Quote from: BedrockBrendan;918472This is honestly the most intimidating part of it for me. Buying miniatures, buying buildings, that I can handle. I never got into terrain, but if I am going to do this now, I'd like to incorporate it. It seems like a challenge. We have a model train store nearby in Peabody, so maybe I'll go there when I take my wife to work on monday. Any suggestions for what I should look for (I honestly don't know where to begin here).

If I may offer some advice, keep it simple and what's fun for you. Buying buildings and figures is a lot of the needful, right there; doing something to put them on is as simple or involved as you want to make it - and what you have room to store! Scenery can start with a simple canvas drop cloth from Home Depot - I use a lot of these for my games, and I enjoy painting them with 'maps' for specific games. ('Generic' scenery will also get a lot more use, I've found.) The pink or blue foam is great stuff, as you can 'dig' down into it for rivers and gullies - as was mentioned, don't use solvent-based paints as they'll melt the foam. Look in the Paint Department of the big-box DIYs like Lowe's or Home Depot; there will be literally gallons of paint going for cheap, and you'll usually be able to find shades in the colors you want. I cut up sheets of foam into modular tiles, and you can see these in action in the photos I have posted on my Photobucket page. Sawdust and latex house paint are your allies - and if you're like most of us, you have a relative with a home shop who'd be delighted to show off their skills and help you make things.

Trees and such - Woodland Scenics from the hobby shop are good, but you'll want to be careful with them. They're designed for stationary use on a model railway, and not for repeated handling. I put them on bases and handle the bases, which seems to extend their lifespan. Water is gloss varnish, applied over the latex paint you got from the discount rack. I get really cheap foliage and plants from the crafts stores and the pet stores, separate them from their stalks, and hot-melt glue them to bases A little paint, a little sawdust, and there you are - jungles and woods that are cheal and durable.

Look in the pet shops for Asian buildings - I once got a great model of the Temple of Heaven in Bejing on clearance for $10. A little paint, and it's been in games for years.

Another completely whacked-out idea:  If you're only looking for the representation, and less concerned about the 'realism' of it?

Pause for effect.

Get Legos.

Quote from: Crüesader;918632Another completely whacked-out idea:  If you're only looking for the representation, and less concerned about the 'realism' of it?

Pause for effect.

Get Legos.

I actually thought of using legos. But I think I want to go for something that looks a little more convincing. Mostly I am not looking to do historical battles, but swordplay movie locations and fights (inns, courtyard houses, tea houses, temples, wilderness, etc).

Quote from: chirine ba kal;918630If I may offer some advice, keep it simple and what's fun for you. Buying buildings and figures is a lot of the needful, right there; doing something to put them on is as simple or involved as you want to make it - and what you have room to store! Scenery can start with a simple canvas drop cloth from Home Depot - I use a lot of these for my games, and I enjoy painting them with 'maps' for specific games. ('Generic' scenery will also get a lot more use, I've found.) The pink or blue foam is great stuff, as you can 'dig' down into it for rivers and gullies - as was mentioned, don't use solvent-based paints as they'll melt the foam. Look in the Paint Department of the big-box DIYs like Lowe's or Home Depot; there will be literally gallons of paint going for cheap, and you'll usually be able to find shades in the colors you want. I cut up sheets of foam into modular tiles, and you can see these in action in the photos I have posted on my Photobucket page. Sawdust and latex house paint are your allies - and if you're like most of us, you have a relative with a home shop who'd be delighted to show off their skills and help you make things.
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I have very little talent with crafts. But if I wanted to make a courtyard house (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/6d/b9/0a/6db90a56ebcd7cdd8b96253d6e469f64.jpg), what materials would you recommend? I want the architecture to look convincing and to be somewhat historically accurate (at least the best I can do with the boys on the stuff I have on hand), but I am hoping not to spend twenty to fifty bucks each for the individual halls and walls.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;918636I have very little talent with crafts. But if I wanted to make a courtyard house (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/6d/b9/0a/6db90a56ebcd7cdd8b96253d6e469f64.jpg), what materials would you recommend? I want the architecture to look convincing and to be somewhat historically accurate (at least the best I can do with the boys on the stuff I have on hand), but I am hoping not to spend twenty to fifty bucks each for the individual halls and walls.

Understood! I limit myself to about the same amounts, basing my buying on how much time it would save me to buy something.

