Medieval Extravaganza of Terrain, Scatter & Minis

    Big batch of Medieval townsfolk miniatures, various scatter, and a 2-story building

I decided to go ahead and make this a big update covering of all the various Medieval things on my painting desk. After buying a good amount of scatter at Historicon a week or so ago, I decided to get a bunch of old and new pieces done while I was painting up the latest medieval building RRB Minis & More. To stick with the theme, I also decided that my next batch of "old" figures would be these medieval townsfolk. Why not? Plus, it made sense to combine them into a single update, even though some pieces were done more than a week before the last ones.

    I added the cross and the water spouts to this 'misprint' from Miniature Building Authority

The first to get completed was a "misprinted" 3-D Town Fountain that Kirk from Miniature Building Authority had in his discount bin. I had already begun painting the smaller Celtic Cross B before I left for Historicon, and thought setting it atop the fountain might jazz up the look a bit. The fountain was done very simply with my standard "gray stone" recipe: black base coat, wet brush dark gray, dry brush medium gray, and highlight a lighter tone. I painted the basin of the fountain sky blue and dry brushed it with a very light blue. Then I decided to add in streams of water flowing from the central part of the fountain into the basin. I used the same method I did on my Dwarven Fountain I'd painted up back in early May. I took fiber optic material, trimmed and bent it to the correct size and shape, and simply super glued it onto the fountain. I painted some white ripples in the water, then gloss coated the "wet parts" (but not the fiber optic). The dryer parts of the fountain I gave a brush-on matte coat. Simple and quick, but I think it will look nice on the tabletop!

    Brunbir Blazeforge House - 3-D printed building from the Ferisia line picked up from RRB Minis

Simultaneously, I was working on the two story Brunbir Blazeforge House from the Ferisia line that Rich printed for me. I really like the look of this house with its angles and second story balcony. I'm trying to slowly do more of the two story and smaller medieval buildings that I've purchased for my growing medieval town. I have plenty of skyscrapers (3-4 story, in medieval terms) already. I think that more variety in height will improve the look of the town. This 3-D printed building was done in my usual way -- spray prime with Krylon Fusion acrylic black, go over it with a 50/50 black paint and water mix, and then dry brush the same stone gray method I used on the fountain. The wood was also done with my standard recipe (wet brush dark brown, dry brush Camo Brown, highlight Khaki). 

    Close up of the very cool balcony & roof of this newest of my medieval town buildings

I went back and forth on what time of metal to make the roof trim, and finally went with Iron Wind Metals copper. Roofs made of copper were a thing at one point in our history, and I also decided that the inhabitants of the house would keep it burnished brightly and not let it fade to green verdigris. For the roof tiles, I decided to go with a faded craft paint called Leprechaun Green. The tiles received a light green highlight, as well. I also decided to do a slighter darker green on the window frames and lintels of both levels, as well as the "shield" around the axe decoration and the frame of the doorways. This color was called Seminole Green, and was probably the most time consuming part of doing this model, since I was doing both the inside and outside for each window. I also did the usual Steel and Bronze for the metal parts for the doors. 

    First floor of the interior of the Brunbir Blazeforge House -- I love the stairs!

    2nd floor of the house, with door leading to the small balcony & trap door to 1st level

I finished the building off with a black vehicle wash. Although many of the Ferisia buildings are technically labeled "Dwarven," this one was the first with an overtly Dwarven look. With the window panes being in a runic shape and and the axe decoration on the roof, it definitely says "Dwarves" to me. However, the building is not so overly Dwarven to  prevent me from legitimately using the house for a human town, as well. All of the little touches and decorations really make this building stand out, and it is definitely one of my favorites that I have purchased from RRB Minis & More.

    This side view gives you a look at the decorative elements that make this a 'Dwarven' building

On to the miniatures! Most of the figures in this batch of eight have been sitting in my unpainted lead drawer, primed and with their flesh base coated for more than a year. At some point, I was painting medieval civilians. I must have prepared these, then midstream decided that I had enough (or ran out of time). Six of them are Reaper Bones minis, with its soft plastic. The shouting baker is Old Glory, as I already have one of them painted up. The last one, an ox handler, may be Gripping Beast. Compared to the super-detailed and decorative Warhost Elves that I've been painting, these seemed to go very fast. I used a mix of faded and dull colors for all except the noble ladies and priests. They got brighter colors and a bit more decoration. 

