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Saturday, 15 November 2025

I am still thinking a lot about my future wargaming ... and I have been keeping myself busy whilst I do so

Last month, I mentioned that I had been doing a lot of thinking about my future wargaming and that I had been considering several ideas and possible strategies. That process is still ongoing, although my ideas are beginning to crystallize.

In the meantime, I have been trying to use my time constructively. Rather than paint figures, and spurred on by the success of my repaint of the resin model of Tallinn's famous Viru Gate, I decided to paint some model buildings that I constructed whilst I was bedridden last year.

I used the same basic technique (and colours) that I used on the model of the Viru Gate. In other words, all the models were given a dark grey undercoat (Humbrol No.67) and the majority were then dry brushed with beige (Revell No.314). The roof tiles were repainted using carmine red (Revell No.36) and dry brushed with a 3:1 mixture of carmine red and beige. The details were then picked out in a number of other colours. Once they were finished, each building was mounted on a 3mm-thick MDF base that was flocked with fine cork granules.

The resulting buildings looked like this:

I was so impressed by the end results that I have actually bought another example of Faller's 1965-vintage 'Old town block' model (Code number B-924) to build and paint.

22 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. JWH,

      Thanks very much for your kind comment. I must admit that they turned out better than I had hoped.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  2. BOB,
    Perfect- the Buildings really came up excellently- you've settled on paint schemes that really work- well done indeed. Cheers. KEV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kev Robertson (Kev),

      Cheers! The first couple were a bit of an experiment, but as I did more, my technique improved and refined itself. I now feel ready to tackle some more.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Very nice! A fine and versatile addition to your collection.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark Cordone,

      Cheers! I really enjoyed painting them and was very pleased with the end result.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. I love these! Might just need to take a stab at scratch-building that town gate in a slightly larger scale.

    Kind Regards,

    Stokes
    (Michigan, USA)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WSTKS-FM Worldwide (Stokes),

      Cheers! There are lots of photos of the Viru Gate online that will be of help with your scratch-build.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. Job well done turning these souvenirs into real wargaming items!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bob -
    I can imagine a fine townscape with all these buildings massed together into a 'BUA'. Great for Mediaeval to Early Modern Europe!
    Cheers,
    Ion

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo (Ion),

      It my hope that I’ll be able to use these model buildings - and future ones that I will add to the collection - with my 15mm and 20mm figures. I’ve tried to make sure that the footprint of each building is as small as I can make it.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  7. Your buildings look great and totally worthy of a place on the table.

    One of my boys has discovered your PWG rules and is busily adapting it for play as a Google Slide project. He plans to go old school and "play by email" with his friend in class. The benefit of using Google slides is they can collaborate in real time so they could play a game with minimal delays. I've been urging him to share his work with you once the project is ready for play.

    Both of my younger boys are beginning to take a greater interest in the games I played in my teens and I can't wait to share more with them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mr. Pavone,

      Cheers! I’m very pleased with the way they have turned out.

      I’d be very interested in your son’s project. Playing online is one of the things I’d hoped that more people might do … especially doing the necessary work is beyond my skill level! If he needs anything like text files ofthe rules etc., let me know and I’ll send them to you.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  8. Great progress on the buildings, Bob. Using a similar colour scheme has really helped them meld together - they’d look excellent on table! 👍🏼

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Martin S.,

      Thanks for your kind comments. Ihave varied the palette- but not the technique - on the next batch of buildings I am painting. They should look compatible but not identical.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  9. Some lovely buildings Bob - they could possibly work well with a railway as well as being nice wargames scenery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maudlin Jack Tar,

      Cheers! Funnily enough, I had a similar thought …

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  10. Bob - I really like these and they have given me some ideas for refurbishing the various Faller or similar buildings I have acquired over the years and not really done anything with!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ian Dury,

      Cheers! The technique I used is quite simple and easy to use … and by undercoating them in dark grey, all I need to do is to paint the window frames and not the glass.

      Good luck renovating your own buildings.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  11. Nice looking buildings. These days I never plan ahead - somehow the comment my consultant gave me on my last hospital visit ('you're doing very well considering what you've got') wasn't really reassuring so I'm tending to just let myself drift...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rob Young,

      I was sorry to read your comment about the future … and hope that the actuality is better than the prognosis appears to be.

      I must admit that there have been times of late when my ongoing health problems have dragged me down somewhat, but the support of my family and the wargaming community has helped me regain some of my enthusiasm for life and the hobby.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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