Afghan market town in 28mm

Cold Wars 2023 will be taking place from March 9th-13th. There I plan to run a Force on Force battle with Taliban attacking a 3rd Para Forward Operating Base just outside an Afghan town. As Force on Force requires a lot of terrain for a realistic battle, I decided that I needed some extra buildings and a market for the Afghan market town.

I had previously bought about six, two story Afghan houses from Etsy, and I was pleased with them. So I decided to go back to Etsy for some larger buildings, as I wanted to create height on the table. I found a row of shops/small businesses and a larger concrete apartment building.

Preparing the Afghan market town buildings

Row of shops primed black.
Apartment building primed black

Like many of the buildings on Etsy, they had been 3D printed. I washed the buildings in a mild soap solution. I don’t know if it is necessary with 3D printed models, but it is a simple step. Finally, I primed the buildings black with a hand applied Vallejo black primer.

Base coating the buildings

Spray painted

I then spray painted the buildings sand on the outside. As I have a lot to do for Cold Wars, I decided not to detail the insides. I left the insides black. I can always go back and detail the insides later.

Sponge application.

To break up the flat texture of the models and to hide any printing layer lines, I took a sponge and applied a layer of a slightly darker sand. This instantly improved the building appearance.

Railroad ballast to the roof

I then added model railroad ballast to the roof and secured with scenic cement.

Weathering the buildings

Weathering powder application.

After the roof of the apartment was dry I got to work with a couple of weathering powder colors. These take some time to apply with a brush, but they really bring the building to life. I then added some Afghan signs to the buildings. I cut the signs from internet photos and printed onto paper. Afterwards, I then applied them with white glue and weathered them. I also added some model railroad graffiti decals. Finally, the door and windows were painted and weathered. I then sealed the buildings with a coat of matte varnish.

The finished Afghan market town

I then took some pictures with some of the market stands that I recently made. I purchased all of these items from Etsy, Internet vendors and trade show vendors. The base is just my kitchen counter as I did not have time to get my desert terrain mat out today. I will be play testing this game early February and I will have some pictures then. I have about 50 Afghan Civilians that I am half way through painting, so they will add to the market hustle and bustle.

The following pictures show the completed scene, which I think captures the feel of an Afghan market town.

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