    2 Noble ladies from Reaper and a couple townsfolk -- baker is Old Glory & other is...??

I'm not sure why Reaper made the noble ladies so freaking tall, though, but they tower over the other figures! Oh, well. Maybe they have high heels on under their long dresses? These were probably the most simple of the batch, and were fun and easy to do. I wanted to make their dresses somewhat decorative, so I went with a contrasting border and -- of course - dots! Lots of tiny dots!! The two churchmen I decided to paint up as priests rather than monks. For one, they don't have the "bald spot" in their tonsure, but do have the Norman "bowl haircut." Plus, I already have plenty of 28mm monk figures, but very few priests. Along with the brighter colors, I gave their robes and mantles a border with decoration. I really like these portly-looking figures and am glad I painted them up. The town women in aprons are also nice figures.  I probably should have modified them, though. Their pose appears to be holding something up in the air (chicken for sale?), but both hands are empty. Rather than rush into painting them right away, I should have added something to these models, but unfortunately I did not. 

    All 4 figs are Reaper - I like the portly priests and the stout common women in their bonnets

I used a variety of relatively faded and simple colors for their clothes. Same for the Old Glory baker, though I admit I looked up images of the first one I painted up earlier to make sure the two weren't "twinning" on the tabletop...ha, ha! The last unidentified townsman I did in faded or dull greens. I also could have put something in his open hand (which I think is supposed to be gripping the lead of his oxen). I wanted more flexibility, though, and left him open handed. This batch of eight figures will be perfect for either my Medieval (or Fantasy) town games.

    I definitely need more scatter for my medieval town - this Bulletin Board from MBA is a good start!

Simultaneous with these buildings and miniatures, I was painting a number of other miscellaneous town scatter pieces, including this MBA Bulletin Board. I think it intended for more modern games, but notices could easily have been pinned up in the center of town during earlier times, as well. Speaking of which, since I wanted to make it usable for either, I decided to not go crazy on the notices themselves. No "Wanted" posters or notices that might otherwise date it. So, the script is all tiny slashes, lines and blobs done with my smallest nib micron pen. As fun as might have been to call out one of my Sunday Night gamer friends for cheating on a notice, I decided not to do so. I painted the frame of the board with my usual (above) wood recipe, while the tiles on the top were done in red-brown with a Middle East Flesh highlight. I added a large rock to the base to give it some visual interest, and not call attention to the fact it is on a big base. The papers pinned to the board were done in a slate stone color, highlighted white, and given a brown wash.

    This Celtic cross will be a nice, free standing scatter piece in town, as will this dead tree

Also included in the scatter was this larger, MBA Celtic Cross A. It is printed with a wide enough base so that it doesn't need a separate base. It was actually the first of all of this scatter that I finished. I gave it my standard stone recipe and simply added some flocking. I likely picked up this resin 3-D print at a convention Kirk was attending and bought it because I wanted to thank him for supporting our hobby so faithfully. I believe the scraggly, bare tree is a 3-D print from A Critical Hit. That means I likely bought it either at Cincycon or Origins Game Fair. I found a likely base size, added in a rock, and whipped through this, as well. I did a black wash over my standard wood recipe, hoping it would give it a more dead and gray look. 

    This 3-D printed boulders and crags were picked up from my friend Rich at RRB Minis & More

Finally, there are some round boulders and crag pieces that I bought from RRB Minis & More at different times during the last year. I noticed in setting up games on my desert mat that I don't have a lot of appropriate terrain pieces to put on it. So, these got a Khaki colored spray paint, a very light tan drybrush, and finally a brown vehicle wash. I thought about putting tufts on them, as well. However, I flet that would "size" them and lock them into 28mm scale (admittedly, most of my games). However, these pieces can work for other scales, too. They simply become larger boulders or crags!

    I have very little terrain that looks good on a desert board, so I picked these up from Rich at a con

Yes, this is a big update with lots of stuff! I must have enjoyed the experience, though, as I have an encore of more medieval town scatter on my desk. In addition, I have the final (REALLY this time!) batch of Warhost Elves. which I've started on. Not sure what I will do next for an "old" batch of figures. I have a game in mind for the Hydra Miniatures Pulp Sci-Fi figures I've bought and painted only a few of. Perhaps it is time to start working them in? Stay tuned, and we'll see!

