Airfix Fort Sahara - Monastery

Finally my head is getting clear and it´s back to painting etc.
First up this year, (apart from a Roman Villa and a couple of other bits) Something not on the "things planned for 2016" a Reconstruction of the Airfix Fort Sahara into a Monastery..usefull for a wide (or wider range) of periods, from early medieval to modern.

Basically, the idea Comes from Robert and his excellent Remodelling of the Airfix Fort Sahara into Le Monastère de Zinderneuf .

Some pilgrims are coming to visit…

...whilst inside, the Monks are either discussing what´s on the menu...…

..or maybe wether Brother Cedric´s Attire is quite appropiate

The re-build.
The original box with Contents.

Sanded down, the Little stubs of beam Ends and the door hinges removed.

The stairway is in a bit of an odd Position, anyone running down would stand a Chance of crashing into anyone coming out of the bottom door,  so it has been re-positioned

Addition of Quoins and brickwork around the doors and Windows

Stairway fixed in it´s new Position...more brickwork added, a start to adding stonework to the walkways.

The internal walls added. The bottom doorway gets covered over but it´s not much of a loss and was part of the plan anyway...and the main reason for altering the Position of the stairs.

Finally all the stonework/paving is finished

Walls smeared with a thin layer of PVA and sprinkled with fine sand, basing added. The Paving outside of the doorway had to go.

Paint it Black

Base coats and some weathering

Roof for the Tower, which will be removable. Scratchbuilt from card with a bead and a toothpick

Doors re-sized. I´ve scratched them up to add a Basic grain effect and cut bits off to create a "used" look.

Road and steps up to the Castle/Monastery

Little tufts added to the paving

I might add some other bits like a well, small storage hut, Garderobe but when there´s time

Happy New year

Just about recovered from last years Flu and the effects of sinusitus..so not really capable of creating something new, I´ll  recycle a pic from a couple of years back

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A Quick Review;
Apart from the Blog reaching a Million Hits and me getting the (happily) boot from facef*ck,

Around about 280 Bods (some with nags) painted, among them;
17 Half Orcs (Dark Alliance Set 2)
13 Half orcs (Dark Alliance set 3)
10 Heavy Warriors of the Dead Cavalry (Dark Alliance)
7  Medieval Salt Transport
10 Light Warriors of the Dead Cavalry (Dark Alliance)
4 Warriors of the Dead - Command
8 War of the Roses - Mounted Men - at - Arms (Redbox)
8 WotR´s Scurrers (Redbox)
13 Roman Transport 3 - Strelets
13 Roman Transport - 4 (Strelets)
7 Goblin slavers
25 Airfix Waterloo British Infantry
23 Airfix Waterloo Highland Infantry
20 Second battalion of the 2nd Nassau Usingen - Grenadiers
10 Sleeping Knights
21 Pilgrims
16 Medieval Camp followers
5 Baggage Control (medieval style)
30 Sitting Knights
6 marching Monks
along with 11 tables, 10 benches, 3 wagons, A windmill, 5 17th Cent Farm Buildings, 40 Medieval/Bodstonian Buildings, The Parthenon, Battle of Stamford Bridge dio, A Fishing boat, a Ship mill,  Horse-Powered Ferryboat, an 18th Cent fire engine,  4 18th century carriages and a couple of other bits and Bobs.

Plans so far for this year;
A Roman Villa
Finish the last 6 Seated Knights
Paint up a Hussite camp
Finish the Medieval / Bodstonian town (another 10 or so buildings)
Base the Medieval / BodstonianVillage
Build a 17th Cent Meeting house /Fort
Paint every pose of the Airfix Afrika Korps set
Paint the Strelets Tecumseh set
Scratchbuild a "Medicus" wagon
and a couple of Weird and wonderfull scratchbuilds, but they are Secret at the Moment

Crossbows,Mrs Bucket, Roman Guard, Tables, Sheep and Goats

Due to still Feeling a bit "Under the weather" A  X-Mas collection with A few "Bits and Bobs" that don´t merit a post of thier own (some of which were painted a Long while back) put into one post.

Two crossbowmen from Strelets with crossbows from the Zvezda French Knights set
The bod on the left had his crossbow replaced, the other was originally supposed to be Holding a spear was from the Scottish Army of Robert Bruce, but looked better with a crossbow.

