"Oh the devil in me said, go down to the shed..."

Sundays - usually the time when I'm at my most productive, hobby-wise. This was a nice little Sunday project - well several Sundays to be honest, because even at my most productive I am still rather slow!

I admit that I have been rather sniffy about MDF scenery. There are a lot of really cleverly designed MDF buildings available now, but once built many still look a bit too - well, MDF. I've seen some great examples that overcome this with clever use of paint, washes and coloured pencils, but to my eyes they still have that uniformity I dislike.

So, this was an experiment to tackle some of the issues that have put me off MDF buildings. My chosen 'test bed' for this was the free kit I received for completing last year's Great Wargaming Survey. As it was free, I wasn't too concerned if I screwed up. The idea was to try out a few techniques to see what worked best. My modest aims were to add some wood grain texture and to disguise the rather slab-like roof and the unsightly tabs where the various roof parts slotted together.

I started by scribing wood grain into the panels using a hobby knife and a fresh blade. I have used this technique successfully to represent wood grain on scratch-built buildings made from plasticard styrene sheet, but MDF has very different properties and I wasn't sure how well this would work. 

Being fibrous, the surface where I scored the MDF was quite 'feathered'. My first thought was to sand it down a bit, but I was worried this would only produce more stray fibres. In the end I found that lightly rubbing the surface with the tip of my finger was enough to remove most of the stray fibres. I was quite happy with the result.

After scribing all the panels I added a few extra details. The inner door latch was fashioned from a staple and a round-headed pin was used to make the door knob. Door hinges and brackets were cut from thin plasticard and glued in place before painting. 

I was quite unsure how to go about painting the model. I knew the effect I was after, but this required a bit of trial and error. The whole model received a base coat of pale grey (Humbrol Matt 64 - Light Grey). MDF is insatiably thirsty stuff and with hindsight I would have been better opting for a cheaper option, either an aerosol car primer or some cheap craft paint. 

Once the base coat was dry, I started adding thin washes of Citadel Agrax Earthshade to bring out the wood grain and achieve the grey-brown look of aged wooden boards. I overdid it in a few paces and had to knock the colour back with a thinned down wash of grey. Once I was happy with the overall tone, all areas were lightly drybrushed with more Humbrol Light Grey. Weathering and dirt patches were applied with a mix of Citadel Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil. Finally, Foundry Phlegm Green was applied in thin washes and then drybrushed to simulate patches of damp on areas at the base of the shed and the lower part of the door. I could probably have added more weathering, but I was afraid of overdoing it. Learning when to stop is always a tricky one.

Painting progress - the first wash of colour over the base grey.

So far, so good - but the bare MDF shed roof was in need of attention. I opted for fine grit sandpaper to represent roofing felt. This was easy to trim to shape and apply with PVA glue, thus concealing the tabs holding the roof components together and providing some much needed texture. Once dry, a layer of PVA was spread over the surface of the sandpaper to soften the texture a bit. Strips of styrene were glued down to represent wooden battens and the roof was then ready for painting.

I thought that painting the roof would be far easier than the woodwork, but it took at least three attempts to get it right. My first two attempts were way too dark and looked completely at odds with the paler wood effects. Several coats of paint did have the unintended advantage of further toning down the texture of the sandpaper which was still a bit too rough despite the PVA treatment. In the end, I got it right using a mix of mid-grey with a hint of green. Light weathering with Nuln Oil washes and Phlegm Green completed the process. I think it does a pretty good job of representing roofing felt.

To complete the shed I added 'glazing' by attaching a strip of clear plastic to the inside of the window frames.

The final task was to make a scenic base cut from 2mm styrene sheet, with individual paving stones cut from thin styrene sheet.  The base was textured and painted with my usual basing technique. Static grass, tufts and foliage added the finishing touches.

I must say I'm rather pleased with the finished model. There are still some details that give away its heritage, but overall they are not too obvious and I don't think it screams 'MDF'. It has turned out better than I expected and has helped to raise my opinion of MDF scenery quite a bit.

Here's where the story ends. 

Well actually - no. Now I need to find a use for the shed. I already have a couple of scenario ideas, but that will be for another time. Watch this space - but don't hold your breath!