I agree that the thatch looks a bit awkward in some of the pics … to my eye better results are achieved in the latter pics than in the first three. I think a couple things go better on the huts shown after the first three -- the thatch is running straight, not curved and curly, and the three-layered effect is particularly good looking.
Putting lots of shading into the thatch (dry-brushing? Layering colors?) really helps, to my eye. Yes, thatch winds up colorless gray drab after just one or two seasons in the weather (and SUCH weather!), but the shading provides a lot of depth and distinction that I appreciate seeing.
One observation, though. None of the huts have chimneys! One thing you will find in EVERY Russian/Ukrainian/Byelorussian peasant hut is a great big stove (or hearth/fireplace). Some would just let the smoke collect up in the rafters and waft out vents at the corners. But this was more common with rafter ceilings than thatched. Thatched roofs usually had a chimney or gap or something, to prevent the family from asphyxiating and the house from burning down during the cold winter days/nights.
The fences look great. So also the ground around the huts. I like the idea of basing the huts with a little surrounding ground, and then putting them onto a dirt road base to create a village. Very effective.
If it were me, I would not leave all the huts in such drab colors. Russians (and Ukrainians in particular) often painted their huts/houses/homes in very bright colors. White was very common, often with blue, green or yellow trim. Sometimes the blue, green or yellow was used for the house, with white trim. Or yellow with blue or green trim, etc. Sometimes even the roofs were painted yellow or blue (wooden roofs, not thatched).
However, that does not mean everything was bright and cheerful. A lot of stuff was built during the early Soviet era without the any attention to appearances … but that was more in the cities than in the countryside, where the peasants still had an eye towards bright colors (when the local soviet didn't stamp out their spirit). And in the pre-war period of forced collectivization a LOT of otherwise cheerful looking stuff suffered neglect. So a mix is appropriate. And nothing says drab or depressing as much as something that WAS bright and colorful, but now is run-down and grimy. Which in my book would fit wartime villages.
But these last comments are purely ideas on style. Not a criticism of your implementation at all. Just some other ideas to take, or leave, at your discretion.
-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)
opens the box on a Battlefield in a Box house.
