Wooden Ruins Kit

[Dave]

So, in the hope of actually producing something this year, I'm blowing the dust off of a "parts" kit that will let you build ruined wooden buildings in lots of ways.

It's something like my slot-fit sets (there will be optional "slots" layers for folks who want that), with burned-wood wall sections that can be put together and taken apart with ease. But I'm also including 3D beams/columns that can be used to build more permanent ruins or just give your slot-fit sections some 3D-ness and better stability. As a parts kit, it's really up to you how you put things together, and I'm just going to try to provide enough simple components that you can go nuts with them.

For textures, I'm going to go with two or three different wood styles/colors, some burned roof sections, two or three levels of burnage, and a "hot embers" layer for that freshly-ruined look.

I'll include some ideas for how to assemble burned-out shells of buildings, including rafters and beams in place. You should be able to create some really dramatic stuff with this set, and I'm sure I'll be surprised by some of the things folks come up with.

So that's my plan. I know these posts are pretty useless without pictures, so I'll try to get some up as I get a further along.

[wyvern]

Interesting ideas, Dave.

Will the walls be 3D too? Since I use kits like this chiefly for model and diorama making, I'd be less keen on simple "one-sheet-thick" walls, or even simple foldover flats, than make-up "box" format ones.

Also, while I appreciate the "smokin' embers" concepts, wooden buildings don't have to just burn down - storm damage, smashed by ogres, rotten collapse, and more could be options too, so some whole 3D timber-work pieces, maybe with the option for fungus or mold growth texturing, or simply with frayed, broken/smashed ends could be alternatives as well.

[Dave]

Those are great ideas for textures, but I'm going to stick to the burned-down concept for this one. I've found that I get the best results when I stick to a theme and don't try to broaden it. I already offer wooden ruins in lots of styles, but not quite like this.

You can easily turn these walls into 3D walls by using the foamcore sandwich method. For 3D ruined walls with paper-textured edges, I'll save that for another project. The geometry involved in that sort of thing is pretty intense. This set is designed to create a believable 3D effect by combining 3D and 2D parts, which worked pretty well for the Livestock Shelter.

This thread really should be titled "Burned Wooden Ruins Kit" -- I forgot to add that descriptor.

[vwilliams32407]

For my recent portrayal of the slum ruins in a session of “The Slaying Stone” adventure, I relied heavily on my two favorite companies, Fat Dragon Games and Dave Graffam Models. All of the buildings except the tower, and many wall and fence pieces are from Dave. The ground tiles and many extra pieces are from FDG. As much as we had fun with it the perfectionist in me felt that it could have benefited from exactly what you are suggesting in this proposed “Burned Wooded Ruins Set.” I can’t wait to see it come to fruition!

[Dave]

Great setup! I'm sorry I made you cut out all those picket fence tops.

At this point in the project, I can start putting textures on things. It's really just beams of different lengths, some with 45-degree angled ends so they can be assembled in lots of different ways -- and 2D wall and roof sections to hold things together.

This is one of those rare cases when I didn't start with an idea for a shape and then create the parts for it. I'm going to create the parts first, then assemble the overall shape. In the process, I'll find that some beams should be shorter/longer than the ones I've set up now, and I'll go back and set up at least one ready-to-build model with specific components. It's fun to work this way, definitely different from my normal approach. Jamais vu, in a way.

If I can squeeze in some mold/rot and smashed-end textures along with the stuff I had originally planned, I'll do that. Not sure they're going to work with the sort of cut-outs I'm using for the walls and roof sections, but we'll see.

[mproteau (Paper Realms)]

Thanks for the pictures! I've had such a long break from actually building stuff, I am now feeling kinda sad I don't get to build more!

[hamilcar]

I'm currently assembling 10-15 ruins from Dave's sets to make a war-torn Victorian era city for In Her Majesty's Name.
Have the first 5 done and printed 8-10 more last night. These pics were nice to see and motivate me to continue the project.

[Vermin King]

Would love to see some 'In Process' photos

[squirmydad]

Mar 2, 2014 9:58:05 GMT -9 Vermin King said:

Would love to see some 'In Process' photos

Me too! Me too!