Welcome to my blog, the story of my continuing journey into the World of Zombie Wargames.

Monday 30 June 2014

Two Small Sheds (and one World Cup)

Doo Dah, Doo Dah.
I was idly waiting for the adverts to finish and some World Cup match to start and thought "I should be building something !". There is a lot of waiting around for matches to start (and half times) whilst pundits drone on about something or other.
So, armed with my usual selection of tools, some very thin card (about the same as a cereal packet, but with no shiny side) and the inevitable coffee stirrers, I set about making a garden shed, which turned into two when I realised how small they actually were.
Shed 1
Both sheds have the same basic dimensions, a footprint of 55mm x 75mm, wall height of 35mm and height to roof ridge of 80mm.
The orientation of the roof ridge is the only different aspect  of either building.
I made a continuous net of the walls and intended to fold them into a rectangle, rather than make individual walls then glue together. This method is not recommended for larger buildings as the result is anything but rectangular.
Shed 2
Once the net was finished and cut out, coffee stirrers were glued to the side and clamped whilst they set. (I only worked about 15 minutes on one wall at any time). The wood glue I used took about 45 minutes to dry sufficiently to enable more work do be done on the model (very convenient).
 The bases for the sheds were cut roughly rectangular and glued to the folded walls.
The roof was another single folded piece of this very flimsy card, but was reinforced internally with pieces of scrap wood.
A piece of paper was glued to the card then trimmed for size; next more glue and a sprinkling of some fine sand to get the felt roof effect (tar paper I believe it's called in the US) that is prevalent on sheds.
Shed 2, rear
Matchsticks on the edges of the roof, to glue the paper to and some more coffee stirrers for the barge boards either end of the roof completed as much effort as I was going to  put into these.
The internal windows frames were tile spacers I picked up a year or so ago, whilst the surrounding frame was split and filed coffee stirrers. The doors for the two sheds are a triple layer - very thin card in the centre with coffee stirrers clad to the outside. I had my first attempt at making a pole hinge from paper clips on both doors so they opened (turned out to be more fiddly than it was worth). I'd have been quite happy with doors glued in place, but I'd probably get grief from "you know who".

Inside Shed 1
Internally you can see that the shed walls were each reinforced with two lengths of coffee stirrers, at the top of the wall and at about 20mm from the bottom of the wall (level with the lower edge of the windows). There were also four vertical coffee stirrers used, again to strengthen the models but also to provide extra gluing contact where the walls met.
The floors were sprayed with a black undercoat before the coffee stirrer floor boards were cut to size and glued in place.
The hole in the rear of shed 2 was made purposely as a feature btw !
Inside Shed 1 (different view)






 Windows were given two vertical edges, the tops and bottom edges conveniently using the internal supporting beams as can be seen on the photographs.

Internal clutter of course was a must once I had decided that the roof would lift off.
 Most of the internal rubbish came from a small stock of things I'd already made namely the books, newspapers and sacks that can be seen in the photographs.

The poster seen on the walls of Shed 1 all came from the interweb (of course) and were reduced in size.


Inside Shed 2
In Shed 2, I made a short bench for one side out of a lolly-pop stick rather than a stirrer to make it look more substantial.
The green twisted piece of wire, representing a garden hose was an easy addition whilst the tyre was from one of the wrecks I'm making as my next project, covered in a piece of tissue.
The petrol can and oil drum that can be seen in the two sheds came from my friend Stu a few weeks ago. (He's currently making and casting his own buildings !)
Whenever I've made models for this project, I'm always aware that figures have to fit in them or on them. If I make a balcony, for example, then it's only logical that someone would want to put a figure on it.  and hence space has to be made for the figure to fit.
These two sheds follow the same principles, I've left enough space to get at least three figures in each (on 20mm bases) and I've left space in front of the windows and the door for figure placement too.
These  two models took about 7 days to complete, which is probably about 7 hours overall, excluding drying time.
The slip-shod paintwork will never win any prizes, but it's sufficient for my wargaming purposes.

That's it then for another week, thanks for looking and as always your comments are both welcomed and appreciated.

34 comments:

  1. Wow I wish I could do something as productive while the pundits are talking. I only get as far as making a drink or looking at the internet. 2Very nice sheds they really are. They will fit in perfectly with your other buildings. Nicely done.

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    1. Thanks Clint, I rememeber other world cups where I sat and did similar mundane tasks , which prompted me to attempt something constructive.

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  2. They are just brilliant! Once again it is the interiors that I particularly love, that hose pipe is inspired.

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    1. Thanks Michael, the interior though are the easiest part (well at least I'm more interested in doing them)

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  3. very impressive - the interiors are fantastic.

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  4. So much detail! I do love the interiors.

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    1. Thanks C6 and I thought I'd gone a little sparing on the interiors.

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  5. Great work, Joe, and all the better for having doors that open. I'm not really sure who would give you grief for leaving then closed... cough, cough!
    The interiors really bring them to life and are quite inspired. Well done, my friend!

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    1. Thanks Bryan, I'm yet to be convinced about opening doors, bu they're done now. Thanks goodness I didn't say anything about their being no "glass" in the windows eh ?
      The interirors do seem make people happy don't they ?

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  6. Cracking job Joe.
    Interiors are excellent sir. Is you know who like Voldermort. LOL.

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    1. Thanks Bob, I can't say enough how easy doing the interiors was.
      I think we all know who "You know who",it's " A VIP man" (anag.).

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  7. Fantastic work yet again Joe. All your buildings are like little oysters, all pearly on the inside :D.
    It's amazing to see how much random pieces of paper and wire add to the piece, just stunning and still a great inspiration for "some day". It's really top notch.

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    1. Thanks Mathyoo, not bad for a total cost of well less than £1 eh ?

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  8. Fantastic scratch builds, I love the detail you put in

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    1. Thanks SK, the easiest bit has been the ineriror detail, yet it's that that makes the models!

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  9. Amazing builds again! I love how you make them so characterful with the small items inside, poster, newspapers....

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    1. Thanks LS, they're actually all the same details (more or less) that I've used in the past.

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  10. Simply lovely work Joe! I like the cabins of yours very much.

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  11. Great stuff Joe,
    I'll have to have a try of these myself at some point

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    1. Thanks Dave, theyr'e easy enough for anyone to do.

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  12. Those are both really nice and the internal detailing is lovely. Great idea with the window frames too

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    1. Thanks Za, I was very pleased with the frames and may well use tile spacers again.

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  13. Your work never ceases to amaze me. Goodness those sheds are incredible with so much detail. The garden hose is so clever.

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    1. Thanks Baconfat, yet the inside detailing only took about hour !

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  14. I might forgive you for killing Bob if you keep making such nice toys.

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    1. Thanks Baconfat, there will be many more deaths I'm sure, but as for more builds, I do need some serious inspiration.

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  15. Those look great mate love the interiors especially!

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