I am looking for any suggestions on how to scratch build ruins. Building such as brick and morter, stone, wood, and any other ideas I can get. I am open for anything. I love to learn new stuff.

Umm...one thing I do for brickwork ruins is the following:

I use a mold from Hirst Arts and cast a few brick walls in Hydrocal/Plaster. Since I always make up too much mix, I go ahead and fill some extra molds, making spare bricks, window edging, etc.

If I want to include the piece in a multi-dimensional piece, I usually pour the mold only 1/2 full. It will require a bit of sanding to flatten/even out one side. I'll pour a second casting, sand it flat and then glue it to the first piece. This will give me a wall about 5/8" thick with stonework on both sides.

When the Hydrocal is dry and has been removed from the mold, I use a pencil and sketch out how I'd like the wall to look. Usually a jagged diagonal line will work. I then use a pair of pliers and start to break off bits of the wall, following the line I just drew. This will give me a rough idea. I then break of/chip with a scupting tool until the wall looks the way I want it to.

I then make the other walls (i.e. one more if I wanted to make a corner piece) and mount them on my base. I then use the extra bits that I cast/broke off to make piles of rubble around the base.

If I decide to do more, I sometimes make roof beams, doors, frames, etc. out of balsa strips. Whatever will work for what I have in mind. If I use any wood, I make sure to include a couple of splinters/beams/etc. in the rubble pile.

If I want a really gritty feeling, I'll coat the base with a light mixture of PVA/White Glue and water. I'll then sprinkle small amounts of sand. This will give an overall feeling of dirty grime.
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Cover everything with a base of spray primer, paint as desired. Bring out the highlights using drybrushing, etc.

There are several great sites with ideas about scenery/diorama building. If you're doing a search, expand it to include Warhammer 40K scenery as that game has a great gothic theme which lends for some great scenery ideas. Especially for churches.

While not historic, the following sites can give you some ideas and techniques for making "terrain." (Note: I define terrain as anything that isn't part of the model itself.) Afterall, technique is technique. (I found armorama while searching for better methods of weathering my gaming armor.)

Worldmakers
Terra Genesis

I'm with yellow on this one. Cast your own slabs of hydrocal or plaster of paris and carve in the details. DONT buy hyrdocal or plaster at a hobby shop. Check the phone book for a pattern shop or get online and contact Freeman Supply. I work in a pattern shop at a foundry. You can almost get a 50 pound bag of hydrocal from Freeman Supply for what a pound would cost you in a hobby shop.

Hope this helped...

Here is the address. I don't know if they sell direct or not...


http://www.freemansupply.com/