During a recent trip to a local shopping centre, Sue and I visited a branch of the 99p Store ... and I happened to see some very cheap plastic doll's houses on sale. (The doll's houses were actually half buildings, and came with some rather poorly moulded plastic furniture.)
Although the buildings are moulded in some very un-warlike colours (cream and pink!), it immediately struck me that they had potential for use with 40mm and 54mm-scale figures ... so I bought two.
It was only when I got home that I realised that they were different and that they were designed so that the two half-buildings that could be clipped together to create a single building.
I am not sure when I will get around to repainting these buildings so that I can use them, but at a cost of 99p each I will certainly think about buying some more when I see them.
Although the buildings are moulded in some very un-warlike colours (cream and pink!), it immediately struck me that they had potential for use with 40mm and 54mm-scale figures ... so I bought two.
It was only when I got home that I realised that they were different and that they were designed so that the two half-buildings that could be clipped together to create a single building.
I am not sure when I will get around to repainting these buildings so that I can use them, but at a cost of 99p each I will certainly think about buying some more when I see them.
Bob,
ReplyDeleteI have purchased a couple of dozen ceramic "Christmas Village"-type buildings . . . then I simply painted over the garish colors and they work very well.
You can easily do the same with your find. Also it is good to note that if you paint two of the same building in different colors, then they come across as different buildings (particularly if placed at different angles).
-- Jeff
Good find but that pink has to go!
ReplyDeleteAt that price they could be a useful source of materials - the doors or windows could be cut off and used on plane card/balsa models.
ReplyDeleteGood find Bob, you can't beat the price, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteNice find Bob- my advice would be to buy as many as you think you'll need plus 25% as soon as possible as you'll regret it later when you look for some more and can't find them again. I've done it myself with past poundshop and similiar so it is the sad voice of experiance talking.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Pete.
It's amazing what can be found at yard sales, .99 stores, etc. A couple years ago I bought a bunch of McDonalds "Flintstones" buildings for a pittance. Particularly striking is one with crossed mastodon horns over the doorway (I bought a lot of them, of course). Everyone had a merry laugh at how foolish I was, but painted up it looks like something an Ork would live in, at which point their scorn turned to envy! I also found doll houses like the ones you just got, as well as the same thing in approx. 1/160 scale.
ReplyDeleteSomething I found recently was a series of nursery school jigsaw puzzles, where all the pieces are about 3" square, not counting the interlocking tabs. I bought a carload and painted them all green, with lighter highlights (they have a sort of bumpy texture for some reason), adding streams and roads to some of them. I can now make all sorts of different battlefields by switching things around. This is one time I returned looking for more, and actually found some! But as Pete said, that almost never happens.
Best regards,
Chris
I'll have to check out the local places to see if they have anything of that sort. I was thinking that as half-buildings, you could place them on the edge of the table to suggest a build-up area much larger that what appears on the table.
ReplyDeleteBob you always find a bargain
ReplyDeleteBluebear Jeff (Jeff)
ReplyDeleteI have seen the ceramic Christmas Village buildings on sale in the UK … but they have never been particularly cheap, which is why I have never bought any.
I hope to pay a another visit to the 99p Store at some time over this weekend, and if I do I will try to buy some more of these cheap doll’s houses. Repainting them should not be too difficult, and then I will have some model buildings that are suitable for use in any future FUNNY LITTLE WARS and LITTLE COLD WARS battles.
All the best,
Bob
Jim Duncan,
ReplyDeleteI agree; the pink just HAS TO GO!
All the best,
Bob
Nigel Drury,
ReplyDeleteI am sure that you are right, especially as the pink windows and doors just pop out when pressed.
All the best,
Bob
Ray Rousell,
ReplyDeleteAt 99p each, what’s not to like about them … except the colour!
All the best,
Bob
Pete,
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I wondered if I should have bought more at the time, but I will certainly buy some more than I immediately need if I see them.
As Nigel Drury pointed out, the parts will be useful if I want to scratch-build some other buildings.
All the best,
Bob
Chris
ReplyDeleteIt never ceases to amaze me what excellent uses wargamers can put to what other people would regard as cheap toys or junk. I particularly like the way you have used the nursery school jigsaw puzzles, and if I found some I may well follow your lead.
All the best,
Bob
Archduke Piccolo,
ReplyDeleteThese doll’s houses were made in China (no surprise there!) and I am sure that they will be sold all over the world in cheap and discount stores.
I had intended to use the half-buildings so that it was possible to put model soldiers ‘inside’ them, but had not thought about using them along the edge of the tabletop to create the illusion of a much larger built-up area. That is an excellent idea … and one that I and others will no doubt copy!
All the best,
Bob
Johntheone,
ReplyDeleteI am always looking for things that are cheap and that might be useful … with the result that I have a room full of junk!
All the best,
Bob