papierschnitzel

Brig hull textures

Here a first look at the upcoming brig texturing. I have got the hull - outside and inside - textured and go my build this far.

My work pipeline allows for pretty accurate parts except for one step, the core layer. This one I need to reduce a little so that from bow to stern everything will glue together nicely. And this time I made a pretty wrong guess :-) You can see that the stern plat...

Sneak peek at the brig textures

Still feeling woozy with my cold but there is one good thing. My voice has dropped two octaves and became sexy :-) I sound like Michael Clark Duncan!

With all the prep work I have done on the previous sets I can counter the slow with much faster texturing. The above pic shows a detail from the hull side. The door is an option if you want to add a gallery balcony. The windows are also opti...

Brig and sick

Just a quick update to let you guys know that I have started working on the Brig textures but I haven't been feeling well the last days, so everything is slow.

I managed to work in all the geometry changes I wanted to do after the first prototype and will now lock in the texturing as this will affect the way I split the large hull parts.

I'll keep you updated but for now I am gettin...

恭喜发财 Happy Chinese New Year 2019

Here's my little surprise gift for the year of the pig!

I have made a Chinese treasure chest in my 'Basic Bits' series. Use these boxes to enhance your tabletop scenery or maybe just as a good luck charm on your desk :-)

For the open chest I have also added a Chinese coins inlay, wishi...

Color variations

While I am still waiting for Patreon to finish the end-of-month processing (it's taking quite long this month!) I want to show the different color modifiers I have added for the courtyard house.

Above you see an overview of possible combinations of wall, roof, column and ornament layers. 

For the brick wall I am just providing the "officials" red variant. This one should go wel...

Courtyard Fold-Flat

I have just finished the second build with the fold-flat version of the courtyard house! I am never sure how well I can convert a model, but I think this one went really well. Esp for the interior walls I managed to make them so they can be trimmed to fit and it all works.

The above pic shows the parts spread out so you see them better. But you can squeeze them in about these dimensions f...

Alternative front build

As I am working full speed to get the release done in time, here are some pics showing the new final build I made for the regular instructions (fold flat still to be done) showing the wooden framework texturing.

Have you noticed the round columns?

In preparation for the full courtyard ...

Fleshing out the Chinese interior

For the interior main walls I am going to just reuse the brick walls, but for the spacing walls I really wanted to have wood as the main component. 

This wood texture will also be available for the front veranda wall (inside and outside) with options for day, night and looking from the inside out (for the interior part of that wall). I will show more about this tomorrow.

Of cou...

Chinese Courtyard Modules

Today I want to show the modules I am going to make over time for the courtyard houses.

There are three buildings categories and then gates and walkways. For each of them there will be two variations in dimensions.

• Main (large) buildings (12x6", 8x8", pink)
• Medium buildings (8x4", 6x4", green)
• Extension (small) buildings (8x2", 6x2", blue)
• Gates (lar...
  2019-01-27 08:54:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Making Chinese roof tiles

When I went to texture the roof, I first tried reusing the old ones I created for the Samurai Castle sets. But for the Chinese houses I wanted a more lighter tone and more variations in the tiles. So I went on to recreate the tile textures  form scratch throwing everything I have learnt in the meantime in the mix and ... TADAAAA! ... was able to come up with something that I like so much m...

Finetuning geometry and textures

I had started working on the roof, when my girl friend made a remark about the shape of the roof, specifically how I designed the slanting and curving as compared to my research pictures. After a short period of feeling indignant :-) I realized that she was absolutely right!

So I went back to have a better look at the pictures and found that I might have been too much influenced by my Jap...

Expanding the Brig to 30mm scale

This weekend I worked a little on adapting the 15mm parts to 30mm scale. I only got to make the core and outside hull parts but you can now see the scale of the brig in comparison to minis :-)

Here are some pics with the other ships so far in comparison...

2019-01-21 08:51:43 +0000 UTC View Post

Court yard house texturing I

Here's an update on the WIP of the Chinese court yard houses. As you can see I have finished a bulk of the wall texturing. 

For now I have focused on the brick "skin". It's the simplest and represents the poorer inhabitants. For the richer folks I will make the house front with the decorative wood panels as in my sketch.

On the walls I will add optional elements like these roun...

Welcome to the new Patrons!

Thank you all so much for your support. This means a lot to me. Both emotionally and also financially! 

I have had a couple of chats that made me realize I should explain "my way" of doing Patreon so there are no wrong expectations.

I make paper models and everyone who wants to support my development is invited to join. For every month you are here, you will get rewarded with ...

Basic Bits: Wooden Crate A

Every month I am going to release a small paper model for free download. 

I am calling this series "Basic Bits" covering stuff like crates, barrels, carts and other bits that will help populate and decorate your gaming table with small details that make it look so much better :-)

Today I am giving you this wooden crate. It comes in a couple of color variations, so when you buil...

