In answer to your question:

Village:
Cross section design on building (brown or black)
Different colors add interest to the scene
Sloping roofs (sometimes different colors)
A few windows at least
Chimneys
Some sort of path (dirt, possibly cobble)
Everyday medieval stuff (carts, stalls, horses, etc.)
Stone or no stone

Forest:
Brown bricks with brown arches, dark green plants?
Other vegetation, with different landscape and elevation
Reddish brown pretty much the same as brown
Link to Tree Reddish Brown Brick, Round :http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=Ch … D=25904088

Though I don’t know what bricks are available to you, the first and foremost detail is that the medieval village houses should ALWAYS have a criss-cross pattern cutting through the basic color (see our screen shot below). 

This is a touch that makes people usually label the house as “medieval.”  The rest of the building is all up to you and is usually based on what materials you have.   Chimneys, sloping roofs, numerous windows, and any other realistic medieval thing are bonuses. 

In the village itself, adding things that were part of everyday medieval life add to the realism of the shot, such as cart wheels, stalls, etc. 

As for the forest, I found this bricklink seller in the UK that is selling the part you need for a relatively reasonable price.
http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=Ch … D=25904088
Reddish brown is almost exactly the same as brown, and most people do not recognize the difference, especially if they are used as only a back drop (in case you didn’t know.)

If this for some reason does not work for you, then what we are using in our forest are brown arches stacked on brown slopes and bricks.  Depending on what you want, this may or may not work. 
    Hope this helps (sorry for such a long post).  If you want more help, you can PM us with more details on what you want.  Also, thanks for the compliment in the first post!

- BuilderBrother Daniel (Props Designer for BBS)

Last edited by BuilderBrothers (November 3, 2011 (09:27pm))