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hey guys!
My group and I are going to do operation market garden.
I'm trying to find cheap terrain scaled correctly but I'm not having any luck so far so I'll just build my own!!
I started with 1/4" foam core. Cut my walls about an inch high per storey. Glued them together to make the outer walls. A quick dig through the bits box produced a batch of old Mordheim plastic corners. Those were cut out and hot glued onto the corners.
The multiple storey building is going to be a corner piece. The floors were cut to shape and rest upon little braces in the corners.I glued sticks to the bottoms for support and braces against slippage.
More to come..

Looking forward to seeing your progress with this. I am building some French buildings myself and any tips and ideas would be appreciated.

I'm always amazed by the patience of those who make their own buildings. These look great, I'll be following this with interest.

Here are some shots I left out this morning..

I was able to put roofs on tonight after dinner.
I used thin paper card for the construction.
I will top the cardboard with cereal box cut into strips and then scored to produce shingles.
One of the roofs will be large copper plates.

What would you guys suggest for the roof for making molds? I will be casting mine in resin. I have already used foam core for the walls and floors. Should I use the same for the roof to give it that thickness needed to make the mold?

If you know how to cast, then you know about porous surfaces.
I would recommend using clay to make the master model and cast that. As far as the backing materials.. I'd use a linoleum tile to avoid any warpage.

I was able to finish the roofs this evening.
Here are a few shots with FOW figs for scale.

At this stage I'm ready to mix up some Hydrocal and texture the outside walls.
I'm going to make them all stucco style.
The next batch will be rock walls...gotta swing by hobby town and get a sheet of HO scale rock wall.
I'll check back in with some more WIP of the application process.

What did you use for the doors? Is it styrene sheeting?

@tressel
I used wooden sticks from Walmart. They are called skinny sticks. You get a bag of 75 for like 3 bucks. They are nice cuz they are flat and straight..for the most part. Better than hobby craft sticks..those always seem to be wavy..

Any chance of an up close photo of those?

This is some great work. I can't wait to see these finished an painted. Great work!

Here are some shots of work in progress..
I used a mix of Portland cement and a little bit of garden sand for some body.
I put it on kinda thick and set each aside to dry. I'll mix up some more this morning and apply to another side and let those dry as well.
Thanks for the compliments guys!!

As a Dutchman I am honoured you recreate Market Garden in FoW. Nijmegen is original while most go straight to Arnhem. If only the allies had listened to the Dutch resistance who warned them that there was an SS division stationed in Arnhem, a lot of brave soldiers could have been saved.

I spotted you spelled Nijmegen wrong though, it's with an "e" before the "n" instead of a "a".

Keep up the good work, I'll direct my brother and mate (who are both avid FoW players) to the thread.

Excellent skills, sir!

Dude these buildings look amazing. Kudos to you!

I would have never thought of using portland cement. I'm surprised it bonds to the foam. They are really looking good.

To piggy back on this would you guys mind giving me some feed back on the buildings I have started? The first of them can be found here.

http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=126&aff=52&aft=560823&afv=topic&afpgj=1#1227659

@tressel -
Your right, Portland was an odd choice...I guess I should give you guys the secret formula.....
When you mix up Portland, add a little fine sand a little extra water and .... a big blob of Latex Caulk.
The caulk bonds to the surface and stays kinda plyable but the Portland and sand give it the sandable texture.
Sometimes I get ahead of myself when explaining my projects...

Here is a shot of the first two finished buildings.
C&C welcome!!

Looks good Farseer. I actually used the latch work idea on my windows and it turned out great. Thanks again for the tip.

I finished them up last night.
Total cost of project was about 3 bucks.
Total time spent on project, not counting dry time was about 7 hours.
Hope you guys enjoy and get some inspiration from my little project.
Next up will be some apartment houses in a row.
I'm gonna try the Spanish tile trick for the roofs.
Thanks for following my thread!!