Bamboo Huts

Back in 2004, the editor of Minitaure Wargaming dot Com created two 25/28mm size bamboo huts with burned out versions.  You can find the article here: http://www.miniaturewargaming.com/index.php/mwg/comments/bamboo_hut_paper_models/ which includes a download link for the pdf files.

I had downloaded the files but had not done anything with them for a long time.  Then Lori Brom announced the theme for Colonial Barracks 2014 as "And Two Battalions of Marines."  So I thought, dust off my Between the Wars "China" Marines and see what sort of scenario I can devise.  I decided on a rescue mission as the Marines go in to help some missionaries fleeing from a notoriously unstable warlord.  For that scenario I needed a trading station along a river as the end point in the rescue.  Ah ha! I'll use those bamboo hut models.  Crank up the printer and pull out the glue, let's get building, boys!

The two bamboo huts were quickly printed and construction began.  I used artist's matte board sandwiched between the outer and inner walls to stiffen them.  The walls, floor, and roof were all printed on 110-lb card stock.  The outer floor supports were made from Q-tip sticks (cotton buds for my European readers).  The smaller hut (3" x 3" roughly) would be the traders' living quarters and the larger (3" x 4" roughly) would be the trading post itself.

The smaller hut with the walls all glued together.  I made two sets of walls and glued one inside the other to have a passable interior.  The white box underneath is part of the foundation and will be painted to disguise it.  The two figures are 28mm Foundry Darkest Africa explorers mounted on washers that have been glued to 1" square 3mm bases.

The foundation has been painted and the outer floor supports are installed.

Glued to a masonite (hardboard) base and some added scatter for grass.

The larger hut is not quite as far along as I ran out of time before my game to test the scenario last Saturday.  It has a stair added and will get an overhanging front roof section to provide cover for the trade goods.

The trading post along the river with a docked steamboat and a beached amphibious plane.  The smaller hut is to the left and the larger to the right.  The steamboat is one I made from plans in an old Foundry article.  The amphibious plane is a actual 1936 Keystone Loening amphibious plane that was issued as a coin bank.

Here's another view of the smaller hut with the Keystone plane (and an unusual visitor!).  The plane is very useable for all sorts of Between the Wars and Pulp settings.

I made the roofs on both buildings removable so figures can be put inside.  At some time I think I'll make corrugated metal roofs for both so I can vary their appearance.  These were easy to construct and look very realistic.  More later as I get the trading post building finished and the bases with better scenics.