Adobe buildings are suitable for South-Western United States of America, Mexico, Spain, North Africa, Middle East and India. They are also ideal for 'low-tech' native buildings for use in science-fiction gaming, and complement the 'Gothic Bunker' series.

Adobes are available in both 15mm. scale and (apart from the adobe quadrangle, Ad-07) 25mm. scale.

Adobe buildings are constructed from sun-dried bricks of sandy-clay ('adobe bricks'). The methods of making these bricks vary from region to region, although they are all similar to the methods used by the Ancient Egyptians over five thousand years ago.

A sandy clay ('adobe soil') is mixed with water and left to stand for a day or so. Fibrous material (grass, straw, rushes, etc.) is then thoroughly trampled into the mixture, the wet mass is then formed or cast (using wooden moulds) into bricks which are left in the sun to dry. Depending on the care in which the bricks are made, they can be very regular, as if they were machine-manufactured. Some bricks were even cast with marks, or cartouches, identifying the period in which the buildings were constructed. Adobe bricks were also used to build temporary ramps and platforms during the construction of stone buildings, statues and monuments

Adobe buildings are assembled using brick mixture as a cement. After construction, the bare bricks were often plastered with adobe soil or adobe brick mixture and then may be whitewashed. Because the colour of the adobe soil varies from region to region, the adobe buildings vary in colour from brown, through orange and tan, or white if whitewashed.

Adobes are popular when other building materials such as wood are expensive or in short supply. Apart from the occasional wooden lintel over a door or window, and roof stiffening or upper floors, adobes are almost entirely constructed of mud bricks. Adobe is also the ultimate recyclable material - if a building is no longer required, it can be pulled down and the rubble mixed with water to make new brick mixture.

Adobe buildings are cool, strong, cheap to construct and easy to repair or modify and, unless they are exposed to moisture, can last hundreds of years.The paint guide is also applicable to the 25mm plaster/stucco covered bricks or stone ruins range, which are designed to be extremely flexible in their application. They can be used as adobe ruins (from 8000 BC to the present day), Roman ruins and Western European (and Colonial) ruins from the twelfth century to the present day.

Two methods can be used: The first method is slower but relies less on technique and is fairly repeatable if you have a lot of models to do. The second method produces more variation, suitable for structures produced over a period of time by different builders.

Method 1:

• Prime the model with white primer and allow to thoroughly dry.
• Cover the entire model with a thinned layer of raw sienna oil paint. While the paint is still wet, wipe it off with a piece of sponge (the little squares used in figure blister packs are ideal). This will stain the white primer a pale light brown and leave traces of paint trapped in the crevices of the model.
• Use fresh pieces of sponge as they become filled with paint, the last wipe-down should be done with a dry piece.
• Use a brush wetted with thinners to clean up around windows, doors or brickwork to avoid obscuring detail through paint build-up. When you're satisfied with the appearance, set the model aside to dry, preferably overnight in a warm place.
• Details such as doors and window frames can be painted as desired. Clean the sponges with white spirit and allow to dry in a well-ventilated area.

If you are in a hurry to do a couple of buildings, acrylic colours are brighter and dry much faster, although enamels are fine if you prefer using them.

Method 2: