Warhammer Townscape second page finished

Warhammer Townscape is an iconic eighties Games Workshop book. Its hardcover holds cardboard cutout buildings to be used in fantasy wargames. October last year I decided to fulfill a long held ambition: rebuilding the entire set using foamboard, balsa and other materials. To add a challenge (and to make sure I'd build all of them) I decided to use the numbers in te original instructions as the order in which to build the entire set. Yesterday evening, after putting the project on the back burner for a bit, I finished page two (of three). Here's half of this lot.

Here's the first set of page two in the Townscape instructions.

My last post on this project dates back to January 6th this year. At this point I completed all the buildings on page one of the Townscape instructions and built most of the buildings on page two; although (a lot of) detailing was needed. I even painted some of them. As I got a bit burned out on the project, specifically the timbers of half-timbered houses, I stored the lot. This week I got back to them. Mostly because the last four half-painted (and half-timbered) houses seemed to be glaring at me. Insane? Maybe. Motivated? You betcha!

And here's the rest. The Town Hall is huge. 

It turned out I was quite a bit of the way there already. I picked out an interesting lecture on YouTube (Art and Competition in the Dutch Golden Age: Erasmus Lecture) and by the time part 3 was finished I was done with all the timbers, windows and moving on to base coloring the doors. If you're into a Marienburg setting and love some inspiration to add an adventure hook featuring zany artists and their troubles (or interested in art history) I highly recommend these lectures as background to a painting session. Having said that, lets move on to individual buildings (numbered according to the instructions in front of the Townscape).

14. Dog Kennel

Do not try to sneak past Fritzy, you'll just anger him.

Fritzy has a place to live. This was (as expected) a very quick build. I got a bit recalcitrant when it came to the roof. The Townscape has shingles on the dog house, I wanted rough planking so I went for it.

A small bunch of flowers has sprung up on Fritzy's favorite leg-lifting place. 

One of the fun things that's very apparent here is that the stirring sticks I used for the sides of this building still have wood grain in them. A quick drybrushs brings this out, adding just that extra accidental bit of detail to the building.

15. Rough Inn

Don't worry about the blood. we'll cover it in rotting straw.

This building was difficult to construct. It took me a while to realize that there was supposed to be a big gaping opening in the side of the building. I think it's a stable without doors so I made the opening even bigger. Now there's a place you can sleep in the rough. "Only three pfennigs for you lot...each." The side of the building was a bit boring so on a whim I added some direction markers. Useful, given half the chance you'd want to sleep anywhere else and these point you on your way. "Do I hear beastmen braying in the woods? How much daylight is left?"

Oh no, the infamous Stokian Aklo-beast has been sighted! Meeting it will still be preferable to seeing this inn's interior...

The back of the building has some obligatory wanted posters added. And a sign with a candle. Even illiterate scallywags can readily identify this as an inn. Their noses should inform them as to the quality. "Not like the Three Feathers inn we saw down the road. Let's head back there. It seemed safe and comfortable."

16. Windmill

No wonder it fell out of use. This mill can't adjust its top to the direction of the wind.

I was planning to skip this building as I've build a more realistically designed windmill a long while back. But the design looked easy and I was feeling like a completionist so I went for it anyway. The stone pattern is air drying clay indented with a texture roller from Green Stuff World. I learned a lot about texture rollering clay on a foamboard box. Mostly that you have to strengthen the box internally and wait for the glue to dry. I used a cocktail stick to sort of join the bricks on the sides.

Despite its ill state of repair, visiting it it is still preferable to the daily grind.

I used some obvious overlapping plates to correct a few mistakes, figuring it would make the windmill look more rickety. I think it worked. Constructing the vanes was a hell of a job. I used one centimeter pieces of balsa between longer strips. I stuck these to masking tape and covered each vane with PVA to stick the lot together. I had a hell of a time cutting off excess glue from between the wings. The rotten sails are rolled up kitchen towelettes covered with a few layers of thinned PVA. The pattern of the towelettes works surprisingly well (if you ask me).

17. Toll Booth 

"Moving that laden cart through here? That'll be five shillings sir."

