1:35 European storehouse ruin - Part. 1

A demolished storehouse as the foundation of a 1:35 scene

The Italian brand Royal Model lists this subject as a pair of separately sold parts, and this is the first of them. The castings are plaster, which fundamentally determines the way of working. The subject is the ruin of a European storehouse, that is of a utility brick building of the kind that stood by railroad stations, ports and factories right across the continent.

What buildings like these looked like

Storehouses were built economically and functionally: thick brick walls, tall windows with steel frames, wide doors for trucks and as few partitions inside as possible, so that the handling space stayed clear. After shelling, stumps of the outer walls were left with the roof collapsed and the truss hanging into empty space. This state suits scenes from the fighting in Italy, in France and in German towns in 1945.

Working with plaster and painting

Plaster is cut with a saw or a sharp knife and sands well; the edges can on the contrary be deliberately broken to create a credible crack. Both white glue and cyanoacrylate hold the joints. The surface absorbs strongly, so it pays to apply a sealer or a base coat first, otherwise you will use three times as much paint. Then it is just the tone of the mortar, a darker glaze into the joints, dust pigments at the foot of the wall and the edges of the bricks brought out with a dry brush. Soot around the window openings will help the scene, but the marks of hits have to be irregular.

Who it is for

• for builders of urban and industrial dioramas in 1:35
• for modelers looking for a tall dominant element in a scene
• for anyone interested in setting vehicles in a built-up space
• for makers of display cases with figures of the Second World War

It is supplied unassembled and unpainted; the package does not contain paints, glue or terrain materials.