back.

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