BSC2025 Mick in Switzerland's LOTR Siege Tower 30/3/2025 The Two Towers built...

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

This is not the model. This is a second mock up in plasticard to explore the size and shape.
This is made in plasticard with various struts and bits of sprue.

I think I have a good size to fit in with the figures and the GW Minas Tirith walls.
I think the side profile is good. The front is getting there but still not quite right.

The upper front armour should have four pleats and currently only has three.



I will keep ripping bits off and remaking them until I am happy with the form.

To make the final version in wood, I will dismantle the plasticard mock-up to make templates.

I will need to make some form of jig to make the side profiles exactly the same size and shape.

[Lost Egg]

You sir...are making me feel really behind  Your mock-up looks great and a cracking idea to make sure you get it scaled just right.

[McMordain]

You sir...are making me feel really behind  Your mock-up looks great and a cracking idea to make sure you get it scaled just right.

I'm not even sure what to build 

Looks great already.

[Spinal Tap]

Impressive pre-production work well ahead of my own which consists of a rough sketch and locating some wooden beads and chopsticks from under the work table.

Both ends of the evolutionary scale in evidence, it seems.

I'm going to tell myself you're an engineer whilst I am an artist.

 

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

@Spinal Tap.
You are  very perceptive. I do have a degree in Mechanical Engineering but that is almost 40 years ago. I also worked in product development for many years on backpacks & sleeping bags. I work for a Swiss mountaineering equipment and clothing company in Purchasing.

[Spinal Tap]

@Spinal Tap.
You are  very perceptive. I do have a degree in Mechanical Engineering but that is almost 40 years ago. I also worked in product development for many years on backpacks & sleeping bags. I work for a Swiss mountaineering equipment and clothing company in Purchasing.

Wow.

If that's Mammut then I've possibly slept in one of your designs.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Yes it is Mammut. I worked for Karrimor before that.

[Spinal Tap]

Yes it is Mammut. I worked for Karrimor before that.

I still have some Karrimor stuff from the 1990's; was brilliant kit at that time.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

I was at Karrimor from 1986 to early 2001 and then I went to Mammut.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Not much progress this week as I had a cold.

I have started to make a jig for the pleated front armour (left) and one for the side frames (right).

The side frames jig is most important. I plan to make two siege towers and that means I need four identical side frames.
This is a piece of plasticard embossed with small squares (Evergreen 4502).
Onto this I carefully drew the side frame and glued on small pieces of right angle so that the position of the frame struts and floors is fixed.
The jig is not finished yet as I need to decide on the size of the beams.
I will probably use 4mm square section wood, but 5mm will be easier to make joints.

The front jigs will allow me to build up the armour plates in pleats.
I think I will use thin plasticard and an awl to create holes representing nails or rivets.

[Lost Egg]

Cracking work sir. The more I look at this plog the more and more behind I feel 

I'm looking forward to seeing you start on the real thing.

[Daeothar]

Awesome work! Your plasticard mockup would be an acceptable final model for most of us!

Builds like this require constant test fitting and prototyping, and I love seeing others doing this (for a change  ). I'm not in the BSC this year, but watching your process has got me turning over all kinds of ideas in my head regardless 

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

I had a quiet weekend so was able to put some time into the build.

The side frame jig enabled me to make two matching side frames in about an hour.
When the white PVA glue dried I drilled each joint with a 1.2mm drill in a pin vice.
Then I used the Dremel with a 2mm drill to drill through.
I had to do a few repairs with superglue as some of the joints separated during drilling.
I used cocktail sticks as dowels, held with PVA.
Once dry I used side cutters and an emery board to remove the extra cocktail stick.
I now have two strong and almost identical side frames.



Once the sides were made I made the three floors using coffee stirrers.
I clamped about 20 coffee stirrers at a time into the Proxxon drill vice and then sawed them to 60mm long.
After a few minutes, I had 60 x 60mm planks.
The floors only took only a few minutes.



I made a simple roof and bridge and clad one side with planks.
This also only took a few minutes but gave me the shapes and sizes for the next part.



Today, I started to work out the drawbridge, the roof and the front armour.
It is starting to take shape but a lot of things are not quite right and most of it will need to be done again.





 

[Burgundavia]

Looks great, but you're going to pull it all apart? Madness

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

All the individual sub assemblies are separate, and two clamps are enough to hold it together.
 - Two sides with planking
 - Roof
 - Three floors
- Drawbridge
- Front upper armour (shape in balsa wood)
- Front lower armour
This means I can build a subassembly and then look at it and rework as needed.