An humble piece of land

I had started November by opening a parcel and unwrapping a rather exciting medieval homestead, so I thought  it would be nice to exhibit the results of this interesting sub-project to kick-start December.

"If you look for the keys, they lay under the stone"

"A simple place, for simple after pillage parties with the lads"

I think I did wrong when assembling the cottage, since some parts did not adjust very well. I might have interverted the opposites side walls, so I had to trim the bottom of each piece a little, in order to have everything on the same level. I can't really imagine this is due to a defect of the kit, since the quality of Renadra products is not something to question here. Anyway, I didn't really worried about the overall look of the finished piece. One  can disguise many under layers of drybrush, and the house surely looks more medieval thus.

"Follow the guide, if you like to see where the peas are grown"

My initial idea was to arrange all elements of the kit together in order to create a terrain feature that could have a significant impact on the battlefield and give a feel of the period. Well, I don't really aim at historical accuracy in gaming, the dwarves I have painted like russians and played like SAGA Anglo-Danes tells it enough. This kind of timber framed house probably apperead in Feudal Europe during the 12th century and so might very look like a snobish avangardist piece of architecture in games meant to be set during the 11th century. Nevertheless, I tried to have it look plausible, if not accurate.

"back of the place"

"Now from a distance"

So, I ended up with this idea of having it surounded with wattlework fences, to protect both cattle and crops from the greed of foxes and boars. Well I can't claim to have invented something here, and previous works of others definitly paved my way, as much as the well known picture from the Limbourg brothers displayed earlier. Through the readings I have had as to understand how a meaningless peasant cottage would have been seated on a nasty piece of earth, I found out what seems obvious to me now, that the most precious belongings of its inhabitant, i.e. vegetables and goats, would have been kept the closest possible from its walls...

"The peas should be ready for next fertility celebration,
 when the lads will be raping enslaved virgins named Ursula"

That's it, I hope you'll enjoy my modest attempt to simulate, both a muddy yard covered with straws, and a tiny backyard adorned with peas and pods about to blossom. Let say that the same snow that started to fall on Montreal the other day has just leave room for Spring to blossom on this humble piece of land...

"The goats are away for the moment"

"But as soon as they are back,  I and the lads
will prepare the blood sausages"

Now, I only wish to order the beasts and serfs it takes to achieve the country-side feeling of this cottage. But wait, something new has just landed on my doormat straight from Volgograd, Russia...

The long coveted Plastic Miniatures Russian Heroes...