    These boulders are fairly generic - I left them un-based so they could be used in a variety of setups

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 160

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 33

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 69

Two 3-D Printed Ruins - Desert Fort & Stone Temple

 

    I felt this church or temple ruin fit would fit in nicely with some of the others I have painted up

I picked up these two 3-D printed ruins from my friend Scott of Sword & Scabbard Games at Advance the Colors 2025, last October. They'd been patiently waiting on my shelf for their spot in the queue since then. I knew they would paint up very fast, so awhile back, I pulled them out, spray primed them, and set them down on the edge of my desk. There they say, a little less patiently, until last week when I took a few days and got them all prepped for the tabletop.

    The 'Desert Fort Ruin,' as I'm calling it, painted up very quickly -- spray, dry brush, wash & flock

Starting with the one I'm called a "Desert Ruin," I went back and forth whether to paint it up as stone or a more mud brick look. Figuring I have plenty of stone ruins, I thought it might be useful to have something to put on the table for a more desert or arid ground table. So, I spray primed it a Khaki color. I don't have a premixed 50/50 paint and water to get into the crevices for this color. So, I made sure to spray it as thoroughly as possible. 

    The flocking growing along the walls and in crevices gives a nice touch, I feel

Once it had dried, I dry brushed it a very light tan with a wide, square brush. Then I used my brown vehicle wash and brushed that on the entire ruin. I really like how it settled into all the grooves between the bricks, giving both shadow and a dirty look. I almost left it at that, but decided I wanted to put in some vegetation growth on it, as well. I took white glue and squirted it in the crevices and corners, wetting a brush down to help spread it where dust, dirt, and eventually plant life might sprout. I sprinkled on Woodland Scenics Blended Grass over it. Next, I added two different colors of green clump foliage here and there on the spots of grass to represent bushes or small plants that have taken hold. I was very happy with how it turned out, and now am just waiting on a day that I can clear coat spray it to call it completely finished.

    Some of my Saga Moors get some fresh air and pose next to the ruin - I like its tumbled down look

This stone ruin I picked up because it would go well with the European look of some of the ruins I've gotten from Rusty at Firelands Games. It is that in between look -- could be an old Roman or Greek ruin, or could be a medieval church. Since this one was going to be stone, I spray painted it Krylon Matte Black and DID go over it with my 50/50 water and acrylic paint mix. Then I simply did three layers of brushing. I began with a dark gray wet brush, then a medium gray dry brush, and finally a light gray highlight here and there. It looked good enough that I felt it didn't need a black wash to blend it all together. If the brush strokes are a little to visible, I feel a black wash softens them and blends the look of the model together. I skipped that step for this ruin.

    This stone ruin was almost as quick to paint up, but involved a couple extra layers

I added first Woodland Scenics Blended Grass in spots, and then the same clump foliage. Once again, I put the white glue in spots where dust and dirt might collect over time, leading to the growth of vegetation on the ruin. As I knew it, these two buildings were quick to paint up. I am glad I have this more church or temple like ruin to add to the ones I already have. Now, I can make a bigger area of a tabletop a tumbled down temple or church.

    One of my Saga Pictish crossbowmen peers through a gap in the upper story, on the lookout

So, what else is on my painting desk? I am getting closer to finishing the six Elven cavalry for my Dragon Rampant army. I have begun the special 20th Anniversary of the Lead Adventure Forum batch of miniatures, too. I almost pulled out another building for terrain to work on this morning. However, the Columbus is gripped in another heat wave, with high temperatures all week in the 90s.  Who knows when I will get a chance to spray prime a building in these Mad Max-style temperatures? So, instead I just grabbed some scatter I've been meaning to work on and primed them. I will definitely want to be spending time in my hobby nook in the basement with as hot as it is outside!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 135

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 28

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59

Two Small Medieval Town Homes (or Farmhouses)

    Two more 3-d printed medieval buildings from RRB Minis & More -- these are smaller homes

My latest purchases of 3-D printed buildings for my medieval town from Rich Brown of RRB Minis & More were technically Farmhouses. I felt they could easily work as smaller homes for a more urban setting, though. I slated both of them to be my next additions to my medieval town -- hoping they would paint up significantly faster than the 3+ story buildings that I've been doing in the past.