Brig figurehead section

So this one was a little bit tricky for me, but I think I have got it now. This will be the geometry onto which the actual figurehead will be attached.

I will go for two versions. The one above is the advance one with the cut out details. The other is a larger side shape, which could be used for figureheads that have ornaments going back, like angel or dragon wings or similar.

2019-01-13 10:53:30 +0000 UTC View Post

New in 2019

End of last year I announced I will add some freebies this year, so this is what it's about :-)

Every now and then, when I had a little time, I started working on smaller models. Usually it was stuff that would enhance a scene with more detail, like crates and barrels or carts. Even for a gaming session I believe adding these little things, adds so much for atmosphere and immersion ... an...

Paper engineering for fold flat

This is an idea I had for another set which I thought I could put into action in the "hidden" base section of the court yard buildings. That way I wouldn't need use the clamping bits (shown below) to hold together the walls - at least on the bottom!

The way I do it is by adding overlap...

Court yard house white build

Today only a brief update on my progress. Here's a look at white test build of the basic house. The biggest design choice was the top roof edge. I was tinkering with the rounded version but went with this one as it is much easier to build. I will show an alternate building path in the instructions if you want the rounded top.

During my first attempts on a build, I added the column element...

Honing in on the basic court yard house

I have been studying (and finding more) references for the court yard houses and am working on locking down the geometry and the basic texture patterns.

This sketch above is a more decorative look for a wealthier neighbourhood. I will also make a more simpler look too for the average settlement. One thing I want to make possible is to have a very simple 2D column that you can slide 4sided...

Getting a grip on the new geometry

Between working on the Chinese Court Yard buildings I was able to advance the Brig a little. So here's a look at my first test build of the brig. It's a rough build at half scale (15mm) with the main purpose to check the hull shape ... and I am quite happy with it!

I am thinking about adding an optional forecastle or sleightly raised deck but have to check how that will work with the jib ...

Taking off into 2019

I have returned from the New Year celebrations with the folks - lots of good food and drink and a mist covered firework at midnight - and started fleshing out the modules for the Chinese Courtyard buildings. 

Here is the first sketch I have completed for a generic setup. The main components will be the larger central buildings, the smaller extension buildings and the walls/walkways a...

Sailing into 2019!

I am very excited about the new year. I have lots of things I want to build. Most of them will be from the usual Asian and Pirate theme again, but I also have more "cultures" to mix in, if we have the time and/or you prefer more diversity.

Above you see a first sketch of the upcoming Brig, a two mast ship with a fully raised deck in the stern. I have already started working on the geometr...

This was 2018!

After a couple of quiet, peaceful and restful christmas holidays I am in the right mood to take stock of this year.

Today I want to take the time and look back at what we created this year. I often tend to look ahead and only notice the problems to come and forget about all the challenges I have (successfully!) overcome, all the things I have created. So at this time of the year, I try to...

Added more flags

For the gunboat I have create a flags file with some Jolly Roger pirate flags. For the Sloop I wanted to add more flags, this time going for different navy flags. I have added British, French, Spanish and Portuguese versions.

I also made a post on my website, showing the build process for the top mast flags, where you can download a copy of the file.

2018-12-19 12:18:28 +0000 UTC View Post

New photo setup

Last weekend I found some new background plates for taking photos. The old tools are becoming too small to take good photos of the large ships! :-)

So above you see the results of the new photo rig I am using now. The lighting with the white background is much better.

And here is a size comparison of the new Sloop and the Gunboat. The Sloops hull/deck is covering a 12x4" grid. But the over...

Weekend Sloop teaser :-)

Here's a little pic to show the almost finished Sloop. Only the top mast flag is missing. As I have done pirate flags the last time with the gun boat I want to add some "country" flags now. I think I will make this build a British sloop!

Enjoy the weekend and keep building!

Chris

Splitting the mast

The mast extensions can look intimidating to a beginner, but I think I have found an easy solution!

I have made two versions, depending on how comfortable you feel cutting holes into the separating  parts.

For the first build, I did not cut these parts but rather split the mast cores. This approach I recommend for beginners.

2018-12-14 07:10:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Taking the Sloop apart ...

Today I want to quickly show you how the Sloop can be disassembled for better storage and/or transport. Above you see the main components, esp the masts taken apart. That is just one way. For my next build I have chosen a different split. It all depends on your needs and cutting skills (more on this later). This one above is the easy method.

Next is the main gaff sail ...

2018-12-13 09:21:51 +0000 UTC View Post

Cannon builder helper ...

When I was building my first batch of cannons I was aligning the barrel any way I wanted. Some I made horizontal and some I had pointing up a little. Now when I had the sloop hull done I realized a little problem: some cannons just didn't fit! 

The upward pointing ones became too high for the bulwark due to the reinforced deck parts. Luckily I had enough that would fit so I didn't have to b...