Helm Deep- FINISHED.

At last, i am finally finished. At least, the main structure is finished... there are still some final details that i need to get around to (a couple of doors/stairs etc.) but i'll get around to that in a couple of months time, for now i'm done :)

Bored of creating cliffs and itching to build something i started work on the causeway.

The causeway was built from scraps of polystyrene and then covered in polyfilla
(this time i chose to carve the brick work whilst it was drying which save ALOT of time!)

As i had predicted, creating a gradual slope whilst bending to one side was very challenging.

Once the filla was dry i undercoated it all with black paint.

Followed by a heavy drybrush with slate grey.

Back to the detailing, i textured the edges inside the keep with sand.

This looks abit odd now but once painted just adds texture.

Using woodland scenics liquid earth pigments (Burnt umber and slate grey) i began to paint the rocks.

This is an incredibly quick method of painting cast rocks and looks very realistic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SfP4RpcDYw  They have lots of videos
on youtube explaining how to use their products.

The one issue i encountered was that the pigments did not colour the polyfilla
i had used to fill the gaps between rocks. This was fixed later using watered down black paint.

Whilst fixing the rocks i undercoated the entire base black.

The inner walls were painted to match the deeping wall.

And the seams between the rocks and walls were tidied using watered down black paint.

The bridge was sanded to fit between the wall sections and then undercoated.

I drilled three small holes into the inner wall for the bridge to pin into place.

On the bridge, i drilled holes to match and glued in place pins made from paperclips.
This way the bridge could be removed for storage.

The bridge was a detail i almost left out, but i decided it would make an interesting gaming
element and i wanted to remain true to the weta original.

Supports were added to the inside of the keep to add some structural integrity.

The steps were cast and glued into place, later the polystyrene was polyfillered and the brickwork
carved (again whilst drying)

As a continued to raise the tower height, i began making a framework for the connecting rock face.

I remove the piece and began casting/shaping to rocks to fit. The rocks were attached with No more nails.

I tried to use up my spare rocks, including the originals i used when i was first experimenting
with colours. As a result this one ends up looking slightly different, but simply added to the realism. 

The rocks covered 3 sides of the framework and were fitted around the wall sections, tower and keep

Due to the weight of the section (all the sections end up very heavy) i had to add some supports inside.

Polyfilla was again used to fill in any gaps.

I added an old Eaglemoss figure to represent the statue of Helm Hammerhand.
I spray painted it at a later date.

Almost finished!!!!!
The Tower was primed and painted- the roof is even removable :)

I painted the rocks to match the others. (Notice the one which is slightly different)
I blended the two types with i few washes, to make it look more natural.

And with that, the fortress was finished!

It took me about 10 months, from start to finish.
(Although i did stop working on it for a few months in the middle)

At some point in the future i will probably redo the cliffs to the right of the fortress,
replacing them with cast rocks like the others.

I added three gargoyles/lions-head things to the keep for extra detail.

In the next couple of weeks i shall be inviting several friends around for the day to play a huge War Of The Ring battle on it, using adapted rules for sieges and special senario objectives etc. My younger brother and I did a play test of the game yesterday, which took about 7 hours- The basic rules work but some things did need slight altering to make the game more exciting/balanced.

I hope you enjoyed watching the build as it progressed and i think i've got the bug as i plan to host a couple of large scenario games throughout the year. Currently deciding between Orthanc/Isengard (including dam and orc mining scaffolds) or the Black Gate as my next big project.. Hmmmmm.. both have their merits but the idea of a dozen ents running around the board just makes me giggle like a little girl.

I shall try to take some pictures of the Big Game so you can all see it when its covered in painted troops and being attacked by approximately 400 orcs/uruks (still painting most of them though!)

Please feel free to comment/share or ask me question if want..

Until next time :)

Helms Deep- Landscaping

In reality, i was probably abit premature saying there was 'light at the end of the tunnel' in the last post... as i continued working i realized there is still alot more to be done!

But it is once again that time when i remember to update the world on my current progress with the project. As well as slaving away at the fortress, i have also starting play testing rules/scenarios and building/painting the forces which will do battle in the big opening game on the board... i have been given a three week deadline (yikes!!).

I used a variety of woodland scenics rock molds to build up the cliffs.

A few 'scraps' from pieces i broke making the wall were added to make it look as if it were built from the mountain.

Care was taken to ensure the rocks didn't interfere with the placement of the wall sections.

Pollyfilla was used to fill in the gaps and make it you seamless.

I found that ready mixed filla worked best.

The steps were made from polystyrene and cardboard covered with pollyfila.

Having been playing wotr quite abit in the last few weeks i decided i needed a modular gaming table on which to fight my battles... i did check out the realm of battle board and nearly passed out at the price, even on ebay it was still pretty pricey! So, i decided to make my own!

I was determined to include some of the same details but chose to design mine so that it could also be used for basing helms deep.

First i bought 8 mdf boards (the other 2 i haven't started yet)- 2foot square- for just under £20 :)

I used ready mixed pollyfilla to create the rocks.

I had to cook the sand in the oven to dry it out before use .. this got a few odd looks.

Next i textured the boards with sand.

Somehow this step took almost all day.

I used a spray bottle filled with watered down pva to speed the process up.

After drawing in the detail, i used a knife to carve the rocky outcrops.

Spray paints were used to paint the board and undercoat the rocks.

My board had to be flat (unlike the realm of battle) so helms deep could sit on it.

The rocks were drybrushed grey.

I used paints i had lying around.. but this could be achieved using game workshops paints.

I also repainted my hill to match the boards (i've lost the other half)

The boards still need flocking and in reality should be drybrushed to bring out the detail but at the moment i really can't be bothered.. i may try dusting it using spray paints instead..

I started basing the Uruk hai and movement trays.

There is still alot more to paint.

This isn't the entire army.. and when finished it'll hopefully be huge!!

So thats it so far..
I have already done even more to it than shown here, but i'll save that for another post.. being the summer holidays, i am in a haze of hobby madness before work starts again in September.