Pages

Saturday 3 June 2017

The day-glo castle ... isn't day-glo any longer!

I decided that repainting the day-glo castle I had bought from the aquarium section of a pet store would be an ideal little project to undertake over the next week or so as my diary is rather full, and I won't have time to do much else.

After cleaning the resin casting and removing any extraneous bits of resin that had been left attached to the model, I glued it to a Hexon II single hex template.



It fitted almost perfectly on one half of the hex, leaving enough space for figures etc., to be placed on the empty half.

Having left the glue to cure overnight, I then primed the casing with grey matt enamel paint.



I could probably got away with not using a primer coat, but I wanted to make sure that the paint I was going to use would have a good surface to key onto.

28 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Rob Young,

      It's surprising what a difference a single coat of paint can make!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Well done,a great start.l look forward to what comes next...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tradgardmastare,

      The next stage is to undercoat the model, and then I can start on the topcoat.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Looks a lot better...but useable? I think the jury's still out.

    Definitely a possible for Baron Munchausen fantasy 18th century but in reality I still think it some restructuring. Get that Grand Designs bloke in...or possibly Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. Look forward to further develoments.

    Cheers
    Andrew

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rumblestrip (Andrew),

      Don't forget, I bought it after watching THE PRISONER OF ZENDA ... and it could easily end up as Black Michael's castle.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. Very "Imaginations". Surprising what even a lick of undercoat can do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barry Carter,

      I totally agree with your comments. After all, its purchase was inspired by watching THE PRISONER OF ZENDA.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. The Good Soldier Svjek,

      Cheers! I'm very pleased with the project's progress so far.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  6. Bob,
    Yes- a good undercoat on plastic or resin models is always a good idea - to key the color coat when applied...it is a nice little Castle too. Cheers. KEV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kev Robertson,

      The grey undercoat also 'killed' the day-glo very effectively.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  7. As long as you don't paint it pink it will be fine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim Duncan,

      Oh well, that means I cannot use it for the Castle of the Pink Knight then. What a pity ...

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  8. Now its potential is easier to see. I would be tempted to risk it and remove the central tower, not for looks but to allow a garrison on top of the tower. One outside should work though, esp if you add the suggestion of a low courtyard wall around one or more of the hex edges.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ross Mac,

      There should be room for some troops on the roof even if I leave the middle turret as it is. I may well add a low wall around the courtyard if enough room for a base of troops remains inside the walls.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  9. Vast improvement. You could almost make a bailey wall along the open 3 sides of the stand, and still have room for soldiery...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo,

      I'm going to see if adding a wall to the model is possible, but I suspect that it might not leave enough space inside for a base of troops to garrison the castle.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  10. In other news, unicorn castles become a rare expensive collectors item ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephen Briddon,

      I suspect that you are not treating this project very seriously.

      No unicorn castles were harmed by this project ... yet! ;^)

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. Not at all. I believe this is project is very significant.

      Delete
    3. Stephen Briddon,

      I am amazed at the number of comments that this castle project has attracted. It was a spur-of-the-moment purchase made to give me a light-heated project to follow on from the serious work I had been doing on the latest PW book.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    4. Seriously I like this. I can see it as a Bavarian style castle at the center of some Zendaesque imagi-nation. There has to be scope for a scenario there. Perhaps a coup d'etat in Ruritania with the rightful king stuck in the tower who needs rescuing? A series of connected scenarios as a campaign? Who knows?

      Delete
    5. Stephen Briddon,

      I must admit that now that I am working on this project, it has made me even more aware of the wargaming possibilities of this sort of object. I may even look out for another, similar castle so that I can populate my version of Ruritanian (or Syldavia) with at least one more imposing castle-like structure.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  11. It's a standing joke in my family that I look at everything on a 'what can I use that for?' basis - which means I buy a lot of stuff that never gets used...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rob Young,

      I suspect that quite a few of us do the same.

      Thank God for eBay ... where we can pass on our unwanted to stuff to others who also see its unfulfilled potential.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  12. I am afraid that I am late to this discussion. Bob, your purchase has created a lively discussion on this - thank you. For me, game terrain just suggests what is there to represent, I have no problem with a few houses reprinting a town, I will never own a SCALE miniature castle, but this piece is lovely. It screams central Europe and an imagination principality with a very high opinion of itself! Very cool when you think about it. One piece of terrain that can set the scenario all by itself!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jon Meech,

      I must admit that as I have been working on this project, it has grown on me, and I am now thinking seriously about creating a scenario in which it will feature.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

Thank you for leaving a comment. Please note that any comments that are spam or contain phishing messages or that come from Google Accounts that are 'Unknown' will be deleted.