    Like many of my others, this farmhouse building is from the 'Ferisia' line carried by RRB

One of the two is from the Ferisia line that many of my other buildings are from, while the other is an earlier work of Dadi Dungeon & Dintorni, who created that line. It is called Stormhill City Farmer House. Actually, it was a gift from Rich as thanks for all the exposure my posts here on Lead Legionaries have given him. What better way to accept somebody's generosity than to use the gift they gave you right away? So, on a particularly nice, sunny -- but not humid day -- I spray primed both of them up. Each is two piece -- a roof and bottom level. I did my usual follow up with a 50/50 mix of black acrylic paint and water.

    This photo gives a good look at the thatch roof on this building and its rear

I thought about doing one of them in a different color stone than gray, but in the end, opted for standard gray stonework. There is already so much exposed wood on these buildings that going with a brown tone could be a bit confusing. I remember taking part in a discussion on the Lead Adventure Forum recently about how wood isn't really brown and all stone isn't gray. However, if you paint your wood terrain and scatter gray and your stone ones brown, I feel that you're working against people's expectations. People expect to see wood being brown and stone gray, so your terrain will look "right" in your eyes if you paint it in the stereotyped colors. That's my sentiments, at least!

    The interior of the Ferisia building with its nice wooden floors and wooden beams

Once again, I began with the interiors for the lower level of the farmhouses and the roof of the upper levels. The Stormhill City Farmhouse had a wood tiled roof while the Ferisia Small Farmhouse had thatch. For the interiors, I did a very dark gray wetbrush over the black, followed by medium then light gray highlighting. Next came the woodwork and I painted the beams dark brown first. I followed that up with my usual "wrong" (ha, ha!) recipe of medium brown and khaki dry brushing. I did the window frames in a painted color (highlighted in a lighter tone). I chose blue for the Stormhill City Farmhouse and green for the Ferisia one. I applied the color as a dry brush to the window frames so that they looked like paint had chipped and worn away.

    This farmhouse is from an older line called 'Stormhill City' -- Rich gave it to me as a gift! So kind!!

Meanwhile, I was working on the roofs at the same time. The thatched roof got a medium brown wet brush, dun yellow highlight, and final light gray dry brush. There! I painted some vegetation with a grayish tone...happy?  For the wood tile roof, I decided these would have been painted by the home owner. I liked how the roof of the "Cottage" I purchased from the Misty Hollow line came out, so did it in a relatively similar fashion. Instead of faded green, though, I went for faded blue. It still received the medium brown wet brush and Khaki highlight, I just finished out each tile with a dab of faded blue. The exposed beams were painted next, in exactly the same fashion as the interiors were. Weirdly, I decided to do the small stonework that was showing on the roof sections after the wood beams. Why? I figured they were small enough that the chances of splash over on my highlighting were minimal.

    The rear of the farmhouse with a nice look at its faded, wooden blue tiles

With the roofs done and the interiors completed, it was on to the exteriors. I pretty much followed up with the same recipe for stone and wood on the outsides. I did brighten up the stonework a bit, figuring more light would be playing over its surface than reached the interior through its windows. Otherwise, everything was pretty much the same. I discovered that two small buildings do take significantly less time than the three and four story monstrosities I've been painting up to this point. Once I got started on the, they really took relatively little time to complete. 

    I love the fancy wooden floor with slats going alternating directions -- lots of wood beams, too!

I decided that the buildings did need a black wash over them -- especially the thatched roof. I always worry that I'm going to lose the highlighting I did and give them too much of a gray look when I apply an overall black wash. Hopefully, folks don't think they turned out too dark! So, what else is on my painting desk? Well, I did decide to be a rules lawyer and combine my next two batches of miniatures. I am painting up there Elven wizards from figures bought this year and three ordinary human wizards from the Frostgrave Wizards set I bought last year. They're coming along very nicely and won't take too many more sessions to complete. What's next for terrain? Well, I have a 3-D printed Huey helicopter from my friend Ted B that I've started. It has the base color done and dry brushed. Now, I need to do all the finicky details. Look for those works in progress to be finished next week at the very earliest. I am attending Origins Game Fair this Wednesday through Saturday, so won't be doing any painting during that time.

Last look at the 2 newest additions to my growing medieval town

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 125

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 28

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59

A 'Cottage' for my Medieval Town...A Big One!

