15mm Russian Buildings - The Weekend Challenge.

Having set myself the challenge over the weekend of finishing the Ironclad buildings that have been languishing in the cupboard of shame for a number of years, I am please to confirm mission accomplished....
The pic's are a little iffy as I am trying out a new camera.

A couple of early starts and some warm dry weather have helped to get these complete before the 4.00pm deadline today.

Two rural houses, a storage shed and railway station, together with two oil storage tanks, they will expand the layout quite significantly.  

The railway station fits in nicely with the track which I own from Battlefield in a Box and can also be used for my Boxer Rebellion collection. I opted for an off white which makes it quite generic with any period or setting.

The storage shed and field still need a little work, I need to add the pump arm and am thinking about a couple of dead cows which I have from peter pig somewhere.

I added in a number of lighter tufts on this one compared to the other pieces in particular around the well to give that wet feel.

The farm house is a great casting with a detactable roof to allow you to place that well timed ambush. I decided to add the fencing to create the backyard rather than keep the pieces stand alone, besides I have the MDF bases sitting unused in the draw.

The figures are from Eureka's 15mm modern Russian range.

The second building comes with a decked roof rather than thatch, I add in the brick wall and water through to give it that rural feel, it also gives the defenders something to hide behind. Although not much help from a 125mm gun.

I am really pleased how they have turned out. I plan on adding a garage and forecourt to give me that link between the rural and the urban setting, its a shame fieldworks are no more (Does anyone know if the molds have been picked up by anyone?) as I quite fancied adding a few more bombed out shells to go with the other buildings already painted up.

Right time to go and put these to the test.

Factories & Ruins..... Fieldworks.

Over the years I have tried to make a concerted effort to only buy terrain that can fit a multitude of periods and these factories and ruins are no exception.

Fieldworks produce some excellent buildings for the money particularly if you like the buildings badly damaged and bombed out, perfect for the final days of Berlin or the great seige of London in the 1880 1st Martian War.....

Some of the casts look a bit rough around the edges and don't take paint well but once complete really do look the part, these are painted by Furphy you can check out more of his work here. http://furphy1914.blogspot.co.uk/

Between £10.00 and £16.00 per building what's not to like.

Tabletop Terrian - MDF vs Plastic

I have been casting my eye over a number of 4Grounds MDF kits, Its fair to say much of my gaming is 28mm based, but the recent WOTW's campaign has highlighted the lack of quality terrain in my collection for 15mm and MDF buildings suddenly allow whole towns to created for a fraction of the resin alternatives.....

I spotted these on the the Wargames Table Blog and thought they would be great in 15mm for the Eastern Front and the WOTW campaign.

http://thewargamestable.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/telegraph-poles.html

I like to think its the finer details that make the table look the part and figured that telegraph poles would add a little something to the table and could be used for the various projects including the RJW if I found the right manufacturer.

However I am not convinced that the rise of MDF is necessary the best way to go for all terrain.

These looked great and seem to fit the bill and 9 in pack for £6.50 did not seem a bad price

But having extracted them from the spures and losing two at the base joint and then fiddled about trying to put the elements on, I am thinking that there must be alternatives which require less work and are not so flimsy.

Back to the drawing board......

Half an hour mooching about on the Internet and I found these little gems on E-bay.

18 in a pack for £3.50.

A single cast model which simply needed painting and basing, they feel far more study and in my opinion are likely to standup to the rigor of tabletop encounters far better than the MDF offering and only a third of the cost.

Meanwhile Furphy has kindly stepped up to help me out with some tabletop terrain.

I had picked up some of FieldWorks damaged buildings several months ago good value for money at around £10.00 - £15.00 per building.

I been putting them off as I hate painting buildings. Furphy has done an excellent job creating a style that would fit into Eastern Europe or Victorian England. 

You can see more of his work Here.