donderdag 19 augustus 2021

Two tent structures

 Looking at my pioneer settlement Coffey Gulch so far, I figured it to be a bit short of normal small modest housing, so I decided to round things off with two more dwellings, wooden frame but still with canvas only, no wooden walls or roofs yet.

The basic frames were quite simple.


Roof beams done.


For canvas I used regular printing paper again, not treated in any way.


Acrylic paint in a discoloured look.


Dirty wash with diluted brown acrylic, and done.



zondag 15 augustus 2021

Wild West beer tent

 Originally, I had intended the second tent roofed building to be a beer tent, a pop-up saloon, if you'd want to call it that. However, the more I worked on it, the more I figured it to be too small for that purpose - so I added a better sized one.

Quite unsurprising, I started with the floor.


The walls were added.


Roof beams in place.


Instead of tissue paper like I used on previous buildings, I went with regular printer paper.


Like with the tissue, I gave the roof a wash with diluted PVA glue, but it made so little difference I'll skip that step next time.


Dirty acrylic paint applied for that lived-in look.


Brown diluted acrylic paint wash as weathering. A beer sign, and I called it done.



vrijdag 13 augustus 2021

Wild West supplies store

Coffey Gulch, my Wild West pioneer settlement, needed a store.

Wild West pioneer buildings often went through three stages: tent, fake fronted tent, and completely wooden structure. For this project I went with the middle stage.


I have a supply of rough cut 3,5mm wooden "beams," ideally suited for model buildings.
The floor is made out of coffee stirrers.
The front wall is styreen, with matchstick window and door frames. 


The completed basic structure.



Finding the right slapped on paint look took some trying.


The "Supplies" store sign was printed with Word, and glued on styrene.
The floor was dirtied whuile I could still get to it.


A styrene edge made the sign more realistic.


More attempts to get the front colours right.





The roof was covered with (unused) tissue.


I gave the tissue canvas a wash with diluted white wood glue to both strengthen it and give it a more worn look.


Roof painted with broken white acrylic paint.


A final wash with diluted brown acrylic.



Simple materials, simple sketch, but I ended up with a nice addition to my wargames table.


woensdag 11 augustus 2021

Tent roofed building B

 The second tent roofed building for either the newcomers section of Coffeyville, my still under construction Western town, or the pioneer settlement Coffey Gulch.

This one is identical to model A, only this one is a bit more comfortable with a wooden floor.

Here the floor and the side frames have been done.


Next, the end frames were done.


The whole put together, with plank cladding added.


Even though it would be smart to dirty the floor before the canvas was added, I still did so.


Tissue canvas, given a bit more strength by treating it with diluted white wood glue. 


The acrylic paint for the canvas was giving a bit of a tint, so it wouldn't be too white.


A bit of weathering, and done.



Tent roofed building A

 I still have to finish my Western town Coffeyville, but naturally that didn't stop me from adding something that might look to the uneducated eye as a new project.

Pioneers in the Wild West often started with tent roofed buildings, which at a later time might be finished off with planks.

I'm planning a series of these structures, which could be used as a newcomers section to Coffeyville, or as the pioneer settlement of Coffey Gulch.

This example is just about the simplest version, without a wooden floor.

A bit of inspiration:


First step, the basic frame.


The frame with roof beams added.


Planks added to the lower half ot the walls.


The roof was covered with tissue paper, here it had already been treated with diluted white wood glue for added strength.


The "canvas" painted.


White was a bit too white for having been outside in all weather, so I gave the whole structure a wash. 


More similar but not identical buidings will be added.