Trouble at Grumpy's Shack

This little project was started around Christmas time, but it's taken me some time to get around to finishing it!

"Alright Grumpy, where's the money you owe us?"

"I ain't got it. And you should know - I've called the cops!"

"Thsi is Security Team 2 - we have the bandits in sight. Preparing to make an arrest..."

This is where Grumpy the colonist lives. You can see it's pretty run down, which explains why Grumpy looks so miserable all the time.

Walls are a mixture of corrugated cardboard and plastic mushroom punnet (Tesco value mushrooms come in a nicely textured container). All the posts are cocktail sticks, glued into small holes drilled through the base board. The base is 3mm MDF.

The building on the right will eventually have a chain link fence - hence the upright posts surrounding it.

The removable roof of each building is more corrugated cardboard. The buildings were painted with Inscribe acrylics. Base colour for the corrugated iron was Burnt Umber 1730 (old rust), with Burnt Sienna 1729 (fresh rust) around the edges. The grey colour was a mixture of Snow 1701 and Raven 1732, with a lighter drybrush for weathering. By painting the rusty colours onto the currugated metal roof first and adding the original metal colour afterwards, the rust ends up in all the crevices and grooves - where the water will have collected and caused the most corrosion. The pieces of plastic punnet were painted with Forest Green 1721 with rusty bits added afterwards. The wooden posts were given a coat of Taupe 1739. The bits of balsa around the base of some walls were painted with Ultramarine Blue 1748 and Holly Berry 1710, drybrushed with Taupe 1739 to give a suitable battered/weathered appearance.

I'ev also got a few more items to add some more character to my scenery. The oil drums come from Continental Model Supply Company, who produce all sorts of 1/76 or 1/72 scale kits and accessories for modern & WW2 eras. They also do some great ammunition boxes, jerry cans etc. These drums have been deliberately battered and damaged - the items as delivered from CMSC were in far better condition!

Unfortunately, they don't have a web site, but they can be contacted at: 36 Gray Gardens, Rainham, Essex RM13 7NH.

The concrete barriers are from the Hirst Arts fieldstone walling accessory set. Although designed for 25/28mm scale, I think they look pretty good as the sort of concrete barriers you might find in a vehicle checkpoint.