WIZARD of OSGILIATH: OSGILIATH, PART 2

Let me start by saying this stage has taken me at least three times as long as I intended it to, but, I have neared completion of the build process and though I’d share what I’ve done so far.

The buildings were mapped out on paper before I got stuck in, to try and give the impression of a realistic placement by the architects. Each block has been divided into a rough grid pattern, with alleyways between the buildings and so on. The embankment is covered with semi-flooded arched buildings no more than 2 floors high. After that the towers get higher to provide the defenders from the river attack with some height from which to fire arrows down from, and at the far end of the board lies the main square, complete with statue.

The way I created the walls for the buildings was to take the thicker blue foam, 10mm thick, and score brickwork onto the pieces of wall. Always use a sharp scalpel blade for this, otherwise the edges become scuffed and untidy (too untidy even for ruins). After this, I rolled a granite rock over the walls to give them a battered look, after which I hit them with the corner of a piece of wood to give the impression they were carved from rock.

The streets look a little bare still, but after all of the buildings are actually glued into place, piles of rubble and collapsed walls will fill any open areas, so the city will become very busy indeed. Anyway, here are the pictures of the ruins so far, keeping in mind a few are left to go in. Some are painted already as the buildings needed to be made in sections, otherwise trying to paint certain areas would become too fiddly.

Here is a picture of the first tower building which I've painted up as a mock up. I'm pretty happy with the results, which came from using a base coat of bestial brown, drybrush of snakebite leather, then bleached bone, then white. All of the paints are from Dulux, mixed to match.

These images show the ruins after the sand, grit and stones were glued on. This will take at least a day, depending on the weather to dry. Filler plaster was used to cover any gaps and to make raised bits for rubble to sit. It was also used to create waves in the river, which were covered with sand and will be painted white when the river is done. I think the road tiles blend nicely with the sand, and shouldn't look to false. Next stage - painting. Completion is so close I can almost smell it!