Miniature Abandoned Church - 2 Piece - No Foam - Wargaming Terrain Build

[@ayonmetar2301]

Amazing.

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you

[@Esanssi10]

Wow! These are the kinds of tutorials that oughta crop up on KZbin more. Approachable and relatively simple materials combined with simple-to-none tools.

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you very much, glad you found it helpful.

[@classicalheroes8910]

Boylei sent me over, checking out some videos, this is beautiful man, like + subscribed

[@jhall1980]

Incredible

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you!

[@TAW856]

Another Aussie craft channel, noice. Youve earned another subscriber. Also sensational work mate.

[@RSkrub]

A stop motion video game with your miniatures would be amazing looking lol

[@KnarbMakes]

Fantastic, way sturdier than foam too!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate! Appreciate the comment. Definitely adds a bit of weight as well, so it at least feels a bit sturdier than some of my full foam builds.

[@sglenny001]

Great for one of my Dreds in my Damelaw game project Called The Damelaw Dreds translates in my world building project as desired and deprived Relics of the past in other words an ruin church your chanel is so much inspiration

[@RFDHobby]

Awesome! I'd love to see what you're working on as you get into the project. Feel free to share any of your projects (current or completed), or ask me any questions about the projects here on the channel, I'm happy to help if I can. [e-mail] Cheers.

[@fritzlocke2622]

Wow, that looks awesome! I need to work with Balsa more

[@dennfett]

This channel has got better and better. So cool.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks so much!

[@prnzali2010]

So cool how much you can create with so little. New sub!

[@Studiocraft71]

Outstanding . The realism is incredible.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Jeff, glad you like it mate.

[@peggyhemenger8983]

This so reminds me of an old abandoned Catholic church in Ishpeming, Michigan, pretty spooky! I'd love to see the interior. There is one short KZbin video of it. Anyway, loved this project, pretty cool!

[@echodelta2426]

great work. It's awesome to see that not all crafting has to be foam. using actual wood just makes it more authentic.

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you very much mate! Can't beat using timber for a timber effect.

[@OldManRogers]

Glad to see you in full form again :-)

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Joe. It's good to be back at it.

[@MarcinHumbla]

The church looks like it can be used in some diorama of Wild West or Diablo like RPG game 😀

[@RFDHobby]

I have had other ideas for how to build out a few more buildings in this style, it was a fun build. Wild west is a great idea. Cheers mate. Take care and all the best.

[@onkelgroen]

I love building with wood. Bought a big bag of coffee stir sticks, it'll last me a good while and was very cheap!

[@RFDHobby]

Yeah I went to the office supply store and bought a bulk lot of stir sticks too...pretty sure I have enough now to build something full scale. Surprising the difference in pricing for 'stirring sticks' vs 'craft sticks' though. Pretty sure I'll never run out. Thanks for the comment mate. Take care and all the best.

[@crazy3M411]

Awesome Build. Can't wait to see it painted

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Martin, I'm working on it now. Glad you enjoyed the build mate.

[@mr.m1703]

It's great to see you building terrain again! Never having crafted with balsa, this was a great intro for using it. Also, your shingles came out so well - they really made the whole building come to life!! Thanks for taking the time to make these videos!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks. The shingles are worth the effort in laying on there like this, it takes a bit of time, but looks cool. Cheers.

[@crippledfoxgaming]

What a brilliant piece! Well done!

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you so much. I appreciate the comment.

[@timothyyoung2962]

Nice to see you again! Church turned out great. You could get a lot of milage our of that terrain... old west games, WWII, post apocalyptic, horror, or Zona Alfa.

[@johnphilippatos]

Medieval too

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Timothy. It's always good to build something that works across different themes if you can pull it off. Of course, you can nearly always get away with weird terrain if you stretch your imagination and add a bit of back story :) Thanks for watching and commenting again. Take care mate.

[@garyjames1346]

Wow, awesome, thanks for sharing 👍 👍👍

[@RFDHobby]

No problem, thank you for commenting!

[@HacksawsHobbyBunker]

Cracking build. Super versatile, it really reminds me of some of the places in Hunt: Showdown. Cheers!

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you again for the comment mate. Really appreciate it. Glad you enjoyed the build.

[@jamesedwards8175]

Great build! Sidenote, you're looking really healthy; it's great to see!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks James, I'm feeling lots better, I still have some lingering mental health issues that I'm working through, which is why the releases are still not very regular, but I'm doing everything I can to get on top of it all. I really appreciate the comment mate.

[@QuiniansBudgetCrafts]

That's a fantastic build man. I love how those shingles came out

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks. Yeah the shingles take a bit of time to complete like this, but I don't think you can beat the result for authenticity. It's a personal choice as to whether or not spending the extra time to do this is going to be worth it for you. But I'm quite happy with this one so far. I appreciate the comment mate.

