Thursday, September 27, 2012

Gothic Castle

Here is a large scale model of a gothic castle that I am building based on a design that I found on a 3D model site called Turbo Squid by an artist named Xupypr_06
I scaled the model from the rendered pictures as best I could,I suspect that it is not entirely accurate,but it will still make an imposing model.
Here are pics of the original artwork.
These are the basic tools used to layout and carve the brickwork into the 1" and 1/2" thick rigid insulation foam that the walls and buttresses of the castle are made from.
I control the heat of the 25 watt soldering iron with a 300 watt rated  in- line lamp dimmer switch.
Scale drawings and templates where made and used to layout the parts.
This is one of the side walls with the carving of the bricks started.
Once the carving is completed I texture them with a rolled up ball of foil that is rolled and pressed into the foam in a random pattern.
The foam is then coated,by brush, with "Goop",a mixture of acrylic latex caulking,Wellbond glue and plaster of paris that was formulated by a fellow Canadian, "Steve the Kamloopian",Who has some great videos of materials and techniques on Youtube for wargame terrain.Thank you for posting the recipe for this stuff.
The side window frames are to be made from plaster of paris that are cast in a latex mold that I made from a pattern constructed from styrene strip and square tube.
Here are a few shots of the components that have been made so far and the parts mocked up.
The overall size  of the model will be 33" long x 22" wide and 34" tall.
I have made the back wall sections and the top of the keep is nearly done
I have also have started to make the windows for the back wall.I am using the window tracery and stained glass PDF files available from Hirst Arts,a company that sell molds for casting your own bricks for use in making gaming miniature terrain and any other project that you might need thousands of bricks for.
The brickwork for the top of the tower has been completed.
Here are some in progress shots
Here is a shot of the flickering led tealight behind the stained glass window.
I made the base for the spire this evening and then put all of the parts completed so far together.
I can not believe how big this project is getting.
The piece of foam board that is behind the model is 20"X 30"
I have finished the spire,with the exception of the very top.
Not quite sure,as yet,how I will make this part.
I have finished the upper wall and roof sections.I test fitted the pieces and once trimmed should fit ok.
I did a test paint on one of the buttresses and this color palette will be used on the whole castle.
I also narrowed the base and mid section of the spire  which meant having to re-do the brickwork
Here is the floor for the top of the keep and the front door.The hatch for the keep and the door will have hinges made from styrene strip and tube,rivets made from the heads of common pins.
Made the hardware for the hatch in the floor of the keep and the pattern for the  front door hinges.

More to come .............

2 comments:

  1. Love this. I'm actually thinking about taking this similar concept and building it in partial full scale for my blacksmithing shop.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, I'm looking to make a Godzilla style giant monster short film and I'm looking for materials that I can use to make buildings with that will look good but break apart in interesting and dynamic ways. I've done some experiments with Styrofoam but haven't been very happy with the results yet.
    I was wondering if you could give me any insight into the packing foam that you used in this project. Like can I get it in thin sheets, and how easily could an actor in a monster costume smash it apart?

    Much of the techniques used in those old monster movies were from a time before DVD special features and behind-the-scenes books/documentaries and information is pretty hard to come buy. At least in my experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    ReplyDelete