Fantasy Village of Dunbrough (updated 2013-04-07)

[OSHIROmodels]

Even though it's old, it's still a beauty 

I built up the sides of the roads beneath the vinyl piece so that the road sinks down in the middle.

It's things like this that set aside the excellent from the just plain good 

You have been an inspiration for my own 'Empire' buildings, a project with which I shall carry on with after Salute.

cheers

James

[FramFramson]

Maybe that gate still has a place as a side gate? Can you still work it into your table like that, with walls on two sides, instead of just one. They needn't be fully perpendicular of course... the secondary wall could follow a diagonal or curve that runs off the table.

Also, I think the main gate can still be sort of ramshackle. What's really the issue is that the gate is not impressive enough. This gates blends architecturally, but it also blends because it's the same size and build as many of your buildings, with no obvious command post or guard quarters/barracks, nor is there a barbican, portcullis, or proper flanking towers (since they have been cannibalized and overbuilt, turning them into city buildings), and not much in the way of battlements (just that narrow strip directly over the gate).

It's still a beautiful piece of work, but it really does look like a side gate that was overbuilt with town buildings rather than a large main gate capable of accommodating siege engines or massed troops.

Now, the current gate is actually just fine if you're looking at a city that has been at peace for a long while. It's an older style (no portcullis or moat, old low wooden hoardings, etc.) and has been gradually claimed by the city (those tower buildings would be a terrible fire danger in a real time of war and don't look like they can be properly used by military defenders). This does actually match the rest of your town, which has far more trade buildings than military ones and no real keep to speak of.

If you want to have a second version of the gate, a more properly military one if things are rougher, you may also want to consider a keep (and maybe even a barracks/stables/watch-post/military supply) as additional internal buildings (maybe just have the front of a keep along a far wall, or a keep can swap out with the Temple of Time on the hill?).

A third option is a compromise: Rebuild your existing gate by adding a built-on barbican outside, with more substantial defences and no city encroachment (the barbican walls should connect to the main wall, farther out than the existing old towers). In the space between the newer outer gate and the old inner gate you can add a command/guard post and - if it's still peacetime and you still want to play to the town's peace-and-trade feel - you can also have a customs checkpoint - maybe one on the left and the other on the right, or both combined, with some hawkers on the opposite wall.

Having the barbican "added on" would also fit the evolved feel of the town where everything has been built upon over time and the scenery would tell a story: The story would be that originally there was an old-style gate with weak defences, which was gradually built on by civilians in peacetime, and which compromised the town's security somewhat (the current state of your gate). Then at some point the local lord grew worried and added newer model defences by building the barbican around it. These have not been encroached yet, but there can be hints of that (hawkers inside the barbican).

A FOURTH option is to have the local lord "fight" the city, by adding new properly flanking towers forward of the existing towers and tacking on some additional hoardings etc.. So first the civilians started to consume the gate, then the lords pushed back by trying to re-militarize the gate so it could better fulfill it's original purpose. Of course this will make it look even MORE ramshackle, but that can actually work.

So I think you have a lot of options here.

- It's fine! What are you worried about?
- Make a whole new gate as planned, using this as a secondary gate.
- Make a whole new gate that's much more substantial and newer internal buildings to match.
- Add a Barbican around the existing gate.
- Rebuild the old gate with additional towers, hoardings, etc.

[manic _miner]

 I think the gatehouse looks great as it is.Amazing terrain you have.Love the attention to detail and the photo's are amazing too.

[Theomar Pius]

Thanks for the feedback guys, very well thought out, more thought out than I did, .
I always imagined this city as having once been a castle up on a prominence, which was eventually razed by an invading army. The king moved the castle further upstream into the foot of a small mountain. The Church moved in and built a temple over the ruins of the castle, and the trade city remained, fortified by a ring wall. Many concessions and treaties meant that the local king becomes a lord in his own land, subservient to a greater regional king in favor of protection from the larger army.

The general consensus ois most folks like the gate as it is, . I mostly want to rebuild it because I'm almost done with the buildings of this town, but don't really want to stop building the town, so I'm thinking about re-building the town instead. Who knows, I really want to build an Elven town also, it's all aways off though.

[FramFramson]

Well, your buildings fit that story well. The only real question is whether you want the town to reflect total peace (i.e. it's a centrepiece/home for campaigns that mostly take place elsewhere) or if perhaps there's some danger in the land that the locals would be expected to defend against.

Or if you'd rather just move on to other projects! 

[FramFramson]

Oh! One other idea is to only make a small added-on guard post just outside the gate; like a checkpoint. You can have a customs man looking over carts with a guard backing him up and a sergeant asleep in the guard box.

That would add back a little of the military/official tone to the gate while still keeping the quiet feel of the town. And it would be a minimal addition you could add on a thin crescent/rectangle/trapzoidal base that sits against the gate base.

[Thantsants]

I think its perfect - very Port Blacksand in character.

Mind you if you don't want it anymore... 

[Theomar Pius]

After the Gates came the Blacksmith shop, what medieval town would be complete without one? This was a fun project because I had to build both the interior and exterior in the forge section.

[Mo!]

Wow! Like a photo from a real building... so good it unbeliefable

[manic _miner]

 Another great piece.You need to do some how to articles for us novices.

[Jnicolas]

OH MY GOD !!!!!


like your work
is Beautiful !!!!

[Zaheer]

VERY impressive. I wish I had the space to do the same!

[Gibby]

Such amazing talent! I envy your skills! Beautiful!

[Jnicolas]

Hey Sir !!!

You use that for the veneer in facade??

[Chaos Wolf]

  Wow, what an incredible layout!! You've done an excellent job throughout!! Like someone else mentioned, several of the pictures look like photos of actual buildings. Very nice indeed.