[@BearGrisham]

That is a great tutorial and very inspiring!

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you so much mate. 👍

[@kruxigore]

Great build! It's good to see you again. I'm looking forward to the follow up vid. I hope you're heart is doing well.

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you, I'll be finishing up the project in a future video very soon. I do want to add some additional details as well, so I'll hopefully have that video out in the coming weeks. The heart is doing well thanks, I've still got some lingering issues I'm working through, but it's more to do with my mental health, physically I'm doing pretty damn well all things considered haha. Thanks for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it.

[@kruxigore]

@@RFDHobby Don't forget to reach out to those who love you. Mental health can feel like an individual burden but your friends and family can be a huge benefit.

[@BPCustomCreations]

Gorgeous build! I made it here from the facebook page and glad I came!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks. Glad you found the channel mate, I hope you find the videos interesting and helpful in someway as well. Cheers.

[@jandukanocraft6897]

Did you say Hammerbarn? You can get some kanga bangas in there mate!

[@robertnigro1430]

i used balsa wood when building a doll house for my daughter. i found that it looks better when you stain it first. I dipped all pieces in coffee and it gives the wood an older kind of look

[@RFDHobby]

About half way through trying to paint up this build I was wishing I had been able to stain the wood to a usable finish before building. Although, as you might see in the coming video, I had a pretty clear idea of what kind of paint/finish I wanted on this when I started, but it turned out a fair bit harder to achieve than I had expected, and I may have even made it worse before I was done :) . Thanks for the comment Robert.

[@DungeonMasterpiece]

He's back!!!!

[@RFDHobby]

Haha, thanks mate!

[@10urion]

Great little scratch build!

[@RFDHobby]

Cheers!

[@philRminiatures]

Looks great and real, cracking job!

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you Phil. Glad you enjoyed it mate.

[@MrPorkmann]

Another great video thank you. Balsa is in sort supply in the UK. I spoke with one of the importers and he confirmed there are major logistics difficulties at present.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Porkmann. It seems to be a bit hit and miss securing it here as well from time to time. I just tend to buy a couple of those packets I show in the video when I can, and just have them on hand for when I want to use it. I don't tend to use it often for my videos though, as a lot of people have issues with price or availability. Thank you for the comment mate.

[@larssorgenfrisimonsen8480]

Beautiful work!

[@bicskeiz]

Looks amazing!

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks!

[@johnii7896]

Great video. :) I love the whole build of the church.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks John, it is coming. I have a smaller project coming out very shortly, and I can hopefully finish off editing the church video next. I appreciate the comment mate.

[@chasonlapointe]

Nice build, I love XPS foam builds but seeing other techniques is always good.

[@RFDHobby]

Yeah, I have to admit this might have taken me a fair bit longer to complete compared to using foam, but there's certainly a few things that you can do with cardboard and balsa that isn't possible with foam. I think the best idea might be to combine the two materials for best results. Thank you for the comment.

[@rikkiwazzerman3654]

Appreciate it! Looks amazing. I use wood and stone for terrain. The next step for me would be to try to build with Basal Wood. Very helpful.

[@RFDHobby]

Balsa is a lot of fun to work with, and really quite easy. It's not the cheapest material, but you can find kits about that help bring down the cost if you don't mind working with the pieces they give you. Good luck mate.

[@rikkiwazzerman3654]

@@RFDHobby Appreciate it!

[@AzraelThanatos]

Looks neat, I've been considering a church build... For the design, one thing to consider for a more historical design, the bell tower would be entirely in front of the rest of the building because it would require supports on the interior, it also would add an area for transition between the interior and exterior...probably also having some other things that would be interesting, such as the side building would likely be an entirely separate room...

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks for the comment, and thank you for the suggestions, I'm always looking to improve my builds any way I can. Cheers.

[@SungazerDNB]

cool! i like

[@KeanesCove]

Great tutorial I have learned so much from you

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you Debbie, I'm glad you're enjoying the videos, let me know if you ever have any questions, I'm happy to help if I can. Cheers.

[@benjaminjack867]

Awesome work

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks a lot 😊

[@mikestanmore2614]

Oh, perfect timing mate. I'm just about to start a ruined church for Dead Man's Hand and Dracula's America.

[@RFDHobby]

Awesome, although my advice is to use whatever material is best for you at the time, as you might be able to short cut some of this process by using a larger selection of materials. I wanted to do this without any foam, purely for those people that either don't have access, or don't want to buy it, but using whatever material is best for the job might save you some time here. Thanks for the comment and good luck with you builds mate.

[@mikestanmore2614]

@@RFDHobby It's good to hear a familiar accent on the old 'FaceTube', keep up the excellent work!

[@RFDHobby]

@@mikestanmore2614 Thanks mate.

