Back on the Tools Again...More Buildings...

I have been asked to make a batch of ruined buildings based around some that I made more than a decade ago.

These were made for a WWI game and were never intended to have figures placed inside them and the request for these new buildings is to be able to do just that for WWII play. So they needed to be a little larger and have access to the floors. I needed to make a trial structure to iron out some build issues.

For this first trial structure I decided make a badly damaged two storey house, 100mm x 100mm with a shed against the rear wall. I also wanted a walled yard that extends 100mm beyond the back of the house so that there is plenty of space to deploy figures. Since most models will be designed to be put into street rows the sides of these will be plain so that they can butt together. 

Making ruins in this manner presented me with a couple of problems. When I make ruins I don't like to just make a hollow shell with some clutter and rubble outside - I like to model the interior. This is difficult because I can't accurately represent the sheer amount of rubble that would be present simply because if I did there would be no room to put any figures inside. The solution is create the illusion of  rubble by putting it around the edges of the rooms, and then randomly strew fallen timbers across the floor, still leaving space for figures.

The other complicating factor is that the model has to be built in stages, with some parts completed and painted before work can starts on other parts because those areas can't be reached once assembly begins. 

For this first building I wanted the second floor and the roof to be removable from the base, so three separate layers needed to be built. I also decided to push the design further by installing an angled stairway leading to the second floor then modelling a large hole blasted in the floor, with the joists exposed, on that second floor. The roof has an area of attic space on which a figure could be placed.

Here is the result.

Above and below the front view

The view from the back

Looking down on the whole structure, you can see the exposed floor joists and right through to the lower floor

The lower level, showing the lower level, complete with blown in doors, rubble around the edges, and a painting still hanging on the wall

The three separate pieces.

There is one thing missing...a chimney...that would have been difficult to create across three pieces. I shall make sure that the next one has a chimney.