Going to church

The Old Dutch Church by Things from the Basement is a recent project from their inspired by Sleepy Hollow series. It is considered to be one of their earliest models, however  It is also one of the finest MDF kits I’ve encountered. I’ve assembled many kits from Sarissa Precision’s 28mm Pegasus bridge, to more recent 4Ground’s Wild West buildings…and everything in between in a variety of scales, and I have to say Joerg is one of the best in the business if not THE best.

With every model I’ve assembled there has been at least one step that I found confusing of frustrating. That is not the case with this model. It is definitely not for beginners, but I didn’t find that any assembly steps gave me a headache.

Typically I do not pre paint any pieces before assembly. Instead, I wait until it the model is fully constructed before I break out the brushes. About 2/3 of the way into building this model, I realized it would be beneficial to lay down a base coat at least in places and applied some dry brushing before I glued things in place.

In particular the steeple, roof sections and the porch benefit from some painting before assembly. I don’t usually need a finished interior for my scenarios, so I leave the interior a natural wood. I can always go back later if I decide to paint it.

The roof was a bit of a custom job. The model comes with a blank MDF roof allowing you to complete it to suit your needs. I took a sheet of black vinyl from my wife’s Cricut supply and hand cut the shingles.  Along the way I made sure to bend a few shingles here and there to give it some wear and tear.

Then I laid down a chestnut brown base allowing some streaking to let the black show through a bit. Following that I streaked on a reddish-brown, and then a khaki to give the appearance of a natural wood shingle. Allow everything to fully dry before moving forward.

Once dry, further weathering effects can be applied.  I gave the appearance of rain streaking from the ridge, steeple, and shingles with Citadel Agrax Earthshade.  Use a smaller brush, load it with ink, make straight downward strokes and gradually lift the brush.  The siding is just a base light gray, with a slightly lighter drybush. The trim is black, with a charcoal gray dry brush.  I painted the foundation a base desert yellow. Random stones are painted in Khaki and Citadel Karak Stone to match my western game mat. The MDF takes acrylic paint really well, and The paint stays true to color.

This model will be used in my Wild West town, which is why I did the roof in such a rough manner.  The model can be used in any North American scenario and many European.

I couldn’t give an accurate number of how many MDF kits I’ve built, but it is more than 70.  This model is easily one of my top three favorites. It went together with absolutely no headaches, and the final product is beautiful. The versatility is a big bonus as well. It is destined for my Wild West town. But I guarantee it will see a few militia fending off Redcoats eventually. It is difficult for me to find anything about this model I don’t love or that could be better. Things From the Basement never disappoints.