    From the 'Misty Hollow' line of Medieval/Fantasy buildings, the humbly-named 'Cottage'

I've always thought of a cottage as a relatively small, rural building. I recently picked up a 3-D printed building from a new source while at Little Wars 2026. Phalanx Games & Sundry carries the Misty Hollow line of medieval/fantasy buildings. This one is called simply "Cottage," but at two stories and a soaring, peaked roof, it is the little cottage that could! Don't get me wrong -- these are gorgeously designed buildings, with all kinds of neat details like weather vanes on the roof, metal cupolas, and a combination of building materials in its construction, including wood, stone, brick, and stucco.  

    I really like the variety of textures -- wooden beams, stone, stucco, brick, wood tile roof & more!

Although these are more expensive than Rich Brown of RRB Minis is selling me the Ferisia line of 3-D printed buildings, I always try to support the vendors at shows that I attend. So, in addition to four ziploc bags full of MDF bases from their buckets, I snagged this cool building to add to my growing medieval town. An interesting twist is that the windows, door, and weather vane come in a ziploc bag and you must attach them yourself. Unfortunately, my bag was short one of the windows, so I left it open until I could scratch-build a replacement. It is very nicely printed with deep details, particularly in the wood grain. It fits together easily, and feels sturdy -- except I imagine that if I drop the roof on the weather vane, it will snap off easily and be a goner...ha, ha!

   I think the pink...er, salmon stucco turned out really nice & blends well with the red window panes

I did my usual Krylon Fusion matte black spray primer followed up (once dry) by a 50/50 mix of water and acrylic black paint. Then, I had to sit back and decide on colors. The roof is composed of wooden tiles -- modeled to look like some of which have "fallen off," exposing the wooden boards beneath. There is both stone and stucco in its construction, with exposed brick beneath the stucco. On the inside, there are stucco walls with wooden beams. The floor on the first floor looks like it is some kind of decorated tile, while the upstairs is wooden. There is a wooden staircase on the first floor leading through a rectangular hole in the floor of the second. Interestingly, the windows on the website picture are a different style than the ones I had included.   

    Nice look at the roof tiles and the pale green coloring I added to their worn, wooden look

I began with the wooden tiles of the roof, which is a lot of the surface area. The building is designed with what I call "dormers," places where it projects on from its main axis -- each with its own little roof. The effect is a very cool and interesting looking. I decided that the wooden tiles have faded over the years and not been repainted recently. So, I did a medium brown wet brush over the black prime, followed by a craft paint Khaki highlight. I set the "dry brush" aside, and picked up a finer point brush. I used a faded green "mossy" color to pick out lines of color on each roof tile. It was time consuming, yes, but I thought it would give a great effect to have a faded, worn roof effect. 

    2nd Floor of the Cottage, which certainly deserves a more grand name than something so simple!

The heavy wooden beams that frame the roof I painted in dark brown, then after it had dried overnight, added a dry brush of Camo Brown. I also used that color on roof boards where the tiles were missing. Once again, I waited for it to dry, and then I did a Khaki highlight on the beams. There is so much rich woodwork in this building's design, I wanted to bring out the full effect of the colors. In fact, doing the woodwork and beams was the most time consuming part of this building.

    1st floor of the cottage -- I really like the recessed pattern printed onto the floor & wooden staircase

Simultaneously, I was working on the interiors of the first and second story sections. I always like to finish the interiors first on buildings before I start on the exteriors. That way, I can grasp it by exterior while painting the interior, and vice versa when I move on to the outer part of the building. I chose a Maple Sugar craft color for the interior stucco, and then once it had dried, highlighted it with a very light tan. Next, I picked out the wooden interior beams with same dark brown/Camo Brown/khaki that I used on the wooden beams on the outside. For the window frames and diagonal "leading," I chose a darker, Moroccan red. The tiled floor I painted a orange-brown color, with a Maple Sugar highlight. Then I did a dark red wash over the floor to tone down the brighter color and make it look less like the color of the walls. I really like the effect of the floor pattern.

