Thatch

[fsn]

Anyone got a good, quick, simple technique for painting thatched roofs?

I've just pulled together all the medieval buildings I have to paint, and am now faced with 30 thatches to colour.

Help!


By the way, if your technique involves many stages ... or cutting the shoots of kuthimmani tekknoow to lay on as "real thatch", remember I can only manage to process three instructions before falling into a minor stupor.


Thank you in advance.   

[Techno]

Are the thatched roofs already 'cast'  and part of the models, Nobby ?

Or have you got to 'make' the thatch to fit onto them.

If the former, I would have thought a base coat of a 'mid brown' and then use a big brush to drybrush a straw colour over the top.
Alternatively a base 'straw colour' and then a brown wash over that.

But don't trust me...You know how little I get to paint nowadays.

Cheers - Phil

[fred.]

I'd go with Phil's suggestions for painting. I did dark brown base layer, dry brush of yellowish brown, maybe a pale highlight.

If you want more realistic go more grey than yellow brown.



The yellow roofed ones are saxon ones, the more grey brown russian peasant huts. I prefer the brighter yellow colours

[FierceKitty]

I'd drybrush a grey-yellow ochre over burnt umber.

[Steve J]

As the other chaps have said really. A mix of both looks good IMHO.

[Ithoriel]

When I was schoolboy staying with my grandparents one of the games played in the car was to spot thatched roofs before the others in the car.

Over the liifetime of a roof the thatch goes from a sandy colour to brown to grey - a village would tend to have only one or two sandy colour, several brown and the bulk grey.

Badly tended thatch will have a wash of green through the grey.

[FierceKitty]

And we're forgetting Tory Blue (possibly available from GW). All Thatchers know that one.

[fsn]

Are the thatched roofs already 'cast'  and part of the models, Nobby ?

They're all bought from Pendraken - the TBM Drak Ages ones. All of them. Every one. except the ones that aren't. Which are very few.

I've just been to look at the ones in the neighbourhood ... well Frodsham way. They're a bit more like this ...

I like Fred's work.

Thanks chaps. I may (or may not) post a photo or two if it goes well. 

[Subedai]

I use mid to dark grey with a bark brown wash and a lightish grey dry brush anad an even lighter dark green dry brush.

[Leman]

That's four stages; stupor on the way.

[Roy]

Multiple Choice

Paint them black and call it night gaming

Glue snow flock atop them and call it winter

Basecoat dark colour then highlight-drybrush light color, possibly highlight-drybrush again (but very sparingly) with a lighter colour

Get somebody else to paint them

[fsn]

Hmmm.

1, 2 and 4 have merit.

[Leman]

Odds are  he's right 

[fsn]

On the drying board.

Quite happy with these.

[fred.]

I like those.

Are the coloured panels historical or conjectural?