28mm/32mm Parisian Terrain from Malifaux

As mentioned elsewhere, I find the conceptual execution of the world of Malifaux difficult to follow: I understand the desire to place their setting in a Victorian-inspired parallel world, I just find the models too over-the-top, Steampunk-plus-Outre, to be of any use for my In Her Majesty's Name games - except their urban terrain.

One thing, at least, that the folks at Custome Meeple get, is the necessity of dressing a city like a city. Please pardon the truism, which I think is merited, because that self-same truism seems missed by a sizable percentage of hobby manufacturers. As far as I can tell, only Wyrd/Malifaux offers stuff like:

City Bench with Light Post (aka Dollhouse Bench*).  
Where does one wait for the Omnibus? Restaurants and Taverns were popular stops for the Omnibus, but evidence of the embarkation points seems scarce. Where on the Place de la Concorde does one get picked up? At the Obelisk? At one of the Fontaines? Which one?  

Bench by Custom Meeple, lamp by Old Glory.

With this simple MDF bench and light post, and perhaps a simple ticket kiosk nearby, we have the answer.

Bench; Custom Meeple, Lamp; Old Glory, Miniature; Warlord Games

There were some issues with this model: there was no lamp post provided. Custom Meeple included three flat, amber, Lucite disks for the lamps, which I set aside for some other project. I used a round plastic coffee stirrer and my own lamp from Old Glory to finish both models.  

That said; selling an incomplete kit? Shame on you, Custom Meeple.

Park Flower Beds and Fountain (aka Curmudgeon Square Parterre*)
Going for a stroll in le Jardin des Plantes? Perhaps a secret meeting near Le Ménagerie? Custom Meeple helps make this possible with these MDF formal garden beds. Four garden beds, lined with cut stone, are included, along with a small fountain/birdbath. 

Small planters by Custom Meeple, miniature by Warlord Games

City Tree Planters (Dollhouse* Tree Planter)
Another must-have for late 19th century city-scapes, at least those influenced by Paris, is the Boulevard line of trees. These MDF planters are just the thing to bring refreshing air and shade for those promenading along the avenues and boulevards. My trees are Woodland Scenics 1517 Dark Green, selected for the smaller footprint, which are then glued to a metal base, and covered in scenic dirt.

Planter by Custom Meeple, Tree by Woodland Scenics

Advertising Column (aka Malifaux Millbank Street Morris Column)
Named after Gabriel Morris, the leading advertising printer in France during the Second Empire, these columns were introduced to keep advertising bills (or billets) off the buildings and onto the column. These don't seem to have caught on much in the UK or USA, so they are one of those little items that makes a Parisian street all the more so.

I don't actually have the Custom Meeple version - I had a couple from Alien Lab (in Poland) via eBay. The shape seems more in line for 1890s Paris, and as it was resin, and not MDF, I didn't need to build it.

Note to you resin casters out there - Resin is still faster, cheaper, and doesn't smell of formaldehyde.

Notes:
Despite Custom Meeple/Malifaux being closer to the 32mm Heroic Scale, unlike their buildings, these 19th Century urban terrain bits work well with 28mm scale from manufacturers like Foundry, Northstar and Old Glory.

*The marketing for this line is targeted for Malifaux players, so Custom Meeple can perhaps be forgiven for the arcane Line associations. The Dollhouse is actually a 28/32mm Victorian Mansion.

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28mm French Buildings from MBA

WIP - A Quiet Street in Paris...

(Editor's Note: this article was written in March 2021 and delayed due to circumstances beyond my control...)

Setting a miniatures scenario in Fin de Siècle* Paris poses several challenges of Victorian London or late 19th century New York City; the details of building styles, materials and even décor of La Dame de Paris are visually different that her Brittanic or American counterparts.

(Fin de Siècle* is the 1880s and 1890s, because using the term "Victorian Paris" just seems a bit odd, n’est-ce pas?)

Paris in the 1870s had just undergone the Haussman Reforms - many of the narrow, medieval-style streets had been demolished and straightened, and the new broad avenues (often tarmacked to deprive the Parisian mob easy access to paving stones) cut, not without coincidence, straight as a cannon shot through the metropole, linking the great monuments and palaces in a harmony of civil engineering.

Paris is a grey city. Granite and limestone facades, marble adornments, and gypsum "Plaster-of-Paris" create that unique, dreamy pale-and-cream grey that characterises Paris and makes her a favourite of 19th and 20th century artists. So, away with the red brick, which evokes 19th century Philadelphia or Chicago; gone the yellow brick so beloved of Georgian London or York. What we're looking for now is granite and limestone, and gypsum plaster stucco - the last possibly coloured with some added tinctures to relieve the monotonie grise.

To start, here are three European/French-style 25mm/28mm buildings by The Miniature Building Authority: 

Restaurant
The Dinner Clubs were an integral part of Parisian intellectual life, as political assemblies were banned under the Second Empire. Victor Hugo, Emile Zola and other influential intellectuals were usually members of one or more of these clubs.

28mm miniature by Artizan

A detached building. Size 7" x 4", with a 2" x 2 ½" extension , two floors, with a hipped roof. Suggests a rear allotment or back yard, stone, stuccoed walls are needed.

Outdoor dining was relatively uncommon in 19th century European cities, where the urbanites were more likely to visit the local suburban gardens and parks and either purchase food from vendors, or have an impromptu picnic. Still, for any Al Fresco advocates, the more Bohemian artists would enjoy dîner à l’extérieur on occasion, but usually in the back yard/allotment, away from the dust, dirt and odors of the street.

Cafe
A more purely urban building than the Restaurant, due to the clean gable ends. Size: 4 ¼" x 5", three stories. This model will go nicely as part of a row of houses along the street. I will probably use this model as a bakery (boulangerie), because in Paris, ya gotta have bread.

Cafe 

Caretan House
Caretan is found on the Normandy Coast, hence the model isn't taken from a Parisian design. That's not a problem, since - despite the windows on the gables, the ends are clean, and its size, 4" x 6", two stories, allowing for placement next to the Cafe/Boulangerie, probably as a working-class residence.
 

Caretan House - Front

Caretan House - Back

All of the MBA buildings listed here do well for 19th century Paris - dormer windows are a must. I'm still on the lookout for: The Patisseri and the Corner Shop(s).

Also from MBA. some 19th century street lamps. These were pre-painted, which is welcome. I might drag a dry brush of dark grey across the post to bring out the detail. 

These are out of production. I'm not sure why so many of Miniature Building Authority's European line is OOP. Perhaps the moulds were lost in China?

Notes:

All of these MBA buildings were supplied more-or-less painted, but each could do with some cleanup and dry-brushed highlighting. 

The scale is very much the smaller, non-"heroic" scale - which I usually refer to as "25mm/28mm". Larger 28mm/32mm scale buildings will not fit well with these, as I will demonstrate in the next, upcoming post.

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