Halgar's Blacksmith (Fabled Realms)

Almost a year since the last Fabled Realms buildings from 4Ground that I constructed comes this  - Halgar's Blacksmith. As soon as I saw the kit I wanted it to add some more variation to the small collection I have. I hope 4Ground produce more non-domiciliary type structures in a similar size - a warehouse would be interesting, and I sure there are plenty of other ideas.

The minis used for size reference are Freebooter's Fate; Halgar's Blacksmith has already had game-time during my second Freebooter's Fate game very recently.

The build time was around six and half to seven hours, split over a few sessions on a couple of days. I was a bit rusty so had one cock-up which I think I have been able to cover over, which was aligning the outer frame of the upper story - but I had a real problem getting them to interlock and stick in place at the same time and think the sheets were very slightly bowed.

As usual I moved around a bit in the running order of the build to allow sub-assemblies to allow the glue to start to set. This time I used my paint roller technique on the roof before assembly, to change to a more pleasing (to me) colour.

An optional addition which is available is posters included on the instruction sheet, but I didn't like the look of them on the 4Ground site so left them off.

This is a kit I heartily recommend and one I would certainly suggest for anyone who has other Fabled Realms kits and wants to add more.

Fabled Realms: Mordanburg High Street Houses

Another two buildings from 4Ground's Fabled Realms range, bringing my total up to 9. I wasn't planning on getting these at this time until I found an Ebay seller offering them at a great price (each was between 22% and 25% off rrp).

These will probably be my last two for a while as I want to add some non-residential buildings going forward, plus some more ruins as they get released (unless I can snag another Backstreet Dwelling at a bargain price!). That means my prime targets are the massive Stoic Arms pub, and the Town Watch Tower which is due for release in June. Time to save up some pocket money - in other words don't expect to see them imminently on the blog!

The various Fabled Realms houses effectively come in three types: High Street Houses which are the 'middle class' homes of the city; Dockside Houses represent the grand quarter and most expensive dwellings in the city, owned by traders and wealthy citizens; and Backstreet Dwellings which are the simple dwellings of most citizens.

These are two more High Street Houses, and the larger one is the intact version of a damaged building (click for link) I built a while ago.

The larger building is High Street House 3. It took approximately 3 hours to put together, so a little longer than the undamaged version. Of course it has more cladding to add in, as well as door and chimney etc., so overall more work required.

The other, smaller, building is High Street House 4; this one took approximately two and a quarter hours to build.

As usual, with both builds I started with the first stage of each sub-assembly before moving to another sub-assembly to allow drying time. I over-painted the tiling on the roofs to cover the scorch marks of the laser cutting process. Obviously that adds more time, but in all still a hell of a lot quicker for me than going the route of a scratch-build.

I have really, really enjoyed putting these things together, and think it will be worth it when they get some gaming time. I wholly recommend this Fabled Realms range to anyone who is thinking about picking any of them up. For me, the price is right for what they offer, and it is nice to have a varied array of buildings that still have a recognisably consistent style.

Fabled Realms: Mordanburg Dockside Dwellings

A few days ago it was my birthday, and I was a very fortunate Citizen indeed, as I received another two Fabled Realms kits as gifts. These kits were both the same Mordanburg Dockside Dwelling 3, but thanks to the options given with the kit, they have been assembled to have some differences in appearance.

The kit provides 2 choices of cladding, and something like 4 options of chimney configuration. In addition, the doors could theoretically be swapped over, and there are shutters available to use, however I decided against the shutters since I want the buildings to be as useful and accessible as possible for gaming, meaning windows for models to shoot from!

I did use some surplus windows from an earlier kit I had assembled to differentiate the frames and look of the attic windows on each of them.

Each build took around four and a quarter hours, both comprising 5 sub-assemblies with the exterior steps as well as floors, attic and roof. As when assembling the other Fabled Realms kits, I jumped around the order of assembly a little, building each first stage shell-first to allow that time to dry before adding the exterior timber work and cladding. I built the two separately as I didn't want to get confused working between the two, especially as some details would intentionally distinguish the different buildings.

Each building's roof was over-painted with a similar colour to the pre-paint colour, mainly to cover scorch marks.

