"How to model thatch roofing with fake fur?" Topic

Back to painting Vikings link , and I want to build a small village. Found lots example online of what to build (A-frames with thatch rooves), but all of them had links to other blogs for the tutorials – which no longer exist. Did a search on the Terrain and Scenics board and the vast majority of the links on the subject are dead.

Are there any current tutorials on how to make thatch roofing with fake fur for 28mm games?

Thank you!

Al | ravenfeastsmeadhall.blogspot.com

This is the original tutorial from Ryan Skow in 2002

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The GW Building Wargames Terrain book has a very similar tutorial using teddy bear fur.

I prefer black towel to teddy bear fur as I feel that it makes a more realistic "tidy" thatch.

Mick

The 4ground kits use fur for thatched rooves. Their instructions are to use white PVA glue, first to stick the fur onto the roof panel, then to coat the fur itself and wait until dry.

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Will this look okay for 15mm? How about 6mm?

What length hairs are appropriate for different scales?

I'm serious. I can't decide if this is a shortcut to avoid or the real solution for some terrain I need to finish.

I made mine with black fake fur. I made the roofs in cardboard, then glued the fake fur, then I painted it with yellow acrylic paint mixed with some white glue.

Any cheap acrylic paint is OK. Don't use expensive paint, the fur "drinks" a lot of paint.

I had planned to highlight the "thatch" with more yellow when dry, but I didn't, as I thought the result looked like old thatched roofs when the thatch gets old.

I myself use a white terry cloth hand towel that I picked up at Dollar tree.I soak it in watered down pva before placing as desired.One dried,it is a very firm surface and easy to paint.

Here is a tutorial:

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I also use cotton towelling – with the pva it dries hard enough to add to structural integrity as all my roofs are removeable.

There's an image at the top of this page (sorry, can't work out how to link direct as my Apple thingy won't tell me the image URL).

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I glue the towelling to a card roof with bostik then use a brush to paint on the pva while combing the fibres in the direction I want.

Real thatch doesn't look anything like as "shaggy" as that.

Those are nice,MMojo. I did a small depiction of a Japanese village and some Anglo Saxon A frames using the toweling.they work great for my purpose,cheap and easy to work with.I've tried fur in the past and didnt like it as well.

Thanks SkinkMaster. I tried the towelling after reading an excellent tutorial somewhere on the web – can't find it now though.

Unshorn long straw thatch has a shaggy look :-)

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I first saw it on a blog titled "my Japanese mordheim" or something like that.the guy did some really impressive buildings from scratch.I'll try the link,some really impressive work-
link 1828-my-alternative-japanese-mordheim

sorry,the link didnt pop up,but if you search that,its worth a look.

That's an interesting article – thanks for suggesting it.

This link might work

link

Thank you, all!

I've seen the buildings with the towel thatching, but prefer the fake fur.

Should I cut the fur into 1" strips or just cover the roof in one sheet?

Al

3 pieces of fur. One on each side of the roof. The third covering the join at the top. As plain or fancy as you like…

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Yes, 3 pieces of fur. The pieces on the sides with hair facing downwards. The third piece on the top prevented rain etc to inflitrate between. For Dark Ages small houses I would favour a rather large third piece. For later periods it was probably not wide. Search for drawings etc about your period.

In some areas, plants were grown on the top piece to consolidate it :

And this is what old thatch looks like…

(pics of Poulfetan historical village museum, Brittany, France)

Unshorn long straw thatch has a shaggy look :-)

But still not as shaggy as a model "thatched" with fake fur.