The wall sections of my modular fortress were constructed from a single 50mm x 50mm square of MDF and six sections of 50mm-long pine. I used a water-proof white wood glue to glue the various components together.
To construct a single section of wall I began by gluing the wider edge of one of the pine sections to the square of MDF, thus:
I then glued the wider edge of a second section of pine next to the first, thus:
I then glued the narrower edge of a third section of pine next to the second section, thus:
Using the protruding edge of the third section of pine as a guide, I then glued the wider edge of a fourth section of pine on top of the second section, thus:
I then glued the wider edge of the fifth section of pine on top of the first section, thus: (This completed the construction of the wall's firing step.)
I finished by gluing the narrow edge of the sixth section of pine on top of the third section, thus:
(This created the wall's parapet.)
The construction of the wall section was now complete, and as can be seen from the following photographs, my 15mm-scale Essex Miniatures fit rather well atop the wall.
I have now constructed fifteen such wall sections. It took me two days to build all fifteen wall as at each stage in the construction process I waited for the glue to completely set before moving on to the next stage.
The next parts of the modular fortress that I intend to build are the towers, after which I will construct a tower/gateway. Once all these sections are complete I will seal all the wooden surfaces with PVA glue prior to painting them.
To construct a single section of wall I began by gluing the wider edge of one of the pine sections to the square of MDF, thus:
I then glued the wider edge of a second section of pine next to the first, thus:
I then glued the narrower edge of a third section of pine next to the second section, thus:
Using the protruding edge of the third section of pine as a guide, I then glued the wider edge of a fourth section of pine on top of the second section, thus:
I then glued the wider edge of the fifth section of pine on top of the first section, thus: (This completed the construction of the wall's firing step.)
I finished by gluing the narrow edge of the sixth section of pine on top of the third section, thus:
(This created the wall's parapet.)
The construction of the wall section was now complete, and as can be seen from the following photographs, my 15mm-scale Essex Miniatures fit rather well atop the wall.
I have now constructed fifteen such wall sections. It took me two days to build all fifteen wall as at each stage in the construction process I waited for the glue to completely set before moving on to the next stage.
The next parts of the modular fortress that I intend to build are the towers, after which I will construct a tower/gateway. Once all these sections are complete I will seal all the wooden surfaces with PVA glue prior to painting them.
How many sets of Tumbling Towers are you expecting to buy Bob?
ReplyDeleteLooks good so far. Without anything for reference I thought the pine blocks were probably an inch wide at least and was curious how the 15s would fit. The pictures with troops was a pleasant surprise! Just right!
ReplyDeleteJim Duncan,
ReplyDeleteI bought six or seven sets of the Tumbling Towers games some months ago from the local branch of Poundland. I used some of the pieces of pine to make the playing pieces from the session I put on at COW2015; the rest have been in storage waiting for me to find a use for them.
All the best,
Bob
Ross Mac,
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for your kind comment.
The pieces of pine are approximately 50mm x 17mm x 12mm (the games they come from only costs £1.00, and there are 39 pieces in each game). I spent a bit of time playing around with the pieces and a figure base before coming up with the design I used. I am now working on the towers that will form the corners of the fortress and part of the main gateway.
All the best,
Bob
A very robust arrangement Bob- looking forward to 'Part 3'. KEV.
ReplyDeleteKev,
ReplyDeleteRobust is an excellent word to describe my modelling method! I like to make my models as damage-proof as possible; that way they survive my handling!
Part 3 will hopefully appear later this week ... so keep reading the blog.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteThose blocks are incredibly useful! As you may recall my block armies originally started life as Jenga equivalent blocks from the Works. The idea for the walls looks really good and I am looking forward to seeing the towers in due course.
They should certainly be robust in use!
All the best,
DC
David Crook,
ReplyDeleteThe blocks of wood are extremely useful ... but at present all my local branches of Poundland have sold out of them! I have found some others (slightly smaller and slightly more expensive) that I can use to finish off my current project, but I will buy some more of the Poundland ones as and when they become available again.
Even the blocks that you bought in The Works are not available at present, and I hope to buy some of them if I see any on sale. They might be a different size to the ones I am currently using, but I am sure that I will find a used for them ... even if I don't turn them into block armies like yours.
It has always been my adage to build my models so that they are as wargamer-proof as possible ... which of course mean as robust as I can make them.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteWe have a Poundland in Basildon as I recall so next time we are there I will keep an eye out. They are even cheaper than the ones in the Works although slightly smaller.
At a pound a go they are a bargain and have a huge number of uses.
All the best,
DC
David Crook,
ReplyDeleteIf you see them, please buy them for me! They were substantially cheaper than the ones sold in The Works even though they were 33% smaller.
They have all sorts of uses, and are well worth having in ones 'stock' of wargaming bits and pieces/spares box.
All the best,
Bob