Moving forward, the 'town' is growing between my buildings and the ones Rob has put together. I love the recently revealed Fabled Realms Watch Tower (due to go on sale in June), and would love to get the mighty Stoic Arms pub to add to the gaming table. I can see myself picking up one or two more Fabled Realms house kits before I get to either of those I reckon, and depending on pricing, I think the Watch Tower will be the likely next purchase of the two, although if similarly priced to the pub, then the Stoic Arms pub would be my first choice. Time to get saving!

Fabled Realms: Damaged High Street House (III)/Backstreet Hovel (II)

More 4Ground Fabled Realms buildings!

Damaged High Street House (III)
(Fabled Realms Damaged High Street House 1) This has been the most complicated to assemble, and was constructed in a little under 4 hours over a few days. I honestly didn't expect it to take that long, as I had not anticipated the additional time needed for the extras it has compared to the other High Street Houses. Mostly they were not too difficult to complete, but they all took time.

Compared to the other two ruins, this effectively has a usable third storey due to the exposed attic space.

Although this one took a lot longer to put together, it adds some more variety to the array of buildings I have, so I think the time was worth it.

This kit was more expensive than the other two Damaged High Street Houses, and has an rrp of £36. Unlike the others it is a little more expensive than its undamaged counterpart.


Backstreet Hovel (II)
(Fabled Realms Mordanburg Backstreet Dwelling 1) This building arrived in the days in which I finished the last one, and was, like the first Hovel, pretty quick to assemble, taking roughly 1 hour 25 minutes.

The rrp is £18, but they can be found cheaper if you look around.

Currently there are no ruined versions of the Backstreet Dwellings, but if any are made I think I would get at least a couple. Speaking with the guys from 4Ground, they plan to make some ruined versions within the next couple of years.


The Town Grows
I have really enjoyed putting these 5 buildings together, and want to add more, but going forward I think I need some variation. So I hope 4Ground add to the range, and stuff like a blacksmith's or a warehouse would be really nice options in my opinion, and which they have also indicated may happen.

The next release planned is a City Watch Tower I hear, and even sight unseen I know I want it!

Fabled Realms: Damaged High Street House (II)

I was so enthused  about building my last Fabled Realms building, that I immediately started another one! I have found these surprisingly enjoyable to put together.

This kit is Damaged High Street House 03, and like the one in the previous post an undamaged version is also available at the same price (approximately £24 GBP; some retailers may have them a little cheaper).

Constructing the first Hovel and the first Damaged High Street House has helped me understand how 4Ground put their Fabled Realms kits together, which in turn has meant this third building was put together in just under 1 hour 40 minutes, so not that much longer than the Hovel, and definitely getting quicker in relative terms.

The building splits into two main assemblies once fully constructed, again making it accessible and functional. As before, Freebooter's Fate minis are used for scale reference. As an aside, it is nice for me to start seeing a few of these buildings together, acting as a spur to gaming.

Going forward, I have ordered some pre-paint stone walls; I have 3 resin pieces representing assorted wares to prepare and paint; and I have another Damaged High Street House to be built, and a second Hovel on order. I have some coursework pending in the next couple of weeks, so productivity on these will probably slow a little, but hopefully I will have all that I want completed in the next couple of months. Then again, I do have a kit waiting to be built...

Fabled Realms: Damaged High Street House

I have had some motivation for assembling these things after the first kit (posted last week), so here is another: Damaged High Street House 03.

Each of the High Street Houses in the Fabled Realms range has a 'damaged' version available also. It is these that are more useful to me in gaming terms, so they will be the ones I focus on, although the smaller Backstreet Hovels are useful as small, low-rise line of sight blockers.

This building costs approximately £24 GBP, and the undamaged versions sell for the same price as damaged versions.

The time to build this kit was just under two and half hours. I didn't build it in one sitting, instead I worked on sub-assemblies then left the glue to cure while doing other stuff, but keeping track of time taken while I went. I am no expert hobbyist, so I reckon others could probably whip one of these out in under a couple of hours.

As with the previous kit, Freebooter's Fate minis are used for scale reference. The building splits into 3 main assemblies for ease of gaming, leaving a pretty functional piece in my opinion. It has a little trap door in the ground floor, and two areas that can be left as they are or made to look like they are sunken (which I did), It also comes with a ladder. At the price point it is something I am very happy with, and definitely recommend.

As I put these things together, I am learning a little about the 4Ground design process, so a couple of the initial sub-assemblies were a little misaligned, but that will help me as a proceed with the next building which is already under-way.

