Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Lately I managed to get a copy of the old Mordheim rulebook, and I've been looking for a quick&dirty method for making ruined fantasy-style buildings for Mordheim and gaming in general.

I know for 40K you can use stuff like polystyrene inserts for computers and the like, suitably roughed up and then painted. That doesn't really work for me since the shapes of those inserts almost universally are strange enough to not work very well as the traditional cottage-looking fantasy buildings.

The fastest method I've seen for fantasy buildings/ruins (Since constructing a foamcore building, while pretty, takes longer than I'm looking for) is giving those Christmas Village ceramic houses a few whacks with a hammer, smoothing any subsequent sharp edges, and covering with a lick of paint. Unfortunately, while this is handy if you can get a lot of those cheap, even at non-holiday prices they're otherwise still pretty spendy for something I'm going to destroy anyhow.

TL;DR: Does anyone know a quick and cheap method for halfway-decent fantasy buildings and fantasy ruins?

How about wooden puzzle kits. Sometimes these can be found at Michaels or other craft stores.
http://santacruzwarhammer.blogspot.com/2012/06/easy-woodcut-terrain.html

Faster than foamcore? Michaels (and others, most likely) has the laser cut, press-fit kits that RanTheCid mentions (not many are buildings, but you might find one or two that are appropriate). They also have a ton of cheap, unfinished wood birdhouses and play sets (pretty much the only difference between the two is whether they have a round "door" hole or not) which include a few castle looking buildings.

I might also look around for "medieval" play sets at toy stores. The figures are pretty much universally worthless, but you may be able to find some castle/tower/wall bits in an appropriate scale.

Thanks! I never considered using the lasercut wood kits for buildings, but I'll have to take a look and see if I can find some.