Armed with knowledge when it comes to applying clay to foamboard I made the toll booth. The biggest difficulties constructing this humble building where the arrow slits and the roof. The difficulty with the arrow slits is that I had to cut out the clay after applying the brick pattern. To make the roof I cut out (a print of) the original paper building. I folded it into shape and applied the cardboard shingles to it.

*cocks crossbow* "You could try to move along without paying, but I wouldn't advice it."

Discovering the toll fees sign in my prints of the Townscape book was wonderful. I just cut it out. Applied PVA and made it look a bit older by applying Gryphone Sepia. I also took care to paint a number of stones in differing colors. This really helps break the monotony of huge grey buildings (*cough* I should consider redoing the Mighty Fortress *couhg* (note to self: NO!)).

18. Half-Timbered House

There's half-timber on it and its a house. So quite aptly named.

Ah the half timbered house. This was a real charmer to figure out. In the end I sort off improvised with the wooden side building (it looks way broader on the sketch in the instructions). Also around this time I actually ran out of coffee stirrers (I finished a box of 1.000 in about five years) and replacements where sold out. I ended up with longer (and slightly broader) stirrers that do not have as much wood grain. I should just go ahead and convince myself to replace the original ones soon. To compensate for the lack of grain I painted some grainy streaks on the wooden add-on building. You may notice some of the older stirrers on later buildings in this set. I cheated and did not follow the exact order on the page while building (I got so sick and tired of half-timber during this part of the project, I moved on the non-timber buildings first).

The crooked chimney makes this building work (for me).

Another angle of the same house. I'm very happy with how the casts of the 3D-printed windows are holding up in these buildings.

Not much to say here, I'm quite happy with the dust staining on the lower parts of all the buildings in this set.

And here's the back of the house. As this post is going to reach epic lengths I'll keep it to that short and succinct observation :).

19. Half-Timbered Cottage

"The house with the merry red bush on the edge of the village? Best avoid it. Widow Schmidt's blabbering will delay your journey."

This was a fun and very easy to build house. I'm very happy with how the exposed brickwork came out on this one. Especially on the next picture.

Yes, the exposed bricks look pretty darn good on this building. 

I'm also quite happy that I still have a small supply of yellow and red moss left. Unfortunately most of it is scrunched up badly and unusable. I've recently replaced my supply of moss, but I could only get greens. I relish using what's left of my colorful bits of moss.

The blue in the windows was achieved using Soulstone Blue over a white undercoat.

I'm very happy with this rough looking door. Also check out the window. I glued a bit of card to the back of it and undercoated it white. Then I apply Soulstone Blue to get the glassy look, finishing up by painting the wooden bits a rough brown. I tried to use a contrast paint as a replacement to the Soulstone paint, but it doesn't work (at all). Maybe I should just get an extra spare pot of Soulstone, just in case GW ever stops making it.

20. Stone Barn

Finally a chance to use some old bits in a very satisfying way. 

Speaking of discontinued GW products. I think the stone sides of this building are actually originally for use with cardboard Mordheim walls. I used a jeweler's saw to cut the inside to pieces and fit them to the sides of this building. The joy of having a bitbox.

"Did you remember to put the scythe inside? Otherwise it'll rust."
"Sure did."

I added a scythe to the back of the building to give the impression someone actually works from here occasionally. The scythe is from GW's current plastic zombie kit (I use the word current very loosely here, its a rather dated kit). I used a scalpel to remove the zombie hand (and arm) holding it. At first I placed it blade down (that's a more logical look). It just made the blade disappear. So I'm assuming an impractical peasant. Probably orders AND eats the hotcakes sold at the Rough Inn.

We should've taken more time to maintain the added shed. 

I don't have a lot to add to this picture. Just that I'm very happy with my decision to snap all coffee stirrers in smaller pieces instead of lazily filling the length of a wall with them.

21. Watchtower

I almost skipped this rather iconic building.

