Miniature Building Authority Vietnamese Farm Buildings & Scatter

   A patrol stocks up in a VC-friendly hamlet including my 2 MBA Farmer's House & Barn buildings

Now that I am finished with the miniatures for my 28mm Vietnam project, it is time to slip into "terrain mode." First up in the buildings I will be readying for the tabletop are from Miniature Building Authority. I purchased these from Kirk at Buckeye Game Fest this past May. When I unpacked them, they looked oddly familiar. Turns out, these were originally created by Acheson Creations and now are stocked by MBA. They are ACH-TC85 Vietnamese Farmer's House and ACH-TC88 Vietnamese Farmer's Barn.

    Originally produced by Acheson Creations, these MBA buildings were easy to ready for the tabletop

Unfortunately, I didn't realize they were originally Acheson ones until after I spray primed them and added the 50/50 mixture of acrylic black paint and water. It was then that I noticed some of the paint pulling away from the more raised areas. Uh-oh. I hadn't done my usual first step with Acheson products and run them through the dishwasher to get rid of the residue from Acheson's mold release. Once I realized it, I had two choices: strip them and start over or pile on the paint and sealant heavy enough that the paint does not wear away. I chose the latter, as I had no idea how to strip the Krylon Fusion Matte primer off without marring the surface of the buildings. These are great buildings, but I highly recommend you do the dishwasher thing before painting them, as for all Acheson's excellent products.

    The rear of the two buildings -- all it takes to paint these is prime, wet brush, & dry brush...easy!

I decided to do the interiors first. I gave them a thick Leather Brown base coat. I let them dry overnight and then dry brushed the interiors khaki. I painted the window trim and door frames a darker brown, then similarly dry brushed them khaki. The exteriors were painted dark brown first. I let the buildings dry overnight again, then I followed up with my typical "wood pattern." I applied a Camo brown wet brush followed the next day by a Khaki dry brush. I really like the look of the aged wood it gives, but still retaining a brown tone rather than a (probably more realistic) gray. 

    The interiors of the two resin buildings with their mud walls and wooden floors

The floors were done like the outside walls, skipping the khaki dry brush. I wanted them to be darker, figuring the farmer's family regularly tracked in dirt into their home. In fact, I was surprised the home and barn were modeled with wood flooring. I wonder if dirt would be more accurate? Perhaps in some areas and not others? I can't claim to be an expert on farmer home construction during the Vietnam War! Finally, I did the thatch roofing. This began with Camo Brown, followed by a Dun Yellow wet brush, and finally a very light gray dry brush highlighting. Once dry, I gave the thatch a black vehicle wash. 

    My larger jungle scatter pieces I created, with a patrol of Viet Cong marching past

Since I was worried about the paint not adhering to the resin properly, I gave the buildings a brush on clear coat using Liquitex matte varnish instead of spray. To hold the flocking in place on the base, I used a coating of white glue and water. So far, I don't see any signs of paint scraping off, but I guess I will find out for sure once I start using them in game.

    I used circular wooden bases, palm trees, and a variety of plastic plants from the craft store for these

The other terrain I finished this week for Vietnam were larger jungle scatter bases. I picked up two packs of six 3" round wooden discs at Hobby Lobby to supplement the smaller ones I had done previously. In the center of each of the large bases, I epoxied in a plastic palm tree. I dry brushed the trunk khaki and then added a dark brown vehicle wash over it. The plain green plastic palm fronds were dry brushed here and there a light olive drab. Next, I painted the edges of the bases and flocked them with my usual method I used for miniatures. I let them flocking dry completely for a day before beginning the next step.

    A close up of one of the bases with a VC soldier - note the effect of the brown wash/varnish

I assembled my ziploc bags of various plastic plants that I'd picked up from the local craft store. I snipped off ends of various plants for vegetation to surround the palm tree. Once I felt I had enough (I didn't -- I went back and snipped more), I drilled holes into the base with a pin vice so I could insert the plastic stems. I dabbed each hole with two-part epoxy and forced the stems about a quarter of an inch through. I also added individual fallen leaves and fronds from the plastic plants to the ground. Once done with this stage, I set them atop some old dice I use so they were raised off the surface of my desk. I didn't want the stems being pushed one way or another and messing up the way I had the plants sticking up.

    Another look at one of the bases surrounded by others, with two VC stalking through the vegetation

The next morning, I turned the bases over and trimmed off the stems with a carpet knife. Finally, I added the tiny leaves that I've been adding to the base of my Vietnam figures. There was one more important step to go, though! As I mentioned in the post for the smaller jungle pieces, I think that plastic plants on their own have too shiny of a look. I mixed up a batch of Liquitex matte varnish with a few drops of brown paint. Then I painted it over all of the plants and also the fronds of the central palm tree. Not only did this dull down the sheen and make it look more natural, it also added a brownish look of dying vegetation. 

    I like the combination of palm trees with miscellaneous craft store plastic plants -- very "irregular"

I really like how these larger scatter pieces came out. I am planning on doing one more batch of the smaller ones and another of these larger ones before I'm done. When added to my fairly decent collection of palm trees, I feel they should give a nice jungle-like look. They are time consuming to build, with all the trimming of the plastic plants and drilling holes for the stems. However, they add variety to the tabletop. I'm really looking forward to what my Vietnam battle board will look like. The little vignettes I set up to photograph to display the miniatures or terrain I've painted look nice, I think. A whole table in that fashion should look great!

    A final look at my most recent additions to my Vietnam terrain -- will the VC take the chickens, too?

So, what's next on my painting desk? For miniatures, I've started a batch of 28mm resin Fishfolk that I also purchased from MBA. I wanted to practice on them before doing the more expensive Beldolor Studies ones I got at Origins. I've also primed three more buildings for the Vietnam project. So, I guess I am keeping up with my strategy of juggling of a batch of miniatures with a batch of terrain at all times. So, look for these in future posts!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 237
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 132

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 21
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 43

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 112