"Houses and buildings" Topic

Looking for houses and buildings for my games. These should be 18th century/ early 19th century north America. Not looking for log cabins but houses really. Would love to find a new england salt box type if possible. I game in 25mm but smaller buildings work fine.

Thank you for your suggestions.

Try Fiddlers Green downloadable paper buildings.

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Dave
wargamingminiatures.com

Blue Moon has a couple – big for 15mm.

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Sample:

Dave Graffam has a line of paper "Frontier" models that includes a couple of salt box houses:

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Good luck with looking for some suitable buildings. Most are frontier type buildings. Log cabins and such. You can find a few framed farm houses and the ubiquitous Chew House and Guilford Court House. But it is very difficult to find city and town buildings.

Grand Manner makes true 25mm buildings. They are not exactly suitable for 28mm figures. I bought their tavern. Wonderful building but just too small for 28mm. Although I am still going to use it. If that doesn't bother you then you can check them out. They are great looking.

grandmanner.co.uk

For Trenton I had to resort to having 28mm building models custom made. The advantage is you can get the exact building you want and you can use them for a variety of scenarios and even other periods. With care they will last for years. The disadvantage is that they are expensive to have made.

Rallynow- The current dearth of good AWI era buildings is amazing given how many lines of figs exist, and the apparent popularity of the period. I find that many of the buildings that are offered are "off". Even Grand Manner has a few stinkers (the "brick townhouse"). Is it because the manufacturers are from the UK? Do US makers produce UK or European buildings that are "off" too (I don't know)?
I've been converting o scale model RR buildings. Trouble with them is they are often too big.

I've been asking about this for years, btw.

We need a model of this style house found throughout Bergen and Rockland counties.

I built a bunch of foamcore buildings.
Then I glued printed brick and stone card I bought at a defunct model railroad shop.

First check out Hovels. Smaller more 25 mm size but great people and friendly service. A whole host of buildings, like this

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Check out the site for more.

The correct scale for 28 mm figures is the Model RR "S" scale.
I believe it is 1/56 th, which works perfectly with 28 mm figures.

Check through Ebay "S" scale structures and scratch building materials. I buy up kits and "built ups" to kit bash them.
Sometimes I'll use foamcore underneath the plastic walls, especially box shaped houses.
Scenic Express sells glue backed, paper brick or stone, embossed plastic coated sheets, that you could use to build that house without too much difficulty.
I have some foam core laser cut "blanks" that I got from Pictors Studios some years ago. I might give that one a try.

Davi Graffam models also has two saltbox house models that are definitely 18th century New England.

I would look over the paper options.

Also, the plastic Perry famhouse would fit 18th century. Though modeled like Meade's Gettysburg headquarters, it also looks surprisingly like farmhouses on the Saratoga Battlefield.

Charlie Foxtrot does an AWI plantation house and outbuildings in MDF. They look pretty awesome when done up the right way. He has to tutorials on the website:

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Thank you all very much. These are outstanding suggestions, many I have never seen before. The Hartwell tavern model was especially a surprise! I was at Minute Man NHP until I retired in 2005 and worked with the restoration of the site. Interesting the side building was added in 1790.

Thank you all again. Will be spending money I do not have :)

I agree with Winston Smith – I build my own. Cardboard, foam core, spackle, etc. Thy don't look as finished as purchased ones but I like the building of them. Dutch farmhouse roof will be a challenge, I think.

Fusilier- Indeed! Much needed if you want to do AWI skirmish games in the "neutral ground". And how about a Dutch-style barn like the Wortendyke barn in River Vale, NJ? For the Jersey Dutch, Gambrel roofs were on houses, NOT barns.

Dan-
You'll never see that one on one of my M&T tables. Too mid-19th century. Too low sided, and the roof line is not pitched enough for the 18th century. I think the porch screams "Meade's HQ".

But you know I'm picky.

-Mark

That Charlie Foxtrot stuff is excellent. Someone clearly bothered to look at actual buildings for inspiration. The out buildings are of a kind you see in Colonial Williamsburg.

Only problem- mighty pricey for unpainted.

Flashman has good point about Old Glory's 18mm buildings. I use a couple of them and they give a presentation. I realize they are small-er but real 28mm buildings are so huge that they dwarf the tabletop. They work great for skirmish games but beyond that, I look for smaller stuff Same problem I have with 15mm ACW. I have pretty much converted to 10mm buildings which still dominate terrain. Anyway, that is way I do.

I'm going to have to check out those Blue Moon buildings come Fall In.

Despite the mini-tirade above, many buildings meant for the ACW are suitable for the AWI as long as they are 'old' enough. Those who will know the difference will be few and far between and wargaming is all about compromising anyway.

Of course, being in 15 mm myself, I have my own challenges in finding suitable buildings. But I find them – and, hopefully, buy them.

I also do 2nd Boer War and I have an O scale train station that is plastic but looks like wood. It works perfectly with 28mm Foundry and OG. It also works with the period.

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What I am saying is you might look into O gauge and S gauge. I have tried to find some suitable buildings for the AWI but I couldn't find a thing in O and S scales. You might have better luck. Could have something to do with not having trains in the 18th Cent. But then again like someone else said, I am picky.

Someone said the 28th scale buildings are too big for a game table. Not in my experience. It maybe that you're not use to seeing buildings which are the correct scale.

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If you play with 18 figures = 18 men skirmish, then the size of the house is no issue. But when 18 figures = 1 regiment, then the size of the house indeed becomes an issue.

First of all, for the sake of accuracy S Scale in model railroading is 1:64 not 1:56. This actually makes it even more suitable for "true" 28mm which scales out at 1:63. On the other hand, most "28mm" are oversize and scale out at about 1:58.

I have some of the Grand Manner 28mm AWI buildings. IMHO they are the best of all the commercially available wargame buildings in terms of molded detail AND the highest quality mold material. I find it curious to hear that at least one person thinks they are too small for 28s. I'm one of the old fogeys who has stayed in 25 and if I were to nitpick I would have to say that Grand Manner is definitely 28-30, NOT 25.

Having praised Grand Manner, they are very expensive and the shipping is a killer – I always bide my time until Dave has one of his periodic shipping discounts. Also, like all the building manufacturers, the accuracy of his buildings varies. The brick AWI factory and town house are both inaccurate IMHO. The "Plank House" has a Euro-style tile roof that would never have been seen in the 13 colonies. I happen to know that all three of these buildings started as custom commissions which Dave modestly discounted in return for being able to add them to his line-up.

Hovels are true 25 mm. I think that they are the best option if you can't scratchbuild