Any one connected to West Stow Saxon village?

[tombear]

Hi All
Much to my delight the eldest two have bought a lot of Dark Ages 28mm wargames figures this Christmas. As well as helping them to paint them I have promised to make some buildings and scenery to go on the wargames table. Now I can find loads of phoitos of the reconstruted buildings at West Stow and lese where but I was hoping to find a nice (makes my life easy) book on the subject of reconstructed Anglo Saxon and Anglo Noprse buildings ideally with proper drawings of the elevations and dimensions that I could redraw in 1:58 (call it 1:60) and use to make them.

Unfortunately Ive found nothing suitable so it looks like I will be working from photos. Does anyone who has visited or has some connection to the staff there have basic dimensions for these reconstructions, or can give me a pointer towards sources of same?

Its stuff like heights and lengths of walls, heights and widths of doors.

Cheers!

Tom

 

[tombear]

In the end I found a PDF that gave details of the building sizes. So I have knocked up the first buildings, based on the dimensions of the weaving house. Most wargames thatched roofs are made from towling or fun fur which look good but don't look like real thatching done by proper thatchers where would only really see the ends of the straw or reeds or what ever except at the edges and ridge lines. In the end I used scouring pads, scrutched flax and untwisted linen 1mm twine. I've just slapped on the primer and will start painting them tomorrow.

ATB

Tom

 

[munkiboi182]

Looking good. Always fancied having a go at model making. I built a Tudor house out of balsa as a youth but nothing more since.

 

[tombear]

It's remarkably therapeutic and in this case unlike the eldests -----py Space Marines I get to combine faffing with a interest in other people's experimental archeology.

anyroad they are done now, matt varnished and flocked.

im pretty happy with them for a first go. I've only done made up concrete buildings for their 40K before.

ATB

Tom

 

[British Red]

They look great Tom - having just finished a huge roast dinner with wine, I'm feeling a bit flocked myself

 

[tombear]

Cheers, we're all sedated with the roast pork here as well, all we plan on doing the rest of the day is some light modelling, watching TV and in my case finish sewing the canvas roll for the giant mill files, the 14 and 16 inch suckers don't fit in the chest the rest live in.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Based this one on the dimensions for the Hall at West Stow but decided to do it as wattle and daub rather than the planks on the reconstruction. Just given it a good coat of enamel primer.

A happy new year to you all!

ATB

Tom

 

[boatman]

If anyone wants an almost instant Saxon settlement these print-out Grubenhaus or Sunken Featured Buildings are good.

http://www.mojobob.com/roleplay/props/grubenhaus.html

 

[mr dazzler]

good to see the pigs in the sty! We visited West Stow about 7 or 8 years ago, before it was extended. We went through the reception, through a door, down some steps, and the next thing was we heard this loud intense squealing sound. There was 6 or 7 piglets (brown and black ones, not pink) running around free. It was amazing. It did more to sudgest the mood of an ancient settlement than any amount of audio visual presentations or whatever.

 

[tombear]

Due to them not reading the small print his mum and him managed to order some 15mm pigs so the ones in the pic have since been joined by piglets! I'll have to carve the flames off the back of some of course...

This year we are going to make the effort to get to West Stow, Bedes World and the Weald and Downlands Open Air Museum etc. getting a close look at these reconstructions for ourselves.

ATB

Tom

Paint slapped on the thatch.

 

[tombear]

Finished them, need to work out a pattern for a saxon barn next.

atb


Tom

 

[wiatrog]

In the end I found a PDF that gave details of the building sizes.
Tom

Hi Tom,

Would you be willing to share the PDF you found? I've been searching and have turned up nothing.

Thanks,
-Greg