Advice please on conical roof construction

[AndrewBeasley]

For some mad reason I want to make a conical roof for a couple of buildings but I am stuck on fitting the tiles - these are to match the Fenris Engineers cottage and need to be battered / warped as per the example on the site:

(Taken from the Fenris site detailed above)

I remember how to shape the basic cone from part of a circle and am happy I can get that the right size with a bit of trial and error (and even distort / warp it with pressure) but the tiles have got me stumped.

I looked at the WarBase sheets at Scarborough but they are in strips and not curved and I was not sure if they would bend around a small area - I could snip each tile off but that would drive me potty.

I know you could get the roof kits from Brandlin but I think these are no longer made so am I doomed to cut single tiles out and stick these on for weeks?

TIA
Andrew

[Schogun]

Carve from insulation foam then cover with cardboard shingles?

[warburton]

I cannot think of a better way than individual tiles, sadly, being that you have got the basic shape under control. I would have thought you would be able to bend strips (pre-made may not be bendy enough so you may need to make your own strips from card) around parts of it though, and just use the individual tiles on the bits that need it. Also, the individual tils may be worth it in the sense it will allow you to create a more ramshackle look.

[Major_Gilbear]

Pretty sure Jimbibbly would do you lasercut shingle strips for the roof. 


That said, I don't think that's how those tiles were made. I suspect that it was more likely done with strips of putty:

1) Roll a long narrow sausage of your preferred sculpting putty.

2) Wrap said sausage around the roof, along the very bottom.

3) With a sculpting tool, smooth the putty flat into a ribbon, and then score or "cut" gently into the face of the ribbon to get your tiles.

4) Allow to cure.

5) Repeat from step (1), but ensure that each putty sausage is laid higher up the roof than the last.

If you use something like Milliput, you can also carve or chip tiles as you like when they are all cured, or even file/sand them a bit if they are too irregular.

Beauty of doing it this way is that you get a robust roof exactly the way you want it, and with frankly minimal skill required. Cheapish too, depending on the putty you use.

[has.been]

As well as working in Milliput, or similar, you can carve a block of insulating foam to roughly the shape you want, then sand it smooth. Next take an old biro, or similar, and indent the detail of the tiles. You may find it easier to first  draw the rings that the layers of tiles will follow, with a felt tip pen. After you have indented the tiles take a small file & sand away where the lower 'ring' of tiles is overlapped by the upper 'ring' of tiles. I hope this helps.

[Major_Gilbear]

After you have indented the tiles take a small file & sand away where the lower 'ring' of tiles is overlapped by the upper 'ring' of tiles. I hope this helps.

Or, with a flat tool, "push" them in a bit at the top of each row - less messy and simpler than sanding the tiles.

[magokiron]

If you already have made a cone with a CIRCLE, I think you can make TWO more circles, and cut overlapping "rings" of the desired tile size, and cut them just as you would with straight tiles, and then glue them overlapping as usual.

The thin rings of cardboard will easily adapt to the irregular shape.

Just my 2cts.

Hope that help.

[dampfpanzerwagon]

Most of my suggestions have already been made.

However what about individual DAS modelling clay tiles?

See;
http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-green-dragon-inn.html

and
http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-wizards-tower.html

and
http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/russian-church.html

Good luck.

Tony

[FramFramson]

There are some good tutorials on gidian-gelaende.de

Just check some of the build logs.

[dampfpanzerwagon]

I have just come across this and thought it might help.

http://danbecker.info/games/articles/CelticRoundTower/CelticRoundTower.html

Tony

[Zaheer]

I would go for putty. If you're capable of being tempted into making them as 'shingles' instead, I would recommend using a 'hard' putty (like miliput) and using a steel brush to texture as the putty has almost or completely set. This has worked well for me in the past! Scoring a few deeper lines and notches into the occasional tile will give an extra layer of detail.

[Brandlin]

Would these help?

http://brandlin.blogspot.co.uk/p/store.html#!/~/product/category=329271&id=4421602

[AndrewBeasley]

Would these help?

http://brandlin.blogspot.co.uk/p/store.html#!/~/product/category=329271&id=4421602

Yes but you are out of stock 

[Brandlin]

Yes but you are out of stock 

Let me hunt around see if I have a couple.

Life has prevented me from expanding this range or restocking :-(

Sorry I didn't see you link to my site in the initial email.

[Atheling]

Let me hunt around see if I have a couple.

Life has prevented me from expanding this range or restocking :-(

Sorry I didn't see you link to my site in the initial email.

I may be interested in some taller conical one's.... if they fit say the rim of an empty roll of duct tape?

Darrell.