Painting a timber framed thatched house

Firstly, let me say that I don't think there is only one right way to do this. This is just the way I did this one. Certainly, I'm learning things all of the time and when I do the next one I plan on doing at least one thing differently - more anon.

First job: Seal the model. For this I used a good quality household emulsion paint. Household emulsion, these days at least, is basically acrylic paint you buy in bulk. If there is enough for half a jar after painting a room, I put it in a jam jar for painting terrain.

Next I put a layer of paint on the roof (cheap artists brown acrylic).

Then, using a reasonable quality, undiluted, heavy body artists acrylic (Daler-Rowney in a tube), and an old brush, I liberally daubed  the areas between the timber framing. This is one reason why it is best to seal the model first - it goes on easier.

In the past, I have used plaster mixed with water and PVA for this job; believe me, the acrylic is far easier to use as it comes 'ready mixed' and it sticks like sh*t;  heavy body acrylic will never flake off like paster does.

Next, the walls needed a base coat. 

To get the right shade, I used a mix of cheap brown artists acrylic and a 'sandy' coloured household emulsion. It looked a bit like straw so I also used it to dry brush the thatch.

To get a weathered look I washed the walls using a diluted burnt umber artists ink (diluted 4 water to 1 ink). 

The model looks a complete mess at this point. It also looks far too dark, but (IMHO) initial weathering needs to be bold.

Then I dry brushed the walls with the walls base colour (see above) and then dry brushed twice more, lightening the base colour with more white emulsion each time. The thatch also got some extra dry brushed highlighting.

As with painting figures, I think the trick is to use a little less highlighting with each application - to build a depth of colour. 

This picture shows the model with the first two shades of dry brushing - one still to add.

The building now needs the detail adding. For this I used Derwent Inktense blocks and a water brush. These are water solid blocks of ink that dry permanently - like acrylic does. 

The 'water brush' is the thing with the big clear plastic handle - this one is pictured with the brush cover (top) on. The handle is full of water. You give it a squeeze and water comes through the bristles. You then use the brush on the block and start painting. It is a fantastic way to do this detailed work.


I bought these for my dad for Christmas a couple of years ago, I bought them just before he told me he had given up painting! His loss, my gain - he got socks, or something.

To make finishing the model easier the thing I would do differently next time are the windows. Next time, during the construction stage I will paint the bluey glass colour on the wall section, paint the laser cut window frames, then stick the frames on. 

The outside edges of the windows will still need to be done at this stage, but the insides will be much 'cleaner'. It took over an hour to paint them the way I did.

I used a mixture of grit, sand and cut up broom bristle scatter for the yard. 

The yard will be used to put troops in so it needs to be hard wearing and functional.

After a base coat and dry brushing the yard in various earthy colours (artists acrylic and emulsion again) I put a little flock around the 'non-roadside' base edges.

 And, there we are....

 Job done....

 What next?....

A thatched barn, perhaps.