17th-18th century field fortification

[robartes]

The last image isn't working for me, just blank at the mo.  I have some SYW fortifications to make and am following your project with interest. 

Yeah - that's Flickr for you. They seem to have this policy where they change the URL for an image the second you change something to it. I'm looking into other image hosters at the moment (for other reasons as well).

I'll have a looksee whether the URL for the image you're referring to has changed.

[robartes]

You're not copying the component. You've used the component to make something original - which presumably is what these components are intended for - and you're then going to copy the original thing you've made. Technically I'm not sure if that's illegal or not - I'm pretty sure you could argue it either way. But morally wrong? Harsh. I'm not sure anyone would really have grounds for serious complaint on that basis...
However, advertising the fact here is perhaps not quite such a good idea... 

I counter your 'fair enough' with one of mine. Fair enough

I had thought of the 'derived original work' angle as well - there's this 'fair use' concept in (at least) American copyright law which might apply. But as I was indeed advertising this to the world , and because it will always remain a muddy issue, I decided to take the high ground and abandon the idea altogether.

Interesting discussion, nevertheless

[Aaron]

I'm obviously not a lawyer and I certainly wasn't trying to moralise (frankly what robartes is doing doesn't bother me a bit). I do agree it would be unwise to publicly post about anything even remotely dodgy here for the sake of the prof.

[Silent Invader]

I'm looking into other image hosters at the moment (for other reasons as well).

A lot of use photobucket, though when you upload it can have really annoying adverts.

[YPU]

Optionally you could email TAG about it. If they say its not Ok you still haven't lost anything, but there is always the off chance they are ok with it.

[robartes]

And work progresses (incrementally):



Shell sand added to the bases.

[robartes]

And passed by the spraying booth:

[Christian]

These are looking very, very good.

[snitcythedog]

OK - even a hint of illegality is too much, so I'm going to call discretion the better part of valour here and not make copies of these fortifications.
I'll have a rummage through my bits box tonight and see what I can come up with to make extra fortifications instead of copies of questionable legality (not to speak of questionable morality).
Sorry for those of you waiting to see how plaster casts of something like this would work. I have made latex and plaster casts of (scratch built ) comparable items before and they work reasonably well, but I have no photos of those :/

Why don't you make your own gabions and cast those?  I did it and it is not too difficult.

These are in 28mm.  Get a wood dowel smaller than the right diameter that you intent to build.  Drill an odd number of holes around the base.  Loop 20 gauge wire through two holes on opposite sides until you have one hole left.  Tie a piece of 20 gauge wire around the bundle at the bottom of the base and insert the end through the last hole. With the wire frame done, then take a thin guage wire and weave it around o get the "woven"
surface.  Tuck in the end at the top and clip the uprights to the right height.  Add your sand to the top.  Use wood glue to seal up all the holes in the sides and hack off the base and sand flat.  
I made fifteen and did a silicone mold.  They would not sell on Ebay so it has sat on the shelf for a while.  I have made several sections of modular fortification and they work quite well.  Cast in dental plaster.  Hope that helps.
Snitchy sends.

[Christian]

I couldn't understand your instructions... do you have any WIP pics, Snitch?

[Belgian]

Sounds like an upcoming tutorial! hint hint ... 

[snitcythedog]

I couldn't understand your instructions... do you have any WIP pics, Snitch?

Sorry, I had a wife, a seven year old, and dinner all going at the same time when I wrote the instructions.
1.) Start out with a small piece of flat wood (I used door skin but a thin sheet of MDF will do)
2.) Cut a wood dowel to the height that you are looking to build the gabion up to.  The wood dowel should be slightly smaller than the gabion you are making because the wire will bulk the rest out later.
3.)  Glue the dowel to the base.
4.)  Once dry, drill the holes for your uprights around the base of the dowel.  It has to be an odd number of holes so space them accordingly.  Generally I drill four holes across from each other in the shape of a cross.  Then on three sides I drill two holes in between each of the initial quarter of the circle.  On the last quarter, I drill three holes.  This makes a total of 13 holes drilled in a circle around the base.  
5.)  Turn the dowel upside down so all you see is the holes.  Take some (here is a correction) 16 gauge wire (thicker wire) thread it through two opposite holes.  This will make the first two uprights next to the dowel.  Repeat for all twelve paired holes.  Under the base, it should now look like a star with the paired wires crisscrossing the center.  For the thirteenth hole, wrap some of your 16 gauge wire around the center of your mass of wires and thread it through the last hole.  This will help secure the whole mass.
6.)  Starting on the bottom, use superglue around each hole to help set the wires in place.  Then turn it over and do the top.
7.)  Drill a small pilot hole in between any two uprights.  Insert your thin gauge wire (I used 20 gauge) into the hole and superglue it in place.  Do not cut the wire from the spool, you will need quite a bit.
8.)  From where you glued the thin wire in place, start wrapping around the outside.  First around the outside of the first upright then inside of the next one.  After you go around two or three times, use a tool to press the wire down so it is uniformly woven around the dowel.  You might have to pull it tight every so often to get it in place. Wrap the whole way up to the top of the dowel.
9.)  When you get to the top, cut the thin wire a little long and tuck it into the weave.  
10.) Cut and file flat your uprights, and give the whole gabion some super glue to tack it down.
11.)  Apply your sand to the top.
12.)  Cut the base off the gabion, and then sand the bottom flat.
13.)  If you intend to cast it you need to fill all the holes in the weave.  Smear wood glue over the surface and then wipe it off so it sets into the weave.  Let it dry and then touch up again.

You will have one completed gabion.  If you still have trouble with the instructions I can take some pictures of the masters, or I might document making one (time permitting).  Hope that helped.
Here is the link to a complete set.
http://www.terragenesis.co.uk/gallery/gallery.php?album=47
Snitchy sends.

[snitcythedog]

I had some time so I did a quick tutorial for the Gabions on my blog.
http://snitchythedog.blogspot.com/2011/03/tutorial-for-gabions.html
Hope you like.
Snitchy sends.

[Cory]

That's a nice and inspirational explanation - thank you.

[robartes]

And here are the field fortifications in situ on the Holowczyn table under construction:



That's the Vabich river in the foreground with the hill on which Repnin's Russians will deploy behind it. The redoubts on the left were made earlier for a Poltava game.