Enfermera Chapel

 Just realised I’ve been starting lots and not producing much, new job really sucks the time and drive, but this week I made an effort to do a chapel for the pseudo Peninsular village.

I’m now stuck trying to work out what to do for the insert that fills in the space around the square…

All scratch built from 5mm insulation foam and Wills Scenics pantiles.

some better pictures...

So, some vastly improved pictures of the churchyard and as I got the board out added on some other bits that were to hand. I’ve not shown the fields before, there nothing fancy and you can find plenty of tips on doormat wheat fields elsewhere... I was quite lucky in that I found a company on eBay that did sample squares for 99p each, perfectly sized for small fields.

Finished Churchyard preview pics

Just a couple of quick pictures of the finished churchyard. Planning a proper photo session but this is not going to fit in the light box.

Had a bit of a problem with the grass. Initially I had the usual dirt tracks and bare patches but it didn’t look right, especially as the tracks were around the edge of the inset footprint as opposed to the edge of the church itself. I also discovered after I’d flocked it that I had the dirt recipe wrong and the soil in the yard didn’t match the soil around the church. Some sepia wash on the exposed dirt on the church levelled out the contrast a bit better, but I reflocked anyway and covered some of the exposed dirt so it matched the yard better. The grass is not brilliant, but if I don’t leave it alone I will fuck it up even more... sigh...

Churchyard WIP

OK, so the church needs a yard... I’ve been working on this off and on for a while, mainly staring and planning and changing my mind... this is the one I’ve settled on...

It’s foampvc for a base (although it feels a tad softer than the normal stuff I use), with insulation foam for the raised ground. There is a footprint for the church at the back. I cut up the Petite Properties lych gate so it was smaller by removing the centre sections and scratch built some walls for the gate. Gravestones are from Renedra and a couple from Fenris Games for a slightly more macabre feel. The facing of the graves was dictated by the church, as graves and altar face east as is normal for churchyards (although not compulsory). 30mm slotta base for scale (as that is what the ghosts are based on).

 

The arch of the gate will remain loose, slotting into the walls. This means it acts an anchor point as the yard is in two A4 pieces for storage, the seam hidden by the edge of the path and the church itself.

Just waiting for the walls to set... hoping that curve will stay, but I may leave the pins in.

Church finished...

Well, I’ve noticed a couple of irksome things now it’s done, but I’m probably being over perfect and will just mess it up trying to correct a couple of things. So, done...

Trying the camera on my phone and it seems to be an improvement, as with most buildings it’s too big for the light box and I probably need a flat paper background again at some point...

The wallpaper has worked really well for the flint effect. Very grateful for the donation from Paul at the Wargames Terrain Tips & Talk Facebook group.

Doors made from scratch, following my usual design of pop in and pop out as open or closed. 

 

The altar is removable, the grave isn’t... might do a font, but for now that’s the interior. The altar was redone completely from my original one, just foampvc and plasticard on a blue insulation foam block. Quite pleased with that.

Church WIP Part 4

Quick pics with the majority of the painting done. Just the doors/hatch and the dirt to paint. The altar  is about as good it will get for some off cuts of pvcfoam, XPS foam and some tissue paper. The cross is from the Renedra graveyard sprue. It’s not permanent so can be removed/replaced as needed, but does for now.

Phone pics again, which really don’t capture the colours well at all.

Church WIP Adjunct

As the main build nears completion, I thought I’d look at the lich gate I got from Petite Properties (a dolls house manufacturer that is highly recommended - the 1/4 furniture and trappings work well with 28mm), which as you can see is a little too tall compared to the porch so that will need some alterations (1/4 scale dolls house buildings tend to be a little tall compared to the chubbier 28mm stuff which is of course not a true ‘scale’).

Church WIP Part 3

OK, pimping almost finished... 

So, onto the basic mdf walls I added 1mm foampvc to the outer walls and added the aforementioned wallpaper. The window frames sit just above the wallpaper layer which I like, plasticard window sills and Slaters quoin for the corners. Some cutting of the corners we needed to allow the quoins to sit flush, which was miscalculated at some points, so quite a bit of green stuff needed there. 

For the inside, I ordered a spare window set from the same company and used those to give extra detail inside. I also used 2mm foampvc to thicken the walls again. These are slightly above the window frames, which works better for the inside (for me anyway).

Stone pattern plasticard for the floor, plastic trim in the tower. Scratch built double doors. Quite pleased with it all so far. Just need to finish the top of the tower and then texture the interior walls. And then the roof...

Church WIP Part 2

Ok, so after a lot of pondering work has commenced. A fellow on a Facebook group (that escapes me right now) offered some wallpaper he has that gives a flint finish, that is in hand and does look rather good. However preliminary pimping needs to be done before all of that. 

A common complaint of MDF kits is that everything is the same thickness and this is true here, the window details that go on over the ones in the wall are 2mm thick and look a tad heavy, the easiest option was to clad the walls in 1mm material, reducing the overhang - this will be even less once the wallpaper is applied. I also decided to flip the far long wall, so it’s windows were symmetrical ( a common design feature) - I don’t know why they aren’t but hey... a tenner... there won’t be room for a pulpit, it’s too small a church and the one in my village growing up never had one, but there will be room for the altar and a font at the tower end. 

I need to do stone paving for the floor, may chuck in some interior gravestones... I used to invigilate exams in Blackfriars Hall in Norwich and would read the floor gravestones as I wandered the aisles of desks. They probably have a proper name, but I don’t know it...

Church WIP Part 1

Ok, so about time I did a church...

An unusually appropriately targeted Facebook ad told of a sale on mdf scenery at Wargames Tournaments and a casual browse gave this little church for a tenner (and I think it was free postage as well), so as I pimp up mdf anyway, bare bones for a tenner worked for me...

It’s not bad for the money, the door will need cutting out, but that’s fine, and and laser cut brick texture would be covered anyway so the lack of that in this kit is fine as well. It’s just put together here, no glue as the pimping will be easier on flat pieces. There are decorative window trims as well.

The only two downsides I can see is that one tower wall is too short (above), but that’s fixable and I’m not sure how the roof goes together, no instructions came with it but the rest is obvious and I’ll probably have to tinker anyway as any wall pimping will need to be taken into account. All in all not too bad...

Just need to see the best way to get some big brick work on there.