Everyone has been asking "where ya been?".... well - I've been in the shop or on the road! During the past month I have completed:

1) Scratchbuilt 1:35 Scale Ruin ("Baghdad" - see photos below)
2) Over 200 figures - assembled, detailed and painted! (see next post "FIGURE PICS)
3) A Tiger, Panther, and Panzer- see next post "3 Cats"
4) A statue for use in a client's diorama piece
5) Two Shermans - no photos yet, but they are DONE!

Now - I need some input... I think I am going to start selling "ready to use" diorama ruins and buildings... these are targeted at two kinds of folks:

a) Those who like to do armor or figures, but would like to display them with some sort of reference backdrop, but either don't have the time, skill, imagination, or interest in building architecture.

b) Toy soldier collectors (and there are a LOT of them out there!) who want buildings to add to their collections of Britains, Esci, 21st Century, King & Country or Conte sets of soldiers.

The building below is a first shot... a "one-of-a-kind-and- there-are-no-more".... take a look at this two story arabesque building with tiles balcony (doors are still not done) and tell me what you would pay if you saw this at a local show or on ebay for sale... what would you think is a fair price?

And by the way - this particular building could work either for modern Iraq or even WWII Afrika Korp... so gimme some input gang!

You were talking about making some for toy soldier collectors, take a look here...
http://pub28.ezboard.com/fgroundpoundersfrm1
It's not just 21st Century stuff; we also talk about K&C, Conte, etc. Great place to sell your stuff, but try making casual conversation first or they'll think you're trying to SPAM them You really wanna do something impressive, make some 1:18th scaled buildings and weapon sets. *hint* *hint* There's not enough people out there doing it, but there's still a demand. Only problem is cost, but if you can figure how to make buildings cheap they will sell. The weapon sets are in high demand, but there are a few companies who are releasing some cool accessories in 1:18th scale. It's the new medium in military figure collecting. I hope some model companies pick up on it and start making actual models in that scale. Some company did do a Russian tank in that scale, but it cost a fortune nearly $300. I know there's 1:16th scale models, but they're too big to use with this stuff. BTW, great building :-) The moldings/trim really sets it off.

Wow! Really nice!

VERY NICEEEE - CONGRATS
ROBERTO

Keith
Cool - I come back from vacation and you've got new items to how off.

I like the ruin. I would go 'old school' with it and go WWII or post WWII I agree with PW - I haven't seen to many building fronts like this in modern photo footage. NOW - that's not to say it's just not being captured on film.
The only thing I see that took time to find is the left post (as you look at it from the front). The 'cap' and 'foot' are not the same thickness as the other three. Small picky thing.
One thing you could do to 'add value' is to include a backdrop for the 'interior' of the building. A pre-printed interior to help with a complete backdrop. Just a thought.
Either way the peice is very well done and I would expect to pay $30 - $40 USD for it.

Actually, the idea for this building came from a building in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). It was built in the mid-70's, and was part of the ARCO Oil Facility in the heart of downtown... I may have been reaching a bit by simply assuming that Southern Muslim Architecture = All Muslim Architecture...

So if nothing else, we could roll with this being in someplace like Tripoli, El Alamein, or perhaps Vichy Morroco.

Thanks for the input on the pricing... I was thinking about $40 US. As for the 1:18th scale... is there REALLY that much demand? If so, I will do a few and see how they sell!

Keith, this model would go great with Napoleon and earlier. I think $50-75 would garner attention. For a singleton/one of a kind though a lot higher. I would envision doing a diorama akin to 1920's Mummy hunters with it. Bring it to the show this weekend in Arlington... I'll help you talk it up to the folks

See you at the show Blaster... we (My cousin Don and I) will have a booth, and I'll be entering about 6 dioramas. We will also be pouring molds "on demand" just to see how popular that is. Of course we will also have stock for sale as well- Keith

looks fine to me mean sadam and his cronies didnt have alot of taste anyway some of the palaces looked like they'd covered a caravan in glue and used it to ram raid home-base then the qvc shopping channel in 1foul swoop no those buildings look spot on might be a bank or something

I really like this keith ... maybe your best work to date?? The thing about buildings like this ... you gotta buy it... its hard without the proper resources to get things like the columns etc. Some of the other bricked houses, most of the guys on here will have a go at scratching them themselves ... but this is out of my league.
Maybe thats something to keep in mind for the future ... add in things that only the more experienced modeller can build themselves... so therefore leaving us mere mortals having to buy them!!

KFMagee:
Sorry to change the subject but what happened to the "SPLASH CAMPAIGN"

Columns were a bit tricky to create, but now I have a mold...I sell them as follows:

2 in plaster - $5.00 or 4 for $ 9.50 (plus S/H)
2 in resin - $8.00 or 4 for $14.95 (plus S/H)

Quite honestly, I think the plaster takes the paint better if you are trying for the"stone or concrete" look... the resin is better if you want to mimmic the surface of polished marble or granite. They are not on the website yet, but will be listed in the "PARTS & PIECES" portion of the catalog. I have split the "kits" into a seperate section now. If you want these before you see them in the catalog, just let me know via Private Message, and you can order via email... I'll bill via Paypal.

Whiterook... I've asked jim the same question a few times... we were supposed to have a "Poll" vote to determine the winner, and then to alot the Campaign Ribbons. Still, I've had no response lately - I'm sure he's busy as all heck. Perhaps you could give him a gentle nudge as well?