[@DadoseDanos]

oh man, i love cardboard builds! More please hehee I did some for my deadlands town, and i will work on some for my Fallout table =D

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks mate. This was fun, although this one took me a lot longer than I expected, I'm really happy with it. A few more details to add in a future video, but I might see what other builds I can try with cardboard and wood. Thank you for your comment.

[@KeanesCove]

Brilliant tutorial thanks you for wonder tips

[@RFDHobby]

No problem 👍

[@TheGrungy1]

Thought I was subscribed to you already. Am now lol.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks! Glad you like the channel mate.

[@ched---]

another great vid. love your work.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks G. Glad you're enjoying the videos, sorry they're a bit rare at the moment, I am trying to get on top of things and get more regular with the releases. I appreciate the comment. Take care mate.

[@BillyTheRealDeal]

I always get my fingers stuck using superglue Great build!

[@RFDHobby]

haha, it always happens. Thanks for the comment!

[@JCetto.2612]

Hey Shawn! Good to see you again mate! I, personally, don't use cardboard in my dioramas... But, man, in the right hands it's an awesome material to craft. I made a few templates for shingles to cut in a laser cutter because mainly I don't have your patience to one by one, hahahahaha! Awesome build, brother! Good to see you are doing fine! Many good vibes all the way from Lima, Perú!

[@RFDHobby]

Hey Juan! Good to see you again too mate. I generally only use cardboard as part of the foundation of the structure, something I can build off of. But I've seen some people do some amazing stuff with it, so much so that you wouldn't even pick it being cardboard. As for the shingles, doing it by hand I find that trying to shortcut a way to applying them only makes things look a bit off, so I go at it one at a time. Now if I had access to a 3d printer or laser cutter, I would probably find an easier way to do this as well haha. Cheers for watching and comment mate. Take care and all the best.

[@freezatron]

I think you achieved a nice result but I do think you kind of did it the hard way. A little bit of planning could have gone a long way but as long as you're having fun that's the main thing :) I also think you used way more balsa than you needed to, the way I approach such builds is to do a sketch or two to clarify in my mind what I want to build, that way I can put a floor plan together that I can cut out as a single piece of card then plank it as you did before building the framework in wood for the walls, rather than using card board for the walls, glue on the planks, add the outer framework, That way you don't need to plank the walls twice and any gaps just add to the atmosphere of the piece by letting in light like derelict buildings do :) Ah but how would you do the windows ? I hear you ask ! :) Easy when building the framework for the walls put a strut either side of where you want the window and if you start planking the walls in from the bottom and as you go up the wall and reach the bottom of where you want the windows add the frame as you did etc. and continue on from there For the roof instead of using a sheet of card as a base for the shingles I would run a series of thin strips of balsa across the beams like they do in real life and glue the shingles to them, this would add a nice detailing feature to the roof, particularly to the inside as you peek through the holes in the roof. Also I think 20 bucks for that little bundle of balsa is way expensive, it wasn't that long ago such a bundle would have cost 4 or 5 bucks, and I thought that was expensive then ... luckily for me I bought loads of it years ago for my RC planes, but now I'm wishing I had bought more ! Anyhow, you asked for some critique, I hope you find this constructive , like I said, I think you achieved a nice result .... but you did ask :)

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you so much for this comment mate. I can't fault your process at all, and I honestly think I'm going to try it out in the future with a build. Some projects are very much a figure it out as I go, and the 'best' practices aren't always what you'll see, but I hope there's some useful technique or outcome from the whole that people might take away from the project. If you ever have any other comments on my builds or techniques you use that might improve something, please feel free to leave another comment, I'm sure it'll help others in the comments besides just myself. Cheers. Take care and all the best.

[@freezatron]

@@RFDHobby models are useful tool for understanding the world as well as being fun to play with and encouraging people to be creative is a great thing :) Always seemed kind of funny to me that some people are happy cutting up wood and cardboard etc. but when it comes to drawing they shy away from saying... "ooh I can't draw" but to me it's all the same thing just a different medium and buildings are probably the easiest thing to draw, especially side on or in plan view, especially with a ruler :) Watching how things get built in real life is always a good source of inspiration and ideas etc. Crafting and art could be seen as soft engineering where a bit of planning goes a long way, helps avoid mistakes and saves you money, hopefully :D One idea I did have though for the ad hoc peasant builder was to save the balsa for the outside and use cardboard strips for the interior. If you get a comb and run it over the card a few times before you cut it into strips you get a cheap wood effect :) Anyhow, carry on with your good work dude, I'm quite sure you're already inspired more than a few people to have a go at building stuff :)

[@pitotony1496]

Very good video as usually 👍

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Pito, I hope your projects are going well mate.

[@PetrikNZ]

Both card and wood have grain, you need to use that to your advantage, Card won't bend nicely if you are fighting the grain.

