Grubenhaus, part 3 - end walls

Contructing the end walls is nice and simple. Strips of 1 mm balsa, with an angle cut on one end (set the angle from the roof using a sliding bevel), glued down. Small gaps don't matter, nor do deep notches where the planks go around the purlins. By aiming for 2-4 mm random strips, this equates to planks roughly 4"-8" wide in scale, which would seem about right. My rough calculations based on the West Stow reconstruction support this, but on the other hand, they could just as easily have gone to Jewsons...

The door is appliqued on, using thicker wood (matchsticks) for the frame.

Cut the floor ends to length once the wall is complete. You can make them slightly higgledy this way and it means you don't have to worry about cutting accurately to length when you fit the strips!

The other end has no door, so is simplicity itself.

At this point, glue the house to a base (MDF or according to taste). Once dry, give the fur a thick coat of PVA glue and "comb" it down to give a thatch effect. Doing this once the house is based helps to get the thatch nicely in contact with the ground. Once totally dry, if necessary trim any loose fibres.

I used the same finishing method I've used on my other terrain pieces (PVA, sharp sand, flock and emulsion paints). The completed piece will be along shortly.

Enjoy!