For some time I've been intending to build a castle (fortified manor house) for my WotR collection, which would be loosely based on Stokesay.
Castles do present a challenge to the wargamer, in terms of both table footprint (they're rather big!), game play accessibility (room for hands, playable rooms or not), and storage (they're rather big!). So, influenced by others' builds on here and elsewhere, some compromise is in order and I've sketched out a footprint for my 1.5m wide medieval village boards. Actually, I've sketched out half a footprint as the castle will be up against the table edge, allowing play inside the towers and the manor house.
But..... to perhaps disappoint the medievalists.... I'm not actually going to start with a build of the castle for my WotR games....I'm going to build the modern day National Trust version for my SSS winter apoc board.
The castle will feature as the base for my ICE Troopers and its use is influenced by a German zombie film that saw the survivors retreat to one partly for its thick walls (with mankind in disarray the nuclear reactors were overheating and exploding...an interesting plot development that is generally overlooked in most zombie movies).
My modern day version will be a learning process for the pure medieval version that will follow, as the snow will help cover mistakes, etc, and also makes for an initial overall speedier build.
Like my SSS table, the castle will be on 30cm tiles. I'm actually adding another, central row of tiles to the board so the castle will sit at one end, a medieval relic within an urban area, as can often be seen in the UK (may favourite urban castle is Totnes but it's Norman and sits on a mound/hill that is way too impractical to recreate).
So to progress:
(1) The castle plan drawn in MS Paint, on 3 x 30cm sq tiles, butted up against 3 of the SSS winter apoc tiles:
The tiles are 6mm MDF cut true and square at my local B&Q (a free service).
The plan was printed onto A4 paper that was stuck with a clear solvent glue to the boards. Where the edges didn't stick down, when dry I just simply tore away the loose material.
(2) The castle entrance with an accessible gate tower. The castle will be on a mound and so there is a ramp up to a small car park in front of the gate (in the medieval version, this will probably have a small moat and draw bridge). The outside edges of the tiles will be paved to match up with the adjacent roads and buildings. The cross hatched areas are gates or doors.
(3) The main building which, like Stokesay, will have a raised footbridge across to the otherwise inaccessible Lord's Quarters that will be in the main tower. The main entrance to the hall will be above ground level, via the steps. I have contemplated enlarging the gap between battlement wall and hall but I don't think much playability will be gained by increasing the footprint.
Just over the wall to the right (as viewed) will be room for a helicopter landing pad that will be reached by a Sally Port
(4) An overview of the whole thing.....
In this later version of the plan, which I will use to cut out the mound pieces, I have marked the location for a half-size basement that will be accessed via internal stairs (top left of the hall) and an external half-flight of steps and a small door.
NB: this image isn't to scale as the graph paper is actually 1cm sqd
I've no idea how fast this build will progress as I have a lot of things that I'm working on but I plan for the main construction to be foamboard clad with vac-form sheets.
Welcome, Guest. Please 
April 30, 2024, 06:31:00 AM
July 14, 2011, 04:01:06 PM
