Hi,

I have a few damaged plaster buildings.

I would appreciate thoughts on the best ways to replicate damaged wood eg timber beams, floor boards that have collapsed etc.

Kind regards
Digger

Digger---I ordered some dye from MicroMark designed for weathering wood. You soak the wood in the stain for varying amounts of time. This provides you a more realistic flooring showing wear and tear. I use Dutton flooring sticks. Now, you can do any of this with ice cream sticks or basswood. I would get some ordinary wood stain/varnish and go through the same process of soaking them for different times. Blackening them, I used soot from the fireplace once. It certainly is realistic, but tough to handle. I never tried actually burning certain portions, but know folks who do. As for splitting them to show damage that speaks for itself. Just bend the wood.
HTH
DJ

As far as mimicing the broken aspect of the floors. Try to build the entire floor, full length beams and all. Then litterally drop something on it to break it. Let physics and nature take over. You may have to get a little creative on the destruction portion, but true breaking yields the best most convincing results. Then you go at it with the stains etc 210cav mentions.

Thanks guys - I'll give these ideas a go.

Cheers
Digger

Hi Digger,

You can check out this article which give a way of making broken ceilengs, plaste beams etc..

Ceilings

Hope this helps..

cheers,
BP.

Thanks Master Sergeant - that is a great site.

Cheers
Digger

For both ceilings and floors, I first build a lattice frame. Then, I use panels of pre-cut rectangle wood to create the base floor (available in bags at most hobby & craft stores), and glue them in place. Next, i zip over to my nearby Starbucks Coffee shop, buy a $4 cup of coffee, and grab a handful of their wooden stir sticks... they are quite long, excellent quality wood, and heck... i just paid $4.00 for a 25-cent cup of coffee... I figure I'm entitled! Next, I cut off the rounded ends, and cut various sections of wood planks. I glue these in place over the floor panels. Once dry, I come back with a sharp push-pin and create nail holes in both ends of the plank. Pain a base coat of brown, then come back and with a diffeernt tone of wood, highlight a few individual planks. Dry brush the finished paint job to bring out the wood texture. Finally, use a dark grey or burnt umber wash to weather the floor . Be sure to indicate some foot-path wear near doorways. When finished, hit is with a flat spray to seal it all in. NOW break the edges with a pair of pliers to create the damaged effect. Save the left over piecs to scatter around inside and near exterior doorways. Looks Great!

I decided this would be an excellent article for Digital Diamonds #7. Look soon for Jim to post this in the FEATURES section, or search the website for DIGITAL DIAMONDS for an illustrated guide with a bit more detail. Enjoy!

KFMagee - love the stirrer source! gotta love a $4 cup-a-joe

Captain McGee,

Thanks for the tip. Starbucks have just made it to OZ. I've no idea if they have the same stirrers here. I'm not sure why one would get coffeee from a chain coffee shop when one can go to a cafe. Besides wouldn't the world be a better place if we all drank tea?

Digger

Hi all,
Just some random thoughts about woodwork and all in damaged buildings...
One thing to remember is that it's the outside of your wood which weathers.
By all means stain your planks to look more like beech or birch or stout hearted oak or whatever. It's long been a real world practice to stain cheaper timber to look like more expensive wood - no reason not to replicate it in scale.
Floors are often varnished or polished, scuffed and worn. Ceiling timbers get dusty and cobwebbed, but don't wear. Also, remember that 'hidden' structural timber can "sometimes" be put together with a lower quality of workmanship - I speak not as a carpenter, but as someone who has demolished a few buildings...
Timber that has been attached to another piece (think ceiling trusses) will not weather or age as much where the two pieces rest together, but may accumulate a lot of gunge along the edges of their contact area.
Paint flakes, peels, cracks and weathers. There are undercoats and primers and, gee honey, I don't like that particular shade of chartreuse, can't you just paint over it with this carmine...
Dry rot, wet rot, lichen, moss, woodworm, death watch beetle, borer, termites.
Oh, yeah, finally...
Once you've made your floor and weathered it and gone and broken it into a thousand pieces for inclusion as groundwork in that ruined chateau, don't go around weathering the exposed edges, beyond what might be called 'collateral' weathering - dust, water damage, fire, soot, etc. Broken wood exposes the unweathered core.
This last point also applies to stone, concrete and brick construction of course...
Okay, end of two euros worth...

acav out

Hi!
When I have to resemble broken wood, I cut into the planks several times with my dremel tool from different directions. After having done so, it easily can be broken, which gives a good impression the desired effect. Here is an example:

Hey

A sweet way of making the wood look like is form a large old tree is using used motor oil. Dip the wood in the oil...wait alittle while then with an old rag whipe off the exess.

Bring some photos of your dio of you can :-)

Good luck!...Cris

Hey,

When I have modeled shadered wood I just break the wood by bending it and then I use my hobby knife to splinter it.
if you are modeling newly broken wood make sure you leave the brocken end unweathered. even old wood has a bright center.
good luck