    Narrow frontage of the cottage, with the door that swings open and closed

Moving on to the exterior, I painted the stucco surfaces on the outside in a salmon color. What?? You're painting a building pink, Mike? A faded pink stucco is actually not that uncommon, plus I planned to dry brush it so it ended up being a very dulled-down pink. Moving on to the stone, I decided to try to paint the stone sections in contrasting colors. One block would be a dark gray and the next one would be light gray. Kind of like the alternating bands or stripes of color on the stone archways of the Great Mosque/Cathedral of Cordoba, Spain. There was a danger that this would be one step too far, with all the other decorations on this building. However, I thought that the way the stonework was designed, it could work and give a clever accent effect. So, I did a very dark gray base coat on all the stones first. The dark stones would get only a medium gray highlight, while the lighter stones would receive a light gray dry brush to look much lighter. You be the judge whether the alternating stone pattern worked well or not!

    This 3-D printed building, bought from Phalanx Games & Sundry, fits together very well

For the stucco, I painted it a salmon first, followed by a khaki dry brush. Through the years, I have found that color combo gives a nice faded rose look. Of course, all of this was after doing the exterior woodwork in the same trio of wood colors of the roof, and the windows in their red. Because I liked the photo of this building on Phalanx Games' website, I copied their two-tone metal cupola and weather vane. All parts received a Steel base coat, then Pewter highlights for the silver/steel sections. The Bronze sections were painted bronze with a bright gold highlight to hopefully give the effect of the sun gleaming off its metallic parts. I did a black wash on the building to tone it down and keep it from looking too bright. I also felt this would tie the whole building together.  

At Little Wars, this building had caught my eye. I like it even more all painted up! I'm sure it will add to the look of my medieval town tabletop. Hopefully, the mish-mash of various manufacturers I've used for the buildings end up improving the look of the tabletop, not something that detracts from it. What do you think? 

    Only part of the building that I'm not crazy about is the flat, featureless dragon wind vane

So, what else is on my painting desk? The next batch of Elves is underway. It feels like its been a long time since I painted Elves, but I'm sure it really hasn't been. As for terrain, I'm not sure if I am going to start on another of the large buildings I have or wait till I pick up some of the smaller ones that Rich will have ready for me at the show. Stay tuned to see what I end up deciding!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 176
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 99

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 7
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 26

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 17
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59 

Hurrying to Get Things Done for my Medieval Town Game

    Fountain for my fantasy or medieval games (from the Ferisia line called 'Dwarven Stone Fountain')

I'm scheduled to run my first medieval town skirmish in two weeks or so at Drums at the Rapids, May 15-16, at Fort Meigs. Since Rich Brown and I are still working on tweaking Four Delvers, I decided to not use it and instead run the game with a system that I am satisfied with already. So, I'll be using my Mean Streets gang warfare game, with modifications made for a Fantasy/Medieval setting. Even though there will be some tweaks to that, too, I know the basic command & control and combat systems work well enough already. So, with a deadline looming, I am hurrying to get some buildings, scatter, and miniatures done in time for the game.

    Stone Cutters Yard -- which could also be used as a stable, also from the Ferisial 3-D printed line

These items represent the bare minimum that I wanted to get done for the game. The two smaller buildings (Stone Cutters Yard and Dwarven Fountain) are also from the Ferisia line carried by Rich at RRB Minis & More. The pair of two-wheeled carts and the four-wheel wagon are from A Critical Hit that I picked up at Cincycon 2026. I'm also working on eight miniatures from Gripping Beast and (I think) Old Glory to add to my Dark Ages Saga figures that I already have painted up. I hope that I will also get one more of the larger Ferisia buildings done, but we will have to see. Those take time with all the different levels and having to do both the interiors and exteriors. Still, I wasn't expecting to run a medieval town skirmish till later in the year. So, getting one on the table in spring is way ahead of schedule!

    A look at the wood tile roof for the fountain -- dwarven runes carved into stones on the corners

Both the Stone Cutter's Yard and Fountain are very simple buildings to do, requiring fewer colors and details than the Duncan or Catrine House. I started out with the usual black spray prime and then 50/50 water and acrylic paint to make sure all the crevices were fully covered. For the Fountain, I did a dark gray wet brush over the entire bottom half of the structure. For the roof, I used a medium leather color for the wooden tiles, much like I did with the Merchant Store B I finished a week or so, ago. The Stone Cutter Yard roof also got the same initial coating of medium leather. Its floor appears to be stone tile covered in dirt and mud. So, the floor received a dark gray wet brush, too. However, the two walls are obviously wood, so I wet brushed them dark brown. 