Putting together these Fabled Realms buildings has really stoked up my enthusiasm to get playing Freebooter's Fate, and so I have been scouring the rule-books and have started in on the fluff. I can't wait to get some fantasy pirate gaming in!

Fabled Realms: Mordanburg Backstreet Hovel

My latest table-ready scenery piece required some building, unlike a lot of stuff I have bought more recently which has tended to be pre-painted and pre-made.

However, after seeing the Fabled Realms range from 4Ground at Salute 2014, I was very interested to say the least. Rob and I had already embarked on painting our Freebooter's Fate crews, but we were a little undecided about terrain for Longfall (the primary setting for Freebooter's Fate), and both agreed that this range could be pretty much perfect for our needs. I can also see me using the buildings for Anima Tactics having seen some screenshots for the related video game.

The build time was approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, although that was not continuous as I allowed assemblies to dry at various stages. I have 3 other buildings from the range, all two-storey ruins, so I expect they will take considerably longer to complete.

One of my favourite things about the kit is the illusion of uneven construction created through the use of layered components. I think 4Ground have done a great job in executing the design.

I am very happy with the results and when considering scratch build would take far, far more time, I am happy with the price (£16 GBP approximately) and quality. The only extra painting I did was the lugs that can be seen in the roof and the edges of the top piece to over-paint the burnt-MDF edges to disguise them a little. In all, a highly recommended kit and I will probably get at least a couple more from the range.

Outhouse/Store Shed (2)

Storehouses with two painting techniques

A second of these by 4Ground, to show the difference between the two painting styles I used.

The old style is on the left, and the newer style technique I tried with the Old West buildings is on the right. I know which technique's results I prefer...

Outhouse/Store Shed (Painted)

This is the 4Ground Outhouse/Store Shed I picked up and blogged about recently.

Assembly took around 25 minutes (see post here) and painting was also quick and easy.

As mentioned previously, the footprint is 4 inches by 2 3/4 inches and the building has a height of 2 inches sloping down to 1 1/2 inches.

The building was painted with and Army Painter spray Leather Brown base coat. Some by-hand touch up followed (also Army Painter Leather Brown), and then some dry-brushing with Stone Grey (Vallejo)  mixed with Leather Brown. I picked out some particular planks with Stone Grey to provide colour variation.

4GROUND Laser Cut Wooden Outhouse/Storeshed

I picked this up recently at my local games shop (hello to Wayland's Forge), mainly on a whim, but with thoughts I could use it for a number of settings: pulp; contemporary (a rickety old storehouse on an industrial site or an abandoned shed somewhere); western; Victoriana; Weird World War II/AE-WWII. Obviously the VBCW guys could make use of it I reckon.

This is the first laser cut kit I have firmly assembled (dry-fitting with my Sarissa Precision City Block stuff has not led to full assembly of those yet...), and I thought I would just do a brief post.


The kit if from 4GROUND, who do a number of kits in what is the growing laser-cut terrain market. At £6 GBP I was happy with the price and so I decided to pick it up and see if I was happy with the product.

Well I like what I have so far, but the truth will be in painting it ultimately. in the mean-time here are my thoughts.

Build Time
It took me 15 minutes to cut, clean and assemble the basic frame up to the wall, but excluding the doors.

I then allowed some drying time to do other stuff, and finished it off with 10 minutes more work. So 25 minutes cutting, building and gluing spent on this, but with a break.

Not too bad, and I am sure it could be done a lot quicker by more experienced laser cut kit modellers. no time to get frustrated as I can by anything requiring a lot of effort (GW terrain kits - I am looking at you).

Value For Money
It is a nice simple kit but has etched detail to differentiate different planks of timber; has wear and tear cut-outs and the larger of these are optional. the roof can be removable depending on gluing preferences as can the door.

At £6 for a building with a lot of potential utility I am very happy with the price.

Utility
As noted I can see this being used in a variety of settings - a 'good thing'. It has a footprint of 4 inches by 2 3/4 inches and a height of 2 inches sloping down to 1 1/2 inches.

In game terms pretty useful for blocking terrain and for many games with 4-6 move rates perfect for nipping around in a single move to get out of sight but not much further.

Overall
I like the kit and will very probably buy more 4GROUND stuff. Definitely recommended.