My thought on a courtyard house would be to look for a website on Asian architecture; I used to have a book full of side elevations of such buildings, and I would scan and print out the plans in the size I needed for the figures. Cut out the paper plans, and glue to the foamcore that was mentioned earlier; cut any needed doors, color in the plans (if they aren't already) and glue the laminated sheets together. Tile roofing is a little more finicky; glue the plans to cardstock and bend as needed for curved roofing. I model roofing as needed; if I need to get inside a building for a game, I tend to leave the roof off entirely and treat the building as a 'stage set'. About the only reason for roofing is when the players want to run around on them, and at that point a flat roof printed with tiling will work better in the game.

One side benefit: ask the boys to help color in the plans.

I'd also suggest looking on the Internet for card models; these are usually pretty cheap, look good, and are pretty easy to build. I got a huge set on DriveThruRPG - there's a Mayan city my Missus got me that's a lot of fun. If you can use a pair of scissors, you can do this...

Last year I helped a kid make a pre-fab paper model of Angkor Wat and that turned out really nice.
Here are some paper and wood kits to make Chinese buildings:
https://www.aliexpress.com/popular/beijing-construction.html

Some are likely too small, unless you go with smaller miniatures. You'd have to figure out the size you'd need... I'm assuming 28mm, which would make that layout you linked to really big on the table. If you found some of the ones where you print them yourselves, often they're free, you could adjust the size to fit.

As for the house, I don't know if this would help:

http://www.cadnav.com/3d-models/model-19102.html

Looking at the picture, a lot of the atmosphere comes from that curved roof.  I would use something like cardboard (thinner card board) that I could bend.  I would imitate the ribs by getting a couple of thicker pieces of cardboard, curving them to fit and gluing them in place.  There wouldn't be very many of these, just enough to give an idea.  For the support, I would cut some pieces of thicker cardboard to a template, and use these to curve the roof to.  I suspect my village would have a lot of thatched roofs.

Any solid piece that needn't be opened can be made out of styrofoam, painted--so an outer defensive wall.  Given all the big items that come packed in packing, finding suitable pieces shouldn't be too hard.

For anything that has to open up, the roof and the two kind-of triangular pieces can be made one piece, and the area below can be made out of a box.

This is a site put up by an alumnus from my university wargaming club.  He mainly builds out of little tiny plaster blocks, but his articles on timber treatment and thatched roof are relevant here...http://ryan.skow.org/

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;918467My setting is Song Dynasty roughly, but I will check this one out.

Out of curiosity, what year do you plan to set the game?

Quote from: Crabbyapples;918919Out of curiosity, what year do you plan to set the game?

It is a fantasy setting inspired by the Song Dynasty period. So there isn't a specific year.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;918926It is a fantasy setting inspired by the Song Dynasty period. So there isn't a specific year.

Sounds like fun.

Do you plan to use Water Margin for inspiration?

Quote from: Crabbyapples;919669Sounds like fun.

Do you plan to use Water Margin for inspiration?

The Water Margin had some influence (I have a monk named Abbot Firebrand inspired by the Flowery Monk) but the chief sources of inspirations are wuxia films and series.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I think between all the different places I can cobble together what I need (just looks like I may need to mind the scale so I don't get stuff that is unexpectedly the wrong size for what I am after). I am going to slowly work my way into the terrain aspect of this. I also decided to splurge a little and get some Dwarven Forge stuff to use as a base. The cavern set looks especially flexible for my purposes. So I may take the cavern pieces and combine it with some of the Chinese style dwelling houses and other elements people linked to, to make a Ancient Tomb Sect-type dungeon.

Here is one that uses a cut up cork board;

http://www.matakishi.com/makingachinesehouse.htm

That looks straight forward enough.  Were I to try for the curved roof, I would substitute a thin cardboard, as I said, that I can bend, or paper, and I would probably take some old towel material and comb it flat to go for the thatched roof look.

Quote from: wombat1;920223Here is one that uses a cut up cork board;

http://www.matakishi.com/makingachinesehouse.htm

That looks straight forward enough.  Were I to try for the curved roof, I would substitute a thin cardboard, as I said, that I can bend, or paper, and I would probably take some old towel material and comb it flat to go for the thatched roof look.

That looks really cool (and not terribly difficult). Is cork board something you can cut with an exacto knife?

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;920225That looks really cool (and not terribly difficult). Is cork board something you can cut with an exacto knife?

Cuts like butter. Just make sure that the blade is sharp and that you have a straight edge to run it against.

Shemek.