Adobe Buildings (2)

Despite feeling ill (no sympathy necessary), I've been quite productive this week, tackling three more adobe building for my Sudan project and I've made a little more progress on my large 'palace/government' building - slow but steady winning that particular race.
I decided to make a step by step photo record of the building in the centre of the photograph to the right and also photographs of the others I've been working on too, consequently this is a very heavy picture-orientated post (sorry), and as usual the photo-quality is of the usual poor standard too!

Notated plan, already deviating from the original by an extra 5mm (on the left side)

My starting place was a plan of the building, all features having some notation on them, I uses a N,S,E,W plus a number to indicate which wall is which and plan where windows , doors, stairs etc. are going to be place.

Drawing all the walls at once, gives standard heights etc.

Heights of Building, Parapet, roof/ceiling, doors all marked.,

Wall notation, similar length walls are above one another.

Walls cut out and doors, window etc. marked

Windows etc. cut out

Height adjustments made for internal walls and walls that will sit on the base, rather than on the edges

rabbets made for the four external walls

Note the use of a heavy, wood, flat board to assemble buildings (and a cupboard door for large pieces)

First wall added (Marked North 1)

I also use a handy block of wood, about 6" x 3" x 3/4" for checking corners are at 90 degrees and are vertical (it can be seen supporting the wall in the photograph above).

East wall added

West wall added (who'd have thought ?)

SE corner needs looking at - something went wrong, but is easily fixed

The SW corner is the same !

A quick trim and a bad rabbet on the right hand front wall.

Cutting rabbets can be triky and I managed to slice off the east one on the front wall making for an awful-looking joint, but glue, a knife and filler will fix anything! (Note the west one is the same)

The two walls that will sit on the base

The 'internal walls are cut to fit on the base; in the photograph above, the top wall has had about 2mm sliced off the bottom (about the thickness of the card base), whilst the internal wall has been cut to the height of the roof/ceiling base.

Door-wall added, note the block of wood being used

Internal wall added

Different view of same thing above (Ed.:This is just padding)

The stairs, showing obviously how they;re made

Approximately 5mm steps

Steps added with wall

I didn't like the way all the external walls made the model look like a shoebox, so I cut the walls around the courtyard down to about 5mm above the roof height.

Short, low added to courtyard

Overall view, showing cut-down courtyard wall.

Different view

Rear view (obligatory boring picture)

Garden cane, approximately cut to size.

Cane 'canopy' over small enclosure

Just the right size to fit a camel (or a donkey or goats - you get the idea)

Camelport with parked camel.

Camel - again (because, why not?)

This is as far as I've got with this model, obviously there is a lot more to do, but it hasn't been the only thing I've been working on. Here's some photographs of the other two 'L shaped' buildings made at the sane time as this one:

The larger 'L' shaped one

Different view of the above

Yet another view (bit bot-ring)

The other 'L-shaped' building

  Almost a mirror image of the other 'L'  

Still a lot to do on these buildings...

... but even more to do on this one!

Poundland filler I use (for Ray0, I forget the price.

That's it for the adobe building work for this week, gunging, roofs etc.will all be done at the same time, when I have what I consider is enough of the ;standard; smaller buildings, but work on the larger building will continue too. All painting will be done at the same time too.
 I haven't been idle in other things either, having based up a few figures and a daubed some paint on a few to (i still hate camels).

In other news a sand coloured cloth from S&S Scenics arrived at the weekend (great service from them btw). It's 6' x 8', which should be big enough for any game I foresee me playing in the Sudan.

So that's it then for another week, thanks for taking the time to visit and I hope that you found something of interest.

As always your comments, critiques, brickbats and bouquets are always welcome and truly appreciated.

Soudanistanico Buildings (WIP)

After last week's post my overall well-being has not been as good as I would have liked and progress, though bountiful (by my standards) hasn't been as plentiful as I would have liked nor as I had expected. Nevertheless, I have been a chap, be it in fits and starts.
Herewith then is the photographic record of this week's efforts on my adobe-style buildings suitable, of course, for many different geographical areas - Africa, Afghanistan and Mexico - anywhere where there are desert-like environs it seems.
The photograph on the right shows my first "experimental" effort, just after the initial 'gungeing' phase.

The two buildings above in their cur out stage - note the rabbets.

First off, two simple four walled building (3" x 4" footprint) that differed only slightly in height; two walls of each were rabbeted at either end for a neat join.

Close up of rabbets

Initial fitting

Staircase added and buildings linked (to make a more interesting building (imho)

 A four-sided 'box' of a building is pretty boring, so adding bits to a simple house makes it a far more interesting model imo (as well as some extra detailing of course).

Base and a few walls added - note new cut-out in wall for roof access

Reverse view, with another wall (height difference very apparent)

Gunge cleaned up a bit and some detailing added (top centre corner)

Reverse view

The very flat, smooth, roofs still have to be finished off and doors have to be added too. and hten they will have to be painted, of course.
The second model I've been working on is my idea of a Souk (Arba Market) using discarded peices from my third building (its layout is still being planned).
This is a rather large building, more for a city or large town.

Base in foamcards too, the three wall are rabbetd to one another and the base !

Corner stairs, showing make-shift, haphazard construction.

Overall view of internal walls

Plan view, footrpint is about 12" x 8" - a bit big !

View showing internal walls and doors

Rear view after some cleaning-up and a few details addded

Side entrances added as an afterthought

Opposite side entrance - needing a little repair !

Internal door lintels and clean-up.

There's a not long way to go before this building is gunged, sanded and painted and I'm pretty pleased with its progress.
I'll be making a couple more simple buildings, probably 'L' shaped and tackling the largest planned building once its layout has been finalised in my mind.  - Do I really need/want a balcony?)
I'll also be putting a hold on painting any of the buildings until I've made a few more and until B&Q match my paint, now that they've ceased to stock "Harvest Field" !

Other than the first photograph, all the others are in date order showing progress.

That's it then for this week and hopefully my new, additional, medication (with known side-effects) won't be too much of an obstacle to further progress.

So that's it then for this week, this style of building is very easy to make, even for novice scratch-builders, it just takes thought, careful measurements and straight cuts!

Thanks for taking the time to visit, I hope that you've found something of interest and of course, as ever, your comments, criticisms, queries, bouquets and brickbats are always welcomed and truly appreciated.