Saga - Viking Hall - Thatched Roof and coat of primer!

I'm back with an update on the progress of my next Viking building.

Earlier posts detailed the initial steps:

• Laying the foundation.
• Erecting the walls, and making the roof.

Unfortunately, I did not feel well for part of the weekend, so I did not get as far as I wanted. But, I was able to finish construction, and get the building primed in preparation for painting and landscaping.

Using more of my bargain-bin teddy bear fur, I completed the thatching on the roof. I cut the material into strips about an inch or so wide, making sure the grain of the fur ran across the width of the strips. I also cut back the material backing along the bottom strip, leaving some of the fur overhanging the roof to give it a rougher look. I think it came out looking pretty good. And the nice thing is that I still have a LOT of that ugly green fur to make more buildings. I think I paid about $3 for a yard of material.

After the material was glued down, I brushed on a water-down PVA mixture over the entire thatch, then left it to dry overnight. I used less glue than on my first building, and it dried in just a day, rather than take several days like the last time.

The other thing I did in preparation for spraying the primer, was to coat all the exposed edges of foamcore with glue (I used carpenter's glue). Since spray paint often melts foam, I wanted to add a layer of protection of possible.

Once the roof and glue were completely dry, I sprayed the entire thing. Since the building is mostly of wood construction, I used a flat brown Rustoleum spray from Wal-mart. Once this dries, I will give it some shading, drybrush highlight, and call it done.

While I was at it, I took the opportunity to prime another building. This one is a pre-made medieval building that I got for my birthday (thanks David!) and appears to be a barn or storehouse. It's a one-piece cast of a very dense foam (I don't think it's resin). I used a lighter tan for this on, since it's of mud-covered wattle construction. The base may not fix exactly with a Dark Ages theme, but I think it'll be okay. I am not a stickler. Plus, this gives me a third building so that I'll have enough to play the Homeland scenario without having to borrow terrain.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get these finished up this week so I can move onto other projects.

'Til next time!