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you for the advice!

[@johnphilippatos]

Beautiful. Just beautiful. May I suggest a removable graveyard for the backside?

[@RFDHobby]

Great idea! I think this might make up a future video, I'd like to do a graveyard and crypt or something like that. Thank you for the comment John, I hope you're doing well mate.

[@matishtar]

This is awesome! Luckily I love cardboard and balsa wood for my miniatures, because I don't live near any stores that sell craft foam here in my corner of the Netherlands. So it's extra lovely to see this beautiful build completely foam-free! Can't wait for the follow-up video, is it due soon? (I also love the graveyard suggestion someone had, I'm keeping my fingers crossed you're going with that idea!)

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you very much. Foam is really easy to work with, but it isn't always the best solution. I love the effect the balsa wood gives this build, couldn't do that with foam, well I couldn't anyway :)

[@AshleyBlackwater]

Nice to see more content from you! Binged this channel like...a month or two ago? and didn't recognize you in the notification feed atall. A nice surprise :D Build is great, audio seems really quiet tho? like you are to far away from the mic or something like that? had to turn the volume all the way up, is clear tho.

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks Ashley, I've had another comment regarding the audio, so it's definitely off on this video, I'll be sure to tweak it on the next one. Thank you for letting me know though, happy to get this feedback. Releasing videos has been a lot tougher recently, struggling with some mental health stuff that's making everything more difficult, but I'm doing everything I can to get on top of it and get everything back to normal. Hopefully you'll see me in the feed again soon. Thank you for the comments.

[@kayb9979]

I'm surprised that superglue works on balsa wood: always thought it would be too porous. great work as usual. You threw me out with your mention of Hammer Barn but I get the reference now. :-)

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you! The superglue works well enough, although I think PVA glue would be the preferred way to go for balsa in most instances. I appreciate the comment Kay, take care and all the best to you.

[@richardbradley2335]

Singles...use the inside of cornflake packets !!!

[@RFDHobby]

Absolutely cardboard will work for your shingles if you want to go that way. Although it's not shown in the video, you can add some texture to the balsa that you might not be able to achieve with the cardboard. But the flip side to that is that the balsa costs significantly more, and you may not even notice the lack of textures on cardboard if you give it a decent paint job. Great tip Richard, thanks for sharing mate.

[@richardbradley2335]

@@RFDHobby i used CF packet again to make a saxon A hut....it worked and looks great.

[@artistpoet5253]

Amazing build. Just curious, and you can DM me if you prefer, but what would something like this cost fully painted? I'm returning to commission work and really have no idea what to charge.

[@RFDHobby]

Thank you. Commission work on something like is a really difficult thing to estimate, because a lot of it just comes down to what you think your time spent doing the build is worth. The level of detail you add, and how long it takes you to do it well (especially if you're trying new things), is going to make a big difference in this taking you a weekend or a week. You might be able to get some idea of prices from places like Etsy, and you might find some helpful advice from the large community of miniature painters that do commission work as well, I just don't have a ton of experience in this space sorry. Most of the things I've produced to sell have been things I can make multiples of efficiently, where I can maximise the materials I'm using and the time I'm spending to create multiples of unique, but similar items for sale online (these were mostly ornamental woodworking pieces). You can shoot me an email if you'd like to talk about it some more, but as I said, you might find people much more knowledgable abou this than I am :).

[@AngriArtists]

Love the build but can you turn your sound up

[@RFDHobby]

Will do mate, I have adjusted the level to what I thought was about right, but I'll make sure to fine tune this further in the next video. Thanks for letting me know.

[@Vincent-ei8bp]

Realy Realy great job !! How many time for this ? 2 days ?

[@RFDHobby]

Thanks. This one took me a good while to complete, but I was just doing little bits here and there over a period of time. I would say a good 2 days of work here though. Thanks for the comment.

[@SnoddiesHobbies]

Very cool, what are you using it for?

[@RFDHobby]

Hey Dave, thanks very much mate. I'm using it to collect dust on my shelf is probably the most honest answer. I'd love to be playing games with all this stuff, but I don't really have that going on right now. I just really like to build shit, and paint minis to put near the shit I build, and then leave it on a shelf for a while if I have room... :)

[@ajaydeshpande735]

Instead of 'no foam' you should have written 'all balsa wood' 🙂

[@RFDHobby]

haha, I thought about that as an option, but then there's the cardboard foundation, and the craft stick floor...and I'm sure someone would have called me out for that :)

[@cheeserdane]

The best way to get wood texture is use real wood... ladies.

[@RFDHobby]

Amen brother.

[@theofficialboxx]

Heeey

[@joshuawilson8804]

What is this? A church for ants?! It has to be at least... 3x bigger.

[@MichaelHolland]

Audio was bad.