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 :)
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Bored of creating cliffs and itching to build something i started work on the causeway. |
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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!) |
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As i had predicted, creating a gradual slope whilst bending to one side was very challenging. |
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Once the filla was dry i undercoated it all with black paint. |
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Followed by a heavy drybrush with slate grey. |
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Back to the detailing, i textured the edges inside the keep with sand. |
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This looks abit odd now but once painted just adds texture. |
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Using woodland scenics liquid earth pigments (Burnt umber and slate grey) i began to paint the rocks. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Whilst fixing the rocks i undercoated the entire base black. |
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The inner walls were painted to match the deeping wall. |
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And the seams between the rocks and walls were tidied using watered down black paint. |
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The bridge was sanded to fit between the wall sections and then undercoated. |
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I drilled three small holes into the inner wall for the bridge to pin into place. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Supports were added to the inside of the keep to add some structural integrity. |
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The steps were cast and glued into place, later the polystyrene was polyfillered and the brickwork
carved (again whilst drying) |
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As a continued to raise the tower height, i began making a framework for the connecting rock face. |
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I remove the piece and began casting/shaping to rocks to fit. The rocks were attached with No more nails. |
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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. |
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The rocks covered 3 sides of the framework and were fitted around the wall sections, tower and keep |
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Due to the weight of the section (all the sections end up very heavy) i had to add some supports inside. |
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Polyfilla was again used to fill in any gaps. |
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I added an old Eaglemoss figure to represent the statue of Helm Hammerhand.
I spray painted it at a later date. |
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Almost finished!!!!!
The Tower was primed and painted- the roof is even removable :) |
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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. |
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And with that, the fortress was finished! |
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It took me about 10 months, from start to finish.
(Although i did stop working on it for a few months in the middle) |
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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. |
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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 :)
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