I have been making some vaguely Middle eastern buildings. The nice thing is how generically useful they are – I can use the same buildings from ancient Egypt (and its fantasy spin offs – Khemri and Ægyptus) right up to the modern day, the near future and SF as well – especially since my brother, still in 40K mode, painted the first one grey! They might not always be quite right but they are good enough. My model is, quite amusingly, the ancient Airfix building that came in 1/32nd and 1/72nd scales. The stairs are easy enough to make but a little tedious. Construction is foamcore with the later models being built around an MDF base for mass and solidity though this does mean that for the intact ones the interior is inaccessible.
They are among the easiest, possibly the very easiest, buildings to make as the shape is very simple and the exterior very plain. If you are just starting out all you need is:
Foamcore sheet, 5mm thick (white is cheaper)
Scalpel
Steel ruler
Pins (the bigger the head the better)
PVA glue (Elmer's or white glue)
Pencil
Square – your old geometry set square will do but a T-square is better. Helix or Linex do a nice plastic one that is just the right size. A small square will do as well, you can get nice little ones for model making.
I wrote a how to for my web page a few years ago and it might be worth posting it here though it needs updating and references added.
Buildings
This is my favourite part of wargaming, making model buildings.
Though I still have some of the old Games Workshop card buildings as well as the inferior set produced by TSR sometime around 1990 most of my buildings are now homemade from foamcore. I like to base buildings as this vastly increases their strength but it can look awkward.
Card buildings are cheap and quick to make but their lack of depth is unsatisfying. Nether-the-less they are an ideal starting point and are still well worth using, especially in the smaller scales. A wide range of card building kits are available for railway modellers and many of these can be used for wargamers. British OO/HO gauge and its continental and American equivalents are perfect for 20mm scale while O gauge is slightly large for 25mm wargaming but 'close enough' especially as figures creep upwards in size and many 1/48th scale vehicles are used for WW II and modern wargamers. For the smaller scales N gauge is about 10mm scale or 1:200th. The card kits for railway modellers make use of many layers to add depth and strength.
Most of my buildings are urban ruins, suitable for any period from the Second World War onwards though they were specifically designed with Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 and Necromunda games in mind.
Making Your Own
Design
First you need an idea of what you are going to build. You might be inspired by something you have seen but if you just need 'a building' have a look in your books. The Warhammer fantasy and science fiction rules have a very useful terrain table which lists appropriate things for each type of landscape. Any book with illustrations, especially history books and books on architecture can be wonderful sources of inspiration.
Once you have an idea of what you want to make sketch it out and start working out what size it will need to be. A sketchbook is very useful as it allows you to note down ideas and preserve them.
Next start breaking it down into a series of pieces and building steps. I will often adjust the size to make the best and most economical use of the materials I have available. I also have a fondness for making interlocking pieces which adds to the strength of the final structure.
If any angles other than a right angle are required then simple trigonometry is essential. Even algebra is often useful for working out the optimal size of components.
Materials
The nature of what you are building will determine what materials you require but for most purposes foamcore is the best. It is easily cut, quite sturdy and relatively cheap.
Construction
Start by marking out the pieces you will need to cut. It is easiest to mark doors and windows at this stage as well.
Use a straight edge and square and try to be as neat and accurate as possible or you will make assembly more difficult for yourself. Do as much work as possible while the pieces are still flat and separate.
It can be useful to label the pieces as well to avoid confusion later on. Keep any offcuts in a 'scrap' box as they can be useful, either for other projects, for strengthing fillets or for making rubble.
The best way to make corners is rabbiting. Cut partially through one side of each corner and remove a strip of the foamcore leaving the outer sides card layer intact. This is shown in figure 1.
Put you line of glue into this angle left by the rabbiting and press the pieces together. Glass headed or embroidery pins are very useful for pinning the pieces together while the glue sets and a set square or offcuts can keep the corners true. A strip of masking tape can be run down the corner and wrapped over to seal and strengthen it.
Even if your basic structure is foamcore other materials can be used as well. Cardboard tubes such as Pringles tubes make fine towers and tanks. Wood and styrene strip or card can be cut and used to give more depth and detail to the plain foamcore surface or to add details such as windowsills.
A base adds weight and strengthens a building. It may be advisable not to add it until after painting to make painting inside easier.
Painting
I hate painting but this is almost the most important stage as it brings your building to life and can make the most basic structure look wonderful or the best structure look appalling.
Cheap acrylic or emulsion (US latex) paints are the best to use. Avoid oil based paints, especially cellulose ones as their solvents can attack the polystyrene in the foamcore.
A thick coat will seal the surface and make the structure look like one item. Then you can start shading and picking out details.
Textured paint adds depth and hides joins and minor defects but most grades look out of scale to me. A cheap way to make textured paint is to add a handful of sand to you emulsion or latex paint and stir it in. It will tend to separate out but keep stirring it and all will be well.
