The scene above is of a supply train trundling past a blockhouse bringing much needed supplies to a nearby frontier settlement.
Since I'm American I wanted to enter something into the "home" bonus round that gives an image of my home and thought a North American log style Blockhouse fits that bill rather nicely as it conjures up that colonial feel of the frontiers of North America.
A
blockhouse is a small fort intended to protect against enemy that
probably didn't have any serious siege equipment . If a blockhouse was
upgraded to defeat siege equipment then it was more of a redoubt or
fortress. Some were fitted with artillery, but all had some form
loopholes or window ports to fire out of. It could serve as a small
fort, barracks, store house, place of refuge or a guard post on the
frontier.
This
particular blockhouse is a typical North American log cabin style
constructed of logs and boarding supported by a stone block cut base
with gravel coating and the door is of reinforced oak wood. The window
ports a large enough for defenders to lean out if needed to both defend
the base of blockhouse or pour water on it if attacked by fire.
The
model itself is from Grand Manor terrain which I happen to be a huge fan of
and is quite a large model that is intended for 28mm. You can fit an artillery piece plus several
figures in the model itself which is rather nice. It's a resin piece so some
clean up is required, but wasn't too much trouble. I painted the model in mostly
craft paints with some Foundry colors for the moss and a bit of Vallejo on the gravel. I also used a
healthy amount of Mig pigments to give some weathering effects.
Well
it's been a tough week as I've been dealing with a nasty case of
man flu, but I'm happy I crossed the finish line in time to get this in
for the bonus round as it was a bit dicey. Only the blockhouse was
painted for this entry as the figures and carts were already from my
collection.
Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company- Grand Manor
Really nice blockhouse Christopher.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work Christopher :)
ReplyDeleteExceptional work again Christopher.
ReplyDeleteNot seen one of those before, really like it.
ReplyDeleteGrand Manner do some lovely stuff - well done Christopher!
ReplyDeleteYes indeed Grand Manner do make some lovely stuff! Thank you on the "Grand Manner" which the company uses and not Grand Manor that I mistakenly wrote.
DeleteChristopher
Great job
ReplyDeleteSuperb work on the blockhouse Chris! I very much like your way to do ice looking and interesting terrain pieces for any kind of period. You've also covered up th damage to this particular poece very well. If I hadn't seen it before I'd never guess there had ben an accident at all ;-)
ReplyDeleteThank you kindly Nick! The only thing I was happy about when it broke is that I hadn't painted it yet! It was driving me crazy looking at it in several pieces that I was very happy this round afforded me both the impetus and opportunity to fix the model and paint it up thus relieving the anxiety.
DeleteChristopher
Cracking job
ReplyDeleteReally well done!
ReplyDeleteWonderful natural colours
ReplyDeleteReally nice job.
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
That is as fine a block house as I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteNom Nom Dribble!
ReplyDeleteVery well done. The hint of moss on the roof and the boards slightly out of place give it an authentic quality. Something you would expect to see on the frontier, not pretty but functional.
ReplyDeleteThis is really good. I love the atmospheric pictures with the baggage train, it makes it come alive.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much everyone for the kind comments!
ReplyDeleteChristopher
Lovely work Christopher - that is a centerpiece to be sure!
ReplyDeleteI really like Grand Manner's stuff as well. It's a tad expensive but very nice. Thank goodness I have good friends in the UK who help me avoid their appalling shipping fees.
Thank you kindly Curt! I'll give you tip on helping to reduce the shipping fees from Gand Manner in that you need to order several pieces per order as he either charges per box or by weight brackets. So when filling your basket just keep checking to see when the shipping charges changes and that's how much you know you can get before you go to the next box or bracket.
ReplyDeleteIndeed if you only want one small item or one normal building then yes the shipping is ludicrous, but if you order several buildings and some small items then it becomes much more reasonable. Last order I think I had 3 buildings, 1 small building and 3 small items all for the same shipping cost if I had ordered just one building. True, the order will be expensive so no cheap way to order from Grand Manner, but the shipping will become reasonable in perspective to the order.
Christopher