Fonzie's Scratch-Building Forum

Barry S · 10-09-2007 11:04:53

Hi,

It's been a little quite here so I thought I would share a project that I finally completed the other day.
It is a 15mm French and Indian War Blockhouse heavily influenced by those made by Paul Darnell of 'Touching History'.

I had this item on my workbench for over a year. The sad part is it only took a few days to finish!

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Kind Regards,

Barry

Last edited by Barry S (15-07-2010 09:47:43)

Fonzie · 10-09-2007 18:42:17

Well done Barry, it looks great!

Fons

pantherfish · 13-09-2007 01:40:07

Barry,
That is an excellent looking fort...and unfortunately...I can relate to having stuff sit around forever until you can get to it...I have a german E-boat...I keep saying "I will get around to it...I have said this for SEVEN YEARS ...I do have one question for you...What material did you use for the base?

Chris

Barry S · 13-09-2007 02:41:48

Chris,

The base is white is a piece of white foam first glued to a base board of 3mm MDF, cut to shape with a foam cutter and then lightly blown over with a heatgun. I asume most of us are aware of the dangers involved in heating foam, plenty of ventilation, outdoors if possible, etc. I then coated with sand and a small amount of talus.

I hope this helps and thanks for the kind words.

Barry

Fire ar Will · 17-09-2007 21:44:58

Nice, it's something I've thought of making for a while. How long is real time did it take to make?

Will

Barry S · 18-09-2007 09:54:43

Will,

Thanks.

In real time, it probably took a little under 2 weeks. I have plans for another one in the pipeline but want to finish a log cabin and field set-up similar to the one below and a Woodland Indian Villiage I've been working on. I'll post some pictures once their done.

Cheers,

Barry

pantherfish · 19-09-2007 00:58:32

Barry,

I have a friend that does alot of French Indian Wars...he would absolutely love your Modelkit. He is French-re-enactor...He does 15mm also...he did a display for a Museum...which is located in a French Fort over in Illinois across from the river the good old state of Illinois...If I ever get the chance...Promise I will take some Pictures of the fort for you...they do not have a website currently. Really love your buildings!!! and thanks for tips on basing...I have been working on several different buildings...but it will be some time before I post...not because I do not want to...but because my camera went back to the manufacturer and I am waiting for a replacement.

Chris

Barry S · 20-09-2007 10:33:06

Thanks for the kind words and offer to take some photos Chris.

I remeber seeing a model of Fort Duquesne which is on display at a museum on Terragenesis some years ago. The article breaks down the construction into three parts.

I have provided the links if you're inerested. It truly is magnificent.
http://www.terragenesis.co.uk/infopages/page262.html
http://www.terragenesis.co.uk/infopages/page263.html
http://www.terragenesis.co.uk/infopages/page264.html

Kind Regards,

Barry

bluewillow · 23-09-2007 12:44:04

great work Barry

cheers
matt

Gabriel Landowski · 03-10-2007 18:01:39

That looks great Barry - larger pics would be awsome. What did you use to color the wood? And what type of foam cutter did you use?

Barry S · 04-10-2007 02:24:08

I've uploaded some larger pictures to my Photobucket album:
http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l12/LeadBear/

The wood was painted Burnt Umber and subsequently highlighted using light greys to represent bark, in particular Folk Art 'Barn Wood'. The cut sections on the top of the palisade were painted a raw wood colour. I use Folk Art 'Country Twill' for this.

The foam cutter I use was bought from Games Workshop about 7 or 8 years ago. I then used a heat gun on the foam to roand it off. Not something I would really recommend but it achieved the result I was after. I hope to get myself a hot knifein the not too distant future.

Thanks for all the kind comments.

Cheers,

Barry

Barry S · 11-10-2007 09:28:42

I have finished the Woodland Indian Village. The bark texture was made using paper streamer.

I had meant to make a palisade as well but didn't get around to it.

Cheers,

Barry

Last edited by Barry S (15-07-2010 09:48:59)

crusher100 · 18-10-2008 19:54:42

what minis are those? Are they 15mm?

Barry S · 18-10-2008 23:07:47

Chrusher100,

They are from Essex Miniatures and they are 15mm. A list of the figure range can be viewed here:
http://www.essexminiatures.co.uk/frames15syw.html

Unfotunately the French in Canada range hasn't been photograph with only a selection of packs been done for the FIW British.

Cheers,

Barry

crusher100 · 20-10-2008 08:51:21

Thanks Barry,

How Essex compares to Minifig? Which have best sculpting and poses?. Do you have more pics of Essex units for FIW? I would be a lot interested as I am looking for creating the armies from This Very Ground rules but in 15mm.

