Building Bavaria '45 Day Three

Day Three and it's time to step away from the foam core.  Sure, I'd like to make some more buildings than this, but four seems about right in the time I have available before we start gaming Weird War Z.  I'll make some more if time allows once we start gaming.

The task at hand is to cover the buildings and make them look smooth.  I knew there was only one option available for me.  Cardboard.  Not the fancy stuff.   The stuff breakfast cereal comes in.  And to be quite honest, there's nothing wrong with the stuff.  I'm actually quite partial to it.  
I took the largest one I could find, and set to work measuring out the sides of the tower.  These pieces would be the first things stuck to the foam core before assembly.  The reason being is to make it easier to fit the windows.  I added 2mm to the width of these two pieces. This would compensate for the width of the card.  The other two narrower sides were kept the same width as the foam core pieces to which they'd be attached.  This would make them all line up flush if I had done my maths correctly... 
 Of course, I had to put in all the windows just like I had done on the foamcore.  This isn't a case of doubling the workload for nothing.  I want the windows to be recessed into the building.  
 To be perfectly honest, windows are the bane of my life when it comes to making buildings for wargaming.  They are probably the most time-consuming bit of the build.  But I've found from bitter experience that if you send time on them, they can make the difference between an average build and something really special.  There are no doubt many ways to make them around a foam core shell.  What follows is my solution.

First off, I fit the edging to the windows.  This covers up the unsightly exposed foam.  My foamcore is 5mm thick. I cut strips of card 7mm wide to take account of the width of the card front as well and fitted them to the top and bottom of the windows, then the sides.  I positioned them flush with the front of the building.  This meant they protruded slightly at the back.  The main thing is to make sure that they go the whole width of the building.
 I always fit the edging to the windows rather than measure it and assume it'll fit. believe me, it saves a lot of time and double cutting.
 With the edging all done and looking good, it was time to move on to the windows themselves.  I built them out of three layers.  Working from the outside in, we begin with the window frame.  I measured these to fit and cut them from some white card.  This is proper white card, the stuff I use to print cards for gaming. The second layer will be the 'glass'.  Now, you can buy this stuff from hobby stores, particularly those that sell dolls' houses.  As for me, I just get the kids to keep any perspex and clear plastic packaging from their toys.  It saves money, it's good for the environment and it works just as well as the expensive stuff.  The final layer is some black card.  You don't have to use this final layer, but it helps a lot.  It saves you having to paint the inside of the building black.  And even more importantly, it stops the need for inserting internal walls.  You may not have bothered with these either, but I don't like taking a model's eye view of the scenery and find myself able to see all the way through the building and out to the other side.
 I didn't take a photo of me making the windows as I'm using my trusty UHU glue to fix everything together.  It's quick to take a hold, but has a habit of creating stringy spiders' web-like strands that get everywhere.  The trick is to make sure you don't get them anywhere near the windows.  However, once they are glued in place and have been left to dry, you can hold the wall sections up to the light and enjoy the wonderful effect they give.  I think they look great.
 Of course, they don't look so great from the inside.  But since they are about to be fastened together, nobody will see them.  
 I then turned my attention to the door.  I took a couple of small off cuts and measured out a door frame and then the door itself.
 The next step was to glue the walls together.  Then I turned my attention to the roof.  I measured two rectangles to fit measurements taken from the model.  I marked 5mm intervals along the sides of them to help with positioning the slates.  I stuck the rectangles onto the building and turned my attention to the slates.

As usual, they are made from cereal packet card.  I measure out a section of card in 1cm intervals along one axis, and 5mm intervals along the other axis.  I make sure I press the pen firmly along the 5mm lines as these need to show up when I paint the slates.
 What follows next is the gluing of the strips of slates to the roof.  I start at the bottom and work my way up using the 5mm makers I had put onto the roof rectangles as guides.  Once both sides were done, i set about adding a ridge.  Scoring it on the underside makes sure it doesn't rip when folded.
 After all this has been left to dry, I invert the building and gently cut off any overhanging slates.  The final result is rather lovely and neat as you can see in the next photo. Pity you don't see it in the finished model though as you have to add the fascia or rake.
 To do this I take strips of 5mm card and make use of the offcut from the card facings I made earler.  This gives me the exact angle of the roof and allows me to cut the fascia or rake to fit exactly.  I line it up...
 ...lie the ruler along the centre line and cut.  It's important to make sure you do one of each side of the template, and then make a second set for the other side.
 I glue them on and then take a pair of clippers to cut the bottom of the fascias at a right angle to the wall of the building.  This is what you are left with!

So there you have it. One building all ready for painting.  Just three more to go then.  And there are so many windows on them!

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