Ancient Greece in 28mm

These images show the latest set of models I have produced for Grand Manner. In addition to these there is an alternative temple base which features on my Dampf's Modelling Page site it was originally produced for me as a personal or custom feature piece but - which has now been modified and is with Dave awaiting mold making and casting in resin.

In both of these photos of the temple, the miniature is a 40mm Spartan Miniatures Argonaut.

Tony

Ancient Olive Press

The latest in my Ancient Greek project is this stone olive press. The first image shows a donkey-worked stone press from the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean.

I was looking to produce a terrain piece that would add atmosphere to a Greek/Spartan game, while still being generic enough to have other uses - for example the same style of press was used in Portugal/Spain during the Napoleonic Wars and similar presses were used on the island of Cyprus during WWII.

Photo One - The raw material is a sheet of 1inch Pink Foam, which was cut with a snap-off blade knife and sanded to shape.

Photo Two - The central beams are Balsawood, which has been distressed with a knife and a wire brush. In addition the mill stone and trough have been coated with watered-down filler and some DAS modelling clay.

Photo Three - I have based the trough on to a piece of 6mm MDF, adding small sticks of Balsawood to the base to act as steps to aid the workers. In addition I have carved a small step (again from Pink Foam which has been blended in to the trough with some DAS).

Photo Four - The finished Olive Press with ground clutter and some resin pots.

The whole project took less than three days - and this while working on other models. I am pleased with the outcome and am now waiting to see if it will be cast in resin. If not I will paint it up for use with my Flintloque miniatures and part of the Ancient Greek Project.

Tony

Early Greek Temple (wooden)

I intend to produce a number of Ancient Greek inspired structures for my 2010 project based on the Alternative Armies game Typhon. My intention is to use Spartan 40mm miniatures and others to produce yet another gaming/modelling project.

My first piece of terrain is an early Greek hut or temple based on these (and other) illustrations. You will see that both show their ancestry to the more usual stone/marble structures so typical of illustrated Ancient Greek books.

The finished temple is a hybrid of these two illustrations with a lift-off roof and full internal detail. At this stage I am uncertain if this model will be cast in resin! The miniature is an unpainted 40mm Spartan Miniatures Argonaut however the temple is also suitable for 28mm figures.

I was looking to produce a general purpose building/structure, one that could be used as a game objective and isn't the more typical Greek stone building. When I saw these sketches, I felt this would be a good first building.

Construction is mainly wooden dowel, Balsawood and DAS modelling clay.

Tony

Medieval Buildings - Update

Here is an image of the latest modular building. A structure loosely based on a black and white illustration by Games Workshop and featured in adverts for White Dwarf/Forge World. As with the earlier buildings - this model is interchangeable, with the ground floor being the same dimensions as the earlier masters and the first floor and roof being unique to this particular 'merchants house'. Both ground floor and first floor are also reversible (front-to-back) to add variety.

The model is about 12mm taller than any of the other buildings, as my brief was to make a more imposing house/shop.

I have just delivered the master to Dave, who was in the processes of photographing the whole set to feature on the Grand Manner Web site.

I am very pleased with the completed set - as mentioned in earlier posts, the set has taken longer than planned, but now - I just can't wait to see a finished and painted example.

Tony

Modular Medieval Town Buildings

My latest project is a group of generic and interchangeable Medieval Town Buildings, a brief that came about after discussions with Dave at Grand Manner who was at the time in the process of building a range of Medieval Farm Buildings. The idea was to produce a set of shop fronts that could be used inside a castle or to line a street. The initial idea developed to be interchangeable, with ground floor shops having the option of different first floor dwellings and even different roof styles. This further developed in to some of the casting being reversible (front to back).

This simple sketch was produced by me as a visual reference - and when Dave saw it he said "That's it - now go away and produce each of these buildings!"

The construction has taken longer than expected as each of the casting needed to be checked against each other to ensure the inter-changing can occur. The tower model was produced as a corner piece, however it can also be reversed, both the tower, and the ground floor.

As well as what you see here, there are two additional buildings, the first is a porch way or entrance with a simple dwelling above, the second is a grander building which will be a 'feature' building. All buildings have lift off roofs and all have some internal detailing, however this is simplified as the modular design makes full internal detail difficult.

This photo shows work-in-progress and helps to show the different materials used in the construction.

These next photos show the buildings about 90% complete. There was still some detailing and checking needed.

Finally - this shot shows the main batch of masters finished, Please note; that there is still two additional building to be added to the final set.

You can also see the 'extras', pieces to customise your own street scene.

I would expect all castings to be finished and available via Grand Manner by mid - April, 2010.

Tony