Thursday 26 June 2008

The Leister House (Meade's HQ) Part 7

This modelling project is starting to take shape! The base, built up from polystyrene, with modrock added in the first image; coated in PVA and covered in mixed sand and gravel.


In this next image, the sand has been painted with a mix of black and brown acrylics. The main roof has been covered in plasticard tiles and the chimney has been added; a wooden core with brick textured plasticard affixed.

The last image is another artillery base, this time standard unconverted Foundry figures.

The Romans undercoated last post still remain unpainted - although the bases have been coated in sand and the remainder of the brown paint mix from the Leister House base.

Sunday 15 June 2008

Roman Holiday


No this posting has nothing to do with Gregory Peck! Surprised at how quickly I completed the Roman Cornicen, I decided to take a break from the ACW & dig out some old Foundry Romans I bought from ebay a couple of years ago.

Unfortunately, they had been "painted", or more accurately doused in what some call "magic dip" (i.e. floor wax and dark brown ink wash over a base coat). I guess if you just want figures to game with and are not too fussed with the effect, it's ok, but close up it looks very odd. Anyway a week in Dettol (pine oil disinfectant) stipped them back to bare metal.

There are 15 figures in total, including Cornicen & Centurion, but will include a Signifer when I lay my hands on one. If any one has a few they want to dispose of, send me a message!

The challenge will be to paint them in as short a time as possible without sacrificing the quality of the painting. I will however cheat this time and use transfers as a template for the shields.

The first concession to time was to use black aerosol spray rather than the normal painted humbrol enamel. Once dry the figures were mounted on 20mm bases, tidied up with milliput.

Once the bases have been covered in sand and gravel, the clock starts!

The Leister House (Meade's HQ) Part 6


The rails have been added, and the whole model attached to a wooden base. Because of the uneven ground, polystyrene has been glued in place. The only thing that remains is to tile the roof, but I haven't managed to summon up the enthusiasm just yet!




The windows were constructed from clear plasticard, with a thin slice of white card to represent the sash, and the actual panes scored with a scalpel. The whole window was then painted, left to dry, then rubbed clear of paint, apart from where it has caught in the cuts and in the corners. Not all the paint has been rubbed off in this photo.

The window in situ. Light reflects off the cleaned panes creating a realistic appearance. The window frames on the actual building are now painted white, but as previously discussed, the period images suggest a darker paint or stain.

Sunday 8 June 2008

The Leister House (Meade's HQ) Part 5


Next stage: The porch roof. If only I had some shingle tile plasticard... instead, each row was cut from plain plasticard, and each tile individually cut. Because the card was so thin, it twisted up, so it had to be cut again into five to ten tile widths so it didn't curve. This took an age, and I'm not looking forward to doing three times this area on the main roof.

Once dry, it was sprayed with a black undercoat, then painted Vallejo black grey. This was worked up with white added to the mix, then washed with black ink to smooth out the texture.

Finally, individual tiles were picked out in a mixture of different greys and browns. The porch timbers were also painted and dry brushed. Note that for the porch and windows, I have decided to use brown paint, unless I find evidence to the contrary.

With the porch in place, I could now add the railings. The cross beams still need to be put into place. Compare to the photo I took (see Pt 1).

Friday 6 June 2008

The Leister House (Meade's HQ) Part 4

The first photo shows the completed construction, including window frames, which amusingly enough had to be puttied in with 'green stuff'. After the glue had been allowed to dry, the whole thing was sprayed black. I then proceeded to drop it on down some steps and onto a concrete floor. Fortunately it just bounced with no damage whatsoever!

Next the whole building was given a grey undercoat and then drybushed in various shades of light grey and finally white. Obviously the area below the boarding will be covered up as part of a scenic base. It is interesting to note one of the problems with accurate scale representations, the fact that the real buildings are not in themselves perfect. If I was constructing this model to be used without a base, I would have had to alter the design, as the house itself actually sits on an incline, as can be seen in the second image.

Sunday 1 June 2008

The Leister House (Meade's HQ) Part 3

It is obviously a distinct advantage to have architectural drawings to work from when constructing a scale model. The originals were blown up to the correct scale for 28mm, then cut out and traced onto mdf.

The mdf was then cut out to form the rough template & the windows were drilled out. The model was then taped together to make sure everything fitted correctly.

Separate roofs were constructed from lightweight wood. The internal view shows where the house was glued and strengthened.

The inside was painted a dark brown and the small porch room (cellar entrance?) was added. The porch iself was added, but not glued. This porch was later replaced as another photo shows the stonework actually runs under the porch. The stone (textured plasticard) was added, followed by row after row of wooden boarding.

Day two. The work in progress. Note the boards on the rear of the house, with a central join as per the real building. I think I will invest in some wood effect plasticard. Gluing the boards one by one was simply too time consuming. The wood will look better when painted though.

The Leister House (Meade's HQ) Part 2


Another image of the Leister House, originally from an engraving from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, December 5th 1863, republished in 'Farms at Gettysburg' by Thomas Publications using Adams County Historical Society images.

Interesting to note the first floor window (above the ladder), which was not visible on the previously posted wetplate images. The window is also present in the 1935 architectural survey, but has now been removed from the building itself. Again note the dark door.

I can only assume this window was added between July and December 1863. Perhaps one of the shell holes (described by Leister herself in a later interview) was carved out and a window frame inserted?