The City of Dunbrough

That really is quite a striking building. I love all the interesting angles to the beasty, & the stonework, but it's the attention to detail that make it such a WONDERFUL CREATION. VERY WELL DONE!

DeafNala wrote:

but it's the attention to detail that make it such a WONDERFUL CREATION.

Ditto! Absolutely everything works perfectly here (the buildings, bases, outdoors pictures), but having the little details makes all the buildings stand out as unique pieces.

Joao

You guys are awesome, thanks for the feedback.

Thanks for sharing! Your work is impressive to behold. First and foremost your brick karving technique is outstanding. The most striking example is the stairs in one of your buildings, which sag in the middle mimmicing years of use. But what really makes these pices pop (all the splendid details aside) is, I believe, your colour scheme and paintjob. I would say your more recent work is apair with that of Wolfgang over at Gidian Gelaende.

While the Boars Head is the oldest building in the city, this Town Gate was the first building built specifically for the city. I built it using a GW fortress tower as the basis for one of the buildings, and anyone who has converted one of those knows, that plastic is tough to cut. I also added some Mordheim windows to the tower as well. I used Lemax rolled cobblestone for the road, straight out of the Christmas shops. I built up the sides of the roads beneath the vinyl piece so that the road sinks down in the middle.
Of all of the buildings in the city, this one is the most likely to be replaced at some point. As time has gone on, I sort of feel like the town gate should be more uniform, more official looking. The whole rest of the town can look ramshackle, the gate should look more official. We'll see if I ever get the time though.

BEAUTIFULLY WELL DONE! I think this may be my favorite; while you may be thinking of a more planned out look, I tend to think of Medieval Towns/Cities as a more spontaneous growth unlike Roman Cities. Be that as it may, it is LOVELY & WONDERFULLY detailed.

I agree with DeafNala:

My favourite building - and the one that made me buy the GW fortress (I chickened out in the end and didn't do any special conversion).

Medieval towns in my mind are busy, chaotic and all over the place. Like a jungle of builings one on top of the other. Your towngate looks extremely realistic in that sense too.

On the other hand, nothing should stop you from replacing that old piece of terrain and maybe even donate it to your fans!

I'm glad to step forwards and accept the sacrifice!

Joao

JoaoS wrote:

On the other hand, nothing should stop you from replacing that old piece of terrain and maybe even donate it to your fans!

I'm glad to step forwards and accept the sacrifice!

Joao

You are a true gentleman

wow, the gatehouse section looks great! What i like in particular are those little details in every corner and of course the absolute dark and medieval spirit of theis piece of scenery, well done! I do want to catch exactly THIS with my Gamingtable in Progress, hope i can live up to your standard of buildings, thanks for sharing!

By the way, can you tell me what this is made of? It doesn't look like styrofoam but more of a wallpaper or something of the kind?



Joao

JoaoS wrote:

By the way, can you tell me what this is made of? It doesn't look like styrofoam but more of a wallpaper or something of the kind?



Joao

That's a brick pattern sheet styrene from plastruct. http://www.plastruct.com/
They make lots of brick sheets, roof sheets, cobblestone, water etc. Very useful stuff if you want to bang out projects quick and easy, if money is no object.

Awesome! Thanks for the info!

Money is a problem, but I might be able to squeeze a few bucks out for those babies!

Joao

Oh that's lovely then. Truly it is.

Stunning!

After the Gates came the Blacksmith shop, what medieval town would be complete without one? This was a fun project because I had to build both the interior and exterior in the forge section.

Awesome - as usual. I had seen this one a few years back and it still looks a beautiful piece! Again, the little detais like the barrels, characters, tools and so many other items bring this whole house to life!

I was looking at your model before it got painted. What texture did you put on the walls to give them that rough look? Filler?

Joao

That is yet another inspiring gem. WONDROUSLY WELL DONE!

Wonderful.

JoaoS wrote:

Awesome - as usual. I had seen this one a few years back and it still looks a beautiful piece! Again, the little detais like the barrels, characters, tools and so many other items bring this whole house to life!

I was looking at your model before it got painted. What texture did you put on the walls to give them that rough look? Filler?

Joao

I use Woodland Scenics water effects for my wall textures. As far as I know, I'm the only one doing this
I use the water effects because it's in a tube, so it's easy to control. I put a bit in the space, and then daub it with a piece of scrap balsa.

Great! Thanks for the tip. I've never tried it, so I might have a go at it at some stage.

I guess something like wallpaper fine filler could produce a similar effect?

Joao

Hi there, one more question: what material do you use for the bases of your houses? Cardboard, wood?

Joao

I used to use MDF, hardboard you know? Lately though, I've been using plexiglass, I can bevel it with a dremel, without breatihng in all of that dust.

Cool. I'll look into that. I'm seriously thinking of basing all my buildings, so that they look more natural with grass and other bits and pieces around them.

I have been carefully observing your houses as some of them seem to have quite a complex design. Do you draw sketches of your houses? And what about measures and sizes? How do you come up with those?

Joao

Very characterful pieces! That blacksmith's shop is incredible, I wish I could make scenery like that

JoaoS wrote:

Cool. I'll look into that. I'm seriously thinking of basing all my buildings, so that they look more natural with grass and other bits and pieces around them.

I have been carefully observing your houses as some of them seem to have quite a complex design. Do you draw sketches of your houses? And what about measures and sizes? How do you come up with those?

Joao

I really don't design my stuff at all ahead of time. I might have an idea in my mind, but I never really put it down on paper or anything. I do what everybody else does and saves pics from the internet with ideas I might want to try later. What I'll do is sketch on a piece of paper or the base what shape I want the foundation base of the building to be, figure out where I want doors, and then build the bottom layer into that shape. Everything else kind of works itself out from there. A problem I see alot with designing this stuff ahead of time, is that the builder might become too concerned with matching the design, rather than what looks good or feels right. You can't be afraid of screwing up, because really, almost nothing you build from foam or wood can't be torn out and rebuilt. There have been plenty of times I've stopped halfway, decided I didn't like where it was going, and figured out a more attractive way to finish a building. That apothecary I just built, the only plan I had was that the birdhouse would form one corner, and that I wanted an upper level dormer to form over top of a doorway with columns going to the ground. The rest I made up as I went along. The only other planning I do, is I base my buildings off of the idea that a story is 2 inches high, that looks about right with Reaper minis, which is mostly what I use. Windows are places keeping in mind whether or not some stairs are there inside, or a fireplace or something. Also, don't be afraid to hide detail behind detail. That blacksmith shop has a door at the top of the stairs under the forge pavilion that I haven't seen since the day the roof was put on, but it was essential to the design of the roof to know just where that door would be.
My main advice I guess is don't be afraid to try something that looks hard or difficult to do, because you'll learn from it no matter what, and if you succeed, the results are awesome, you'll be so proud of what you did.


Prominence stairs first attempt.


Prominence stairs mid changing my mind.


Prominence stairs fixed.