    Jets of water emerging from the mouth of the carved faces are fiber optic wire glued into place

Since the Fountain was going to be all gray, except for its roof, I did a medium gray dry brush, too, to give it more depth. Once that had dried, I highlighted it with a light gray. The bottoms and sides of each basin were given a light blue color on the walls so that people would think "water" when they saw it. Yes, I know that if a gray stone basin has water poured into it, the sides don't suddenly turn light blue! However, the key is for people seeing a piece of terrain to make the right connection. Light blue often means water in our brains. And who's to say that it isn't reflecting the blue sky above? Ha, ha! All doubt would be removed with the "water" I crafted from fiber optic wire pouring out of the dwarves' mouths. It turned out much better than I thought it would, and encouraged me to paint some white splashes and wavelets in each basin.

    Stone Cutters Yard without the roof -- nice & simple 3-D building to paint up!

The wood tiles on the roofs got a Khaki highlight, like with Merchant Store B. The other wooden portions of the two buildings were done exactly as I typically do wood. After the dark brown wet brush, I do a dry brush of Camo Brown, and then khaki. For the sections of the floor covered in mud/dirt, I painted in my usual Earth Brown that I use on my bases. Next, I flocked it as I typically do miniatures, with Woodland Scenics Blended Turf. I decided to do a black wash on the wood tiles on the roofs for these buildings. In hindsight, after I had finished the Merchant Store B, I thought perhaps it was a little too bright. This gave it a more weathered, darker look.

    One 3-D printed wagon & a pair of 2-wheel carts from A Critical Hit

Moving to the carts and wagon, they were also quick and easy to finish up, too. I was surprised that I had to improvise something for the wagon's axle, though. Of all the many pieces of scatter that I've painted up from A Critical Hit, it was the only thing that needed anything additional. The carts wheels attach directly to the body of it with no axle. Luckily, the print was done very cleanly and all I had to do was find a piece of piano wire that was closest to the diameter of the holes in the wagon wheels and the shaft underneath the wagon.  The brass wire I used for spears was too small, and all of the dowels I have were too big. Luckily, I had some thicker piano wire leftover from a previous project, and it worked fine. Afterwards, I thought that perhaps a toothpick might have worked, too? Otherwise, everything fit together easily with superglue.

    I had to use piano wire to thread through the wheels and bottom of the cart for an axle

Rather than spray prime them, I brush primed them with black paint. The color of filament that A Critical Hit prints them in is too light or brown for my liking. I prefer the grains in my wood to be darker. After it dried, I simply did a dark brown wet brush, Camo Brown dry brush, and Khaki highlight. The metal parts of the wagon were done in Iron Wind Metals Steel. Quick and simple! And they will look good as random scatter on the streets of my medieval town. I would have bought more of them at Cincycon, but I cleaned them out of their wagons there. Next time I see Blair, hopefully she will have printed some more.

    Two-wheeled carts from A Critical Hit -- bargain price at just a couple bucks each!

As you will see in the next day or so, both buildings and the carts/wagon saw use in a game this weekend. So, what else is on my painting desk? Well, those 8 townsfolk miniatures are about halfway completed. I also spray primed the medieval building I bought from Phalanx Games & Sundry at Little Wars. It is the smallest of the three medieval buildings I have left, so I am hoping I will have it read for the tabletop when I run my medieval town game at Drums at the Rapids in less than two weeks. Wish me luck!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 176
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 91

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 7
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 25

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 17
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59 

Merchant's Store for My Medieval City

    3-D printed medieval building from the Ferisia line from RRB Minis & More - Merchant Store B

After building another of the large buildings last month from the Ferisia line carried by RRB Minis & More, I decided to build a smaller one next. As opposed to the towering ones composed of 4-5 levels/roofs, Merchant Store B had only two pieces. The lower one was the house itself while the upper one was just the interesting looking roof. What I liked most about it was the covered patio attached to the house, where the merchant would ostensibly sell his goods. It was a unique design and matched the overall look of the buildings I've been painting up, so far. The STLs for the Ferisia line are from Dadi Dungeon & Dintorni. They've created a number of other, very interesting lines, and I highly recommend folks to check them out. 

