I had a go at trying to make one of the
N scale plastic buildings I’d bought
second-hand (see Post 15) into
something that worked alongside the
TimeCast models I’d already painted.
Like many second-hand N scale
purchases, this model suffered from
nasty blobs of glue and window frames
cemented in upside down. I covered over
the glazing of the doors and added a few wall
timbers. It needed a completely new
chimney. I made one out of layers of
card glued together, clad it with
patches of moulded plastic brick
sheet, and finished it off with a
Milliput putty chimney cap. The
finished model still needed to be
sunk into a terrain tile. I saw it as one
of those useful little models that bulk
up a built-up area, not something to
catch the eye. However despite its original
somewhat modern appearance, it may still be
more like a typical hovel of Essling than the more
impressive TimeCast models.
Realistic Clutter
A nice traditional feature of this model is the window shutters. I can’t help imagining that easy-to-get-at wooden window shutters would have been ripped off by troops almost immediately and turned into much- needed firewood. This brings up the never-to-be- answered question of ‘realism’ on the wargames table. Should buildings try to look like they would have looked before battle? Or after troops arrived and defences erected? Or after the artillery had started knocking things about? It seems doubtful that wargames terrain should ever have the peaceful air of a typical railway scene. Unfortunately, this might mean that by the time battle commenced many interesting features like livestock and every bit of available wood – shutters, doors, furniture, wood piles, even vine supports – would more than likely have been requisitioned, heartily consumed, or trashed. Again, it’s time for wargames compromise and creating a feature-full village might require guards guarding the odd remnant of uneaten livestock, window shutters that were too hard to remove before battle commenced, and wood piles that were too wet to burn as firewood. With a little ingenuity, there can be an excuse for everything in wargames land!
ABOVE The model as it arrived. It is obviously designed to fix
into a stand of some kind.
A Corner of the Village
POST 57
57