 

Mr´s bucket. Metal...and I can´t remember what make or where I got her from

Roman guards (From Germania Figuren)who ended up on a dio

Tables and benches for the Teutonic Order 1329 dio

More Sleeping knights added to the First lot from Medieval Bedtime

50 Sheep and 10 goats for another dio  called Auenhain 1813

 

Sitting Knights

After a pause..(a dose of flu Lasting nearly 2 weeks followed by sinusitus) 30 sitting kniggits painted a while back for the Teutonic Order 1329 dio. 14 as German order kniggits, the other 16 in various C.o.A colours, including  some in the C.o.A colours of  Hanau and  Meisen.
Sculpted by Alex, he has given them head swops to add variety.
There´s another 6 to go, but being unable to focus due to having a "thick head" they are in reserve in case any Specific C.o.A´s are required

Meisen, second from left,  and  Hanau next to him.

Dick Turpin´s House

Post number 800 ...apparently
Not the one in Thaxted (where he apparently stayed) but the one across the road from the blue bell Inn in Hempstead.
From there (again, according to some sources..he may have worked as an apprentice butcher in Whitechapel and later had a shop in Buckhurst...it appears record keeping was a bit lax in the early 1800´s) he ran a legal butchers Business and Held cock fights on the grassed area in front of the house.

The whole village finished.
4 houses, 2 Barns, one with a house on the back, a corn silo and a chicken house.
The Haybarrack, beehives along with Fences, a well etc will be  added but as the Basing is done.

Pilgrims - Colonists

All 21 poses from the Imex Pilgrims set, who are destined to become  Bodstonians.

 Hunters/militia. I cut the  Apostles off the bandoliers and added  sachels from the Zvezda French Knights set

 Children. The purply blue tinge on the Turkeys wings has come out in the pic a bit "louder" than in reality

 The bod on the right is described as being a Minister, but after a bit of arm bending he´s now a bookkeeper or Foreman 

Medieval Camp followers (Pt3)

A couple more additions to the camp followers,

Females from the Imex Pilgrims

Priest from Pegasus California Mission Indians set..head swopped and the Boy cut away to produce a sack

Last bod from the Airfix Robinhood set, head swop, sword exchanged for a bag.

 

Mule and baggage from the Nexus  Davy Crockett set..but the head has been bent down to make it look a bit more tired / miserable.

Females from the linear-B´s  Roman Slave Market and Roman Transport sets.

15 so far, 2 children,, 5 males and 8 women...and one mule.

Medieval Camp followers (Pt2)

To add to the previous wagon a couple of stands of camp followers on foot are planned

Conversions.

The  woman and child are from the Linear-B Roman Transport set and have had cloaks added.

The  Bod in the middle from the Linear -B Roman Market set and has had a head swop

The female on the right from the Imex American Pioneers and has a cloak added

 

Bods from various Linear-B and strelets sets. The one hugging his pot is converted from a sitting bod from the Strelets Crusader Transport 2 set.

Second battalion of the 2nd Nassau Usingen - Grenadiers

"Old School" style.
Using bods I converted 35 plus years ago,  bodies from the Waterloo British Infantry and the heads from the Waterloo British Cavalry (Hussars) 
The officer is a combination from, legs = British inf, head = the hussars  and Body from the mounted officer in the Waterloo Highland Infantry set
The uniform accuracy won´t  please the rivet Counters, no swords etc but this is "old School" fun as it was when I first started..no figures to cover the unit wanted so you had to make do. Also,  back then, without the luxury of the web to check up on colours, equipment etc, all one had, if you were lucky enough to have a decent library nearby, was books and they were often not that accurate either.


The uniform colours etc, I took from Alexis excellent site "Les Uniformes pendant la Campagne des Cent jours-Belgique 1815"
The Flag is from Warflag
I wasn´t too sure about a Grenadier Company having a flag but after much (and sometimes confusing) Research I gave up.  I liked   the idea of using a flag and  it is "old School",  ...so the  Grenadiers got one.

The whole allied army so far

Note; I still haven´t got around to sorting the flags out...they are still the wrong way around!!