Tom
Thanks for the lower poly model, it will look good from higher viewpoints.
Its horses for courses.
1 Very close in - model individual tiles/slates
2 Low angle (medium distance) - use modelled roof (ie mine)
3 higher angle (medium distance to infinity (and beyond!)) - use material only
This has got me re-thinking roofs, as you have now modelled the eaves boxing etc. why not take another step and also model the gutter. I keep adding gutters seperately and modelling them into this component will save time (I may also model the brackets while I'm at it!)
David