    Side and rear of the merchant house, with a good look at the wooden tile roof

As much as I like the 3-4 story Duncan and Catrin Houses, I assume that most medieval cities would have a limited number of buildings that tall. The bulk of the homes would more likely be one or two stories tall. Because of that, I'd picked this building up from Rich Brown of RRB at Cincycon, and fast-tracked it to be the first one that I painted up. Of course, I bought another tall one at the same time, simply called the "Merchant's House," that is four stories tall (interestingly, the roof being part of the 4th story). Considering that I just came back from Little Wars 2026 yesterday, where I bought three more buildings from him, I have a feeling this is going to be a routine for this year. See Rich, buy buildings! Ha, ha!!

    My favorite part of this building is the roofed patio and its counter where the merchant sells products

Anyway, back to the Merchant Store B! I painted this one up using the same system as the others, with a black spray prime followed by a 50/50 mix of water and acrylic black paint. Once dry, I completed the stone sections first. I gave them a dark gray wet brush over the black, then a light gray dry brush. Next, I painted the wooden sections dark brown, followed by two highlights -- a medium Camo Brown from Howard Hues and a Khaki dry brush. Next, I painted up the metal components on the two doors and pillars holding up the open air, covered patio. I base coated them in Iron Wind Metals Steel first, followed by Bronze. I wet brushed the window panes and frames in Iron Wind Dun yellow.

    A look at the interior of Merchant Store B and its patterned wooden floor & fireplace

The results on the building looked good, but I thought it needed more. I decided to do a checkered pattern on the stone tile covered patio. I used a very light dry brush, alternating the colors of the square sections in Dun yellow and a light Wedgewood blue. I liked how that looked, so added those colors to the raised arc of stones surrounding the front door to the house and the side door from the patio to the home. Finally, I echoed those colors again on the rooftop's conical decorations. I had gone back and forth on whether to portray those finals as metallic or simply painted wood. In the end I went with painted wood in pastel blue and yellow.

    Front doorway with its 2 torches,  blue & yellow stone archway, & decorated wooden door

There are also two torches flanking the front entrance. Originally, I was worried they might be fragile, considering they are 3-D printed. However, I never brushed them accidentally during painting, so I think they'll be fine. The torches were completed with a wooden handle, metal rim, and very bright yellow and orange. I admit I am a bit worried about the conical decorations on the roof's spine. I snapped a couple off in transporting the building home from Cincycon, but luckily Rich had the foresight to include extras. This is a similar to a problem with the finials on the railings of the Catrine House. You really have to be careful where you put your hands on the model to pick it up. No "claw" grips! Watch where you clasp your fingers around it to pick it up! Otherwise, these 3-D printed buildings are sturdy and solid state. I have no worries about breaking off any other sections. As you can tell from how many I have bought, I really like this line of buildings and Rich does a great job on printing them.

    I wasn't sure how to paint the wooden tile (or 'Shake') roof -- decided to go with a new wood tone

The roof of Merchant Store B obviously looked to me like it had wooden tiles -- not terra cotta ones. I was tempted to paint it with the same red brown base coat and orange flesh dry brush anyway, but decided not to, instead.  I did a handful of Google searches on wooden or "shake" tile roofs. Based on those, I decided to do a different tone of brown. I wet brushed the tiles with a medium leather craft color called Raw Sienna. Next, I did a dry brush of craft paint of a darker Khaki color. I liked the different tone it gave from the wooden beams and patio pillars. In fact, I liked it so much that I chose not to do a black wash over it for fear it would "gray out" the colors too much. Same with the gray stone sections of the store. I did the black wash only on the wooden beam/pillars, the metal, and the Dun yellow windows. I really like how it came out!

    I did a blue and yellow patterned tile flooring to the patio, which comes off of the side of the house

So, what's next on my painting desk? I'm hurrying to get things together for my scenario that I will be running at Drums at the Rapids, May 15-16. I'll be using my medieval town terrain for it, and I want to get as many structures completed as possible. So, in that light, I'm painting up two of the smaller ones that I bought this past weekend from him at Little Wars (see them in an upcoming post on the convention). To go with that, I'm also working on a batch of eight figures that can pass for medieval townsfolk. You know how it goes -- if I am not rushing to get something completed it time for a game I'm running at a convention, things just aren't right! So, considering the upcoming deadline, hopefully you will see more updates soon!

    A final look at the newest addition to my medieval town, which will be used this weekend in a game!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 159
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 91

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 3
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 23

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 16
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 56