Barry S · 20-10-2008 09:12:22

Crusher,

I personally prefer Essex but Minifigs do produce some figures that Essex don't.

The only range I can compare between Essex and Minifigs is from the Zulu War ranges. Essex are slightly larger but they have more detail.

Another range of 15mm FIW figures worth considering is by LKM Direct Ltd. They are the old Friekorp 15 range and contain quite a good selection of figures. They are smaller than Essex but these are what I'd be using if I wasn't using Essex. I also believe thay would mix in okay with Minifigs. I have some ACW Friekorp and Minifigs and they don't look too bad side by side.

Their range is also photograph and can be viewed here:
French: http://quickreactionforce.co.uk/catalog … 22_384_170
British: http://quickreactionforce.co.uk/catalog … 22_384_168

I have some of these and they are quite nice scults. I particularly like the Settlers and they do a Personality pack which includes Montcalm, Washington and Wolfe.

I'm currently in the process of painting up a couple of FIW armies for DBX, albeit very slowly. These are all Essex miniatures and once I have them painted I'll photograph the figures and give the relevent code numbers.
I also plan on using 15mm for This Very Ground and BAB.

Sorry to waffle on so much but I hope this is of some use to you.

Barry

crusher100 · 20-10-2008 15:10:34

Many thanks Barry,

The FIW from LKM Direct are the ones I was looking at until I saw your pics . Regarding Essex please take some pictures as I want to see them before deciding wich I will go for. I have several from 28mm Redoubt but I love the idea of groups like in the TVG and less money.

The units in the TVG scenarios I found are:

Indians (45)
Militiamen (20)
British Regulars (20)
British Grenadiers (5)
Provincials (30)
Ragers (15)
Courier du Bois (10)
Leaders (1 Indian, 1 British Off, 1 Militia Off, 1 Provincial Off)

Are these matchable with Essex references you've been working on the DBx project?

Indeed I scaned the scenarios from the rules This Very Ground and make a selection of packs from LKM. If you are interested PM me and I will send you the file.

Another question is regarding how do you create the Woodland Indian Village?. How do you create those structures. Your work is inspiring!.

Thanks again,

crusher.

Barry S · 27-10-2008 11:19:57

crusher,

Sorry it's taken so long to reply.

The units you have listed can be represented using Essex Miniatures. There are no Indian leader or Militia leader miniatures as such. However, this isn't anything a bit of converting couldn't achieve. The main thing about the Essex range I find dissapointing is the limited range of poses within the individual packs, especially where the Indians are concerned. I will take you up on your offer of the file you made and PM you when I get a chance.

I made the Indian Village using an article written by Herb Gundt in Wargames Illustrated 145 (october 1999). In the article which is written with 25mm models in mind, Herd uses a product called Treewrap but I was unable to locate anything suitable around here so I went with streamer, which was smothered in white or PVA glue. Once dry this was cut into small sections and then layered onto a cardboard roll that had been cut into half or there abouts for the longhouses and a couple of Kinder Surpise egg halves for the Wiki-ups.

Since building the original set I have made another which include a meeting house with a proteced front entrance and church. Again these were insprired by another of Herb Gundts articles he wrote for Wargames Illustrated. I can't remeber off hand what issue it was in but I'll find out and send you the details.

If you're intrested in making a set for yourself, I would recommend tracking down a copy of the articles. Old issues can generally be found on eBay for a couple of dollars.

Cheers,

Barry

Last edited by Barry S (15-07-2010 09:50:26)

Barry S · 27-10-2008 11:37:59

crusher,
I meant to add that along with taking photos of the Essex figures I have, I'll also photograph the FIW canoes and rafts available from Irregular Miniatures.

Cheers,

Barry

crusher100 · 01-11-2008 12:34:05

great thanks for your help. I wait for news and pics. Awesome stuff again!

Barry S · 15-07-2010 09:56:10

Hi All!

Been very quiet around here so I just thought I'd post a couple of my latest pieces.

Another log cabin.

A little inlet I use as a DBA camp as well as for my FIW games... when I actually play them

A rocky hill, although it could naturally be used for other periods and conflicts, I did make it with the FIW in mind.

I would have liked to have made the areas of flock under the trees a little darker, I still might, and to have had it more heavily wooded but I wanted to find a happy medium between looking good and playabilty. Overall I'm happy with the result.

Cheers,

Barry

PS: The trees are removable.