1:35 Farm ruin

Farm ruin 1:35

A peasant dwelling after a hit, intended as the basis of a rural tableau in 1:35. The goods rank among diorama equipment, not among kits of vehicles: it is placed into a scene and only then does the action with equipment and figures play out around it.

The countryside as a battlefield

During the campaign in western Europe, agricultural holdings turned into fortified strongpoints. Stone walls, enclosed yards and farm outbuildings offered cover, so a single farm was sometimes fought over for whole days, in Normandy among the hedgerows and later during the advance to the Rhine. A demolished dwelling therefore belongs among the most frequent subjects. The farmers moved out only unwillingly, so civilians and livestock appear in such tableaux as well.

How to handle it

Set the scene up dry and turn the backdrop until you find a view that does not hide the main model. Paint the stone masonry by areas, not stone by stone, and only then draw the details out. Imitate the surfaces that represent wood with a gray weathered tone, add straw and mud around the threshold and leave the puddles glossy while the rest of the surface stays matte. A dung heap and broken tools in the yard will populate a scene at once.

It will be chosen above all by

• those who build tableaux of the Normandy countryside
• those looking for a setting for a tank or a half-track
• those who want a scene with civilian buildings
• those practicing the imitation of stone and wood

Paints, static grass and glue are not enclosed: you finish the farm according to your own idea of the season.