I was working on a dio this weekend - A blasted and burned house on which to showcase my DML Panzer A (early).

The back of the house is gone and open to modeling. I started with structural scale wood from Northwest Short Line (Available at model train stores) and added prototypical ceiling joists, rafters and structual pieces. I hand tore the 2x6's, 1x10's, 4x6's and other structural members to represent blast damage. I also added a blasted wood floor to the structure.

I then took a match and lit strategic parts on fire. (Be careful, bass woods burns real quick, and I waited a bit too long and had to rebuild one section) Once the fires were out I washed the remaining wood with an alcohol/india ink mixture weathering the wood to a nice gray, representing a house that was bombed some time ago. For a newly blasted house I would have stopped at the fire.

Finally, I added a small pile of wood segments all weathered with the same mixture to represent wood that has fallen back into the house after the explosion. I used white school glue to secure the wood and placed some 100 pieces by hand. I sprinkled some dirt and ground foam over the wood to represent secondary growth after the fire. Once I'm finished I will post pictures on this site for one and all to see.

Sounds pretty neat. Waiting for the results with baited breath. (Where are my breath mints?)

Sounds impressive. I for one can not wait to see it.

Why wait till its finished? I, for one, would love to see it as it is now. Maybe you should take a few pictures as you go along and write a short article on your construction. Everybody has great ideas that both help others and give them inspiration and ideas to try things for themselves.
Sounds great by the way. Im looking forward to seeing it!!

If you are going through all the trouble (FUN!) of blasted support timbers, ya might as well do the whole deal, right... don't forget to do floor joists, interior wall supports, and things like interior door frams and flooring. This is all some of my FAVORITE things to do when working on a battered building.... just wish I would have paid more attention in woodshop class when I was a kid!