1:35 Chimneys no. 1

Chimneys for the ruins of a built-up area

The set contains chimneys intended to be set on roofs, gables and collapsed walls. Royal Model casts them in plaster, a material that holds the sharp texture of brickwork well and is easily reworked with a knife. It is the typical accessory that turns a part-built backdrop into a believable place.

The last thing left of a house

Photographs of destroyed villages share one motif: a chimney sticking up out of a burnt-out site. The explanation is simple. While the ceilings, the roof truss framing and the furniture burned and the walls were brought down by blast, the chimney stood on a foundation of its own, was built entirely of brick in lime mortar and offered a small area for wind or shock to take hold of. For the inhabitants it then became a landmark by which, on their return, they recognized whose house had stood where.

Setting in place and patina

First mark the place on the roof or the wall and sand the bottom of the chimney to the slope you need, so that no gap shows anywhere. Seat it with white glue, level any joint with putty and scribe the texture of the mortar lines into it. Begin the painting with a brick tone, add soot from the top with black pigment drawn downward and leave the tone darkest at the chimney top. Where the bricks have crumbled, expose a lighter core and complete them with fine rubble.

Where you will use the set

• on the roofs of houses in urban and village backdrops
• in burnt-out sites and collapsed buildings
• as background filling behind the main vehicle
• for learning the weathering of brick masonry