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| Building Edoras Pt 1 - The Palisade Walls |
| How to build the outer walls of the chief city of Rohan |
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| Materials:
5mm thick Balsa sheet (or foamcore)
12mm x 12mm Balsa square section (optional)
3.5mm x 1.75mm timber stripwood (or balsa cut to size)
PVA Glue
Polyfilla
BBQ Skewers (3 mm diameter) |
| Paints:
Chaos Black
Codex Grey
Fortress Grey
Brown Ink
Bleached Bone
Skull White |
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Stripwood is available from good hobby shops (in particular, model railway specialists) and comes in a variety of sizes. The size listed above is sold as HO 12” x 6”
The article describes the methods I used to construct the stonework in my Gatehouse of Edoras, but can be used to build any masonry for any part of Middle Earth. The pattern of stonework shown here is random (krazy-paving!), but I use the same techniques for dressed stone and floor paving.
The stone walls are made from 5 panels - front, back, top, and two ends. Use the template provided to cut the balsa out to the correct sizes.
| Step 2 - Another Brick in the Wall |
I use the 12mm square section balsa as bracers to hold the top panel to the front and rear panels. It strengthens the joint and provides an automatic right angle to keep everything flush. Glue two lengths of 12mm x 12mm balsa to the underside of the top panel, flush with the edges (see photo) and leave to dry. Remember to cut the bracers 10mm shorter than the top panel to make room for the thickness of the two end panels.
Glue the two side panels to the top panel, and once the glue has set, attach the two end panels. If your wall section is fairly lengthy (over 200 mm long), it would be a good idea to add some cross bracing to strengthen the structure. Just use some 12x12 balsa cut to 45mm.
If your wall section is going to have some steps, assemble them now.
The steps are made up of balsa sections glued one on top of the other. Fairly simple, but there is a little trick I use to ensure a model can be placed on them without sliding off shield-surfing elf style! Every third or fourth step is one or two millimetre longer than the others. This extra width is just enough to ensure the model is held in place, and yet is barely noticeable (works for plastic models anyway - metal ones often tip over).
Once the step assembly is dry, glue it to the rear panel in the desired position.
| Step 4 - Plastering the Walls |
The next stage is to cover the assembled walls with Polyfilla to about 1mm thickness. I do one panel at a time, only because I am clumsy and invariably dent the Polyfilla before it is dry. This stuff seems to stick to fingers better than the balsa, but by doing small areas at a time you can cover each panel gradually until the whole is covered. Leave the steps until last.
Don’t be too concerned with getting a perfectly even covering - the more texture, the better the stonework looks. Leave the Polyfilla for about 10 minutes and then gently pat it smooth, taking out any unduly rough areas.
Leave 3 mm from the top of the front panel unplastered, and 3mm on the front of the top panel too. This is to leave a space for the palisade and the timber trim.
| Step 5 - Describing the Scribing |
Once the entire model has been coated with Polyfilla and it has set well (a couple of hours depending on temperature and humidity), it is time to draw the stonework in. We draw it in first and then carve it out with the Xacto knife.
The front and rear panels have a crazy-pave pattern while the top panel (the walkway) has a more formal, rectangular pattern. Draw the desired pattern on each panel, then begin to scribe the pattern out with the craft knife.
If you have forgotten to leave a space for the palisade wall and wooden trim on the front, gently carve and sand a 3mm wide strip of the polyfilla back to a smooth and level surface.
This may seem a lot of work (and admittedly is a bit tedious), but the end result is worth the effort.
| Step 6 - Painting and Decorating |
Once the whole model is scribed as detailed above, undercoat it with Chaos Black. Spray paint is fine if you have used Balsa, but make sure that any exposed foamcore is masked as the spray propellant dissolves foam.
Once the undercoat is well dry, drybrush each panel with Codex Grey and then again with Fortress Grey. Once these have dried, apply a watery-thin wash of brown ink. Now drybrush again with Bleached Bone and Chaos White and the wall is done.
Left to right: Chaos Black, Codex Grey, Fortress Grey, Brown Ink, Bleached Bone
It is best to stain any timber before going anywhere near the glue, so get several BBQ skewers and stain them with a 4:1 mixture of watery-thin black and brown ink. Allow to dry.
Cut the skewers to length using the template as a guide.
Tip: Since I found it quite difficult to accurately cut the skewers to the exact length, I cut them about 1 - 2mm longer than required and then when they are all glued together, I trimmed the whole lot to the right length with the modelling saw.
Sharpen the skewers to a rