Renedra Castle Build - In action

[Daeothar]

Great work so far; I really like the way you're managing to take a really static and (dare I say) square kit and are making it into something altogether more organic and real, as if your castle has been slowly growing and being extended, all the while conforming to the terrain and then current architectural fashions.

Loving your updates, so please keep 'em coming!

Modelling is more fun than painting  

So true...  

[jon_1066]

Great work so far; I really like the way you're managing to take a really static and (dare I say) square kit and are making it into something altogether more organic and real, as if your castle has been slowly growing and being extended, all the while conforming to the terrain and then current architectural fashions.
...

Thanks.  Life and football getting in the way but finished another corner wall (sans crenelations).  These two pieces now give me a 90 deg turn between them.

[OSHIROmodels]

Looking very good 

cheers

James

[Hupp n at em]

Wow, that is really coming together. You're making me reconsider the kit. 

[warburton]

Great project, mate

[beefcake]

This is looking seriously good. It must have cost you a mint to get all those kits.

[jon_1066]

This is looking seriously good. It must have cost you a mint to get all those kits.

Thanks.

Renedra do a small castle pack - basically four tower kits and six wall kits for £150.  It was a splurge but not as bad as buying them separately.  I also ordered a couple of extra floor sprues to make the octagonal tower.

I did look at the alternatives very closely before getting it.  Compared to something like the Tabletop Workshop castle, taken up by Warlord Games, the Renedra castle is better value being cheaper and giving much more bang for your buck in terms of conversion potential.  Dwavern Forge and Tabletop World look really nice but are way too expensive.  The MDF ones just don't do it for me - looking too wooden - and are also no cheaper.  The old GW castle goes for silly money on ebay and still doesn't look that great.  The Hudson and Allen one is undersized and not readily available in the UK.  Not a lot of other alternatives other than complete scratch build.

[Captain Blood]

I did look at the alternatives very closely before getting it.  Compared to something like the Tabletop Workshop castle, taken up by Warlord Games, the Renedra castle is better value being cheaper and giving much more bang for your buck in terms of conversion potential.  Dwavern Forge and Tabletop World look really nice but are way too expensive.  The MDF ones just don't do it for me - looking too wooden - and are also no cheaper.  The old GW castle goes for silly money on ebay and still doesn't look that great.  The Hudson and Allen one is undersized and not readily available in the UK.  Not a lot of other alternatives other than complete scratch build.

Perfect summary of the available options. Despite some shortcomings, the Renedra model is a pretty good option compared to the alternatives.

[MattW]

This is probably my favourite thread on this site at the moment. Really looking forward to seeing this come together.

[jamesmanto]

 
You're making something that made me yawn and say " meh" into something that's making me sit up and say " ooooooo-er! Missus!"

[white knight]

I did look at the alternatives very closely before getting it.  Compared to something like the Tabletop Workshop castle, taken up by Warlord Games, the Renedra castle is better value being cheaper and giving much more bang for your buck in terms of conversion potential.  Dwavern Forge and Tabletop World look really nice but are way too expensive.  The MDF ones just don't do it for me - looking too wooden - and are also no cheaper.  The old GW castle goes for silly money on ebay and still doesn't look that great.  The Hudson and Allen one is undersized and not readily available in the UK.  Not a lot of other alternatives other than complete scratch build.

I might add:
- the Russian Castlecraft sets, which have the downside of being a little small in scale (more 25mm than 28-30mm) and have too many small fiddly bits.
- the superplay/cimba playset (castle falcon), which needs work (no gates/doors, backside not textured), but a really cheap and not too shabby looking option for a scratchbuilding project.

Just realized I own the Tabletop Workshop set, several Castlecraft sets and a load of Superplay sets (both the square and round towered versions), all still in boxes, and yet I'm still ogling the Renedra set as it has lovely detail.

On the plus side, combining them all does open doors for a more realistic, organically grown setup.

[jon_1066]

Managed to build another corner bastion.



I built this one slightly differently sitting the flooring on top of the walls instead of "inside".  So the crenelations sit directly on the flooring piece.  This should be stronger and wont have a seam between the floor and the wall.

This has enabled me to assemble an actual castle (sort of since it is lacking some crenelations)



The corner bastions are very useful for being able to adjust the fit of the walls as they are wider than they need to be.  This gives greater flexibility in making up small gaps and therefore gives more possible layouts.

Next up is to fit the crenelations.  These are a pain to cut so I am going to experiment with a saw.  Will a junior hacksaw do the job or do I need to invest in something a little different?  After that some more wall and then the great hall.

[OSHIROmodels]

A junior hacksaw will do the job but get a mitre box. You can do other angles with the mitre box, just move the peice in the box (probably not explaining myself very well  ).

cheers

James

[jon_1066]

Moved onto the great hall rather than the crenelations.  Here it is "dry fitted".  I have hacked up some of the little walls off a couple of the trapdoors to make a top to the wall to allow a proper gutter on the inside of the wall.  The pitched roof will sit inside this.

I placed the door towards the middle so the hall can be to the left, kitchen, buttery and pantry to the right.  I might do some internals to reflect this with a minstrel gallery over the passage.  Any recommendations for wooden internals?



The Slater tiles arrived so started chopping them up.  That is going to be a labour - the tiles themselves are pretty small - about 6 mm wide - so I will need 11 rows of tiles on each side.  Still need to decide on how to do a top ridge tile as well.

[jamesmanto]

 
That's brilliant!
I would use wooden stir sticks from the coffee shop myself for interior flooring etc