An instant classic I almost didn't build. I thought it looked a bit unrealistic and boring. But at the same time its instantly recognizable as a Warhammer Townscape building. I added some diagonal planks to make it look a bit more worn down and interesting. I followed a similar path to making this roof as I did on the Toll Booth.

"At night we hear the mutant bashing the wooden walls and slam the bolted door. By day we repair the damage..."

Adding a few posters and roughing up the surface really helps sell the building. At least to my mind it does.

22. Stone Bridge

Its a bridge and its made of stone. The name fits. 

The Stone Bridge is special to me. Its card-stock counterpart featured on a lot of eighties battlefields. I had a lot of trouble deciding houw to get the rough stones on the side. In the end I just pushed decorative rocks for bases into a wad of PVA. Waited for it do dry and then filled obvious holes with more rocks. All of my photos make it look like a rather miserable looking failure. In reality it actually looks quite nice. Silly photographs...

23. Ruins

This looks like something out of a sci-fi setting to me.

Who's ready for Battle at the Farm? Me! Me! Now if only I had that wonderful eighties Orc Warband....no I will stay away from Oldhammer trading groups....must be reasonable and just paint everything I have before buying anything new (ha ha ha).

"Did you hear something?"
"Like what?"
"It sounded like a slobbering noice from this hoaaaaargh."

The cardboard variant of this ruined house had a mysterious hole in the floor printed on it. I did not want my ruin to lack a potential plot improving feature like that, so I build the entire floor with bits of coffee stirrer. I think that was a great decision (from an optical standpoint, time-management wise slightly less so).

24. Town Hall

Best use of shield decorations in quite a while #bitsbox.

This gargantuan Town Hall building was more work to construct than I expected. The roof was quite a challenge to get right. Also the stairs have been nailed to the building with pins and I think I managed to stick each pin into a finger holding everything in place while doing it. Well dedicated to the blood god so to speak. I used old shield decorations to make the copper covered door look ostentatious. And I used different colors of Soulstone paint to get the stained glass effect on the (Mordheim bit) windows. The posters on the front of the stairs really tie this place together.

This building is enormous. It towers over the rest of the town. Very appropriate for the town hall. 

The sides and back are a bit more run of the mill. I tried to use stipling to break the grey monotony on the lower half of the building. It looks very obvious on the pictures,  but actually quite a lot better in real life.

Think of all the savings if we postpone roof repairs for another year!

 At some time during construction of this building the filler on the sides of its lower half  tore at the seams. I used a creeping vine effect with the moss to cover that up. The sagging roof was difficult to model. I bent the cardboard underneath and then covered it with straight shingles. It gives a real nice impression of a once proud building now sagging under old age.

25. Tavern

I love this building. <- short version of this excessively long blog post.

I love this building. It started when I first laid eyes on its picture in the instruction manual and then grew and grew during construction and painting. It screams Warhammer Fantasy to me with its slightly odd shape, arched side entrance an huge stable doors leading into (what I would assume) the common room.

"Ah good old emperor Maximilian, I remember his upturned nose, the unadulterated disdain, his horrified stare when we showed him the room. It was a night to remember for all of us..."

I really wanted a door in the side tunnel and the only way to construct it was when the base and roof were not on it. Painting it properly was...a challenge. But I think I got there in the end. I couldn't resist adding this placard to the back. In case its unreadable it states "Emperor Maximilian Ayingerbrau IV slept here 1346AU". Just one of those touches to bring this building to life.

Slann in space...one of the things that made the Old World special. 

I glued the sign with the post carriage to bits of (stirrer) wood and weathered it a while back. Unfortunately it fit nowhere. Then I noticed a big hole above the side tunnel. I cut the sign to size and it works. I couldn't resist adding the poster in the hall itself. Is there anything more old school Warhammer then that one?

And there we have it. Page two of the instructions has been completed. All that's left now is page three. It looks like I'm going to have to get the metal ruler and foamboard out again. Just let me take a deep breath first as three of the thirteen buildings there are also half-timbered monsters. Also what should I do with the Tower (35)? I do not like that building. It looks so simple. Should I skip it or get creative? We'll see. There's so much other stuff to paint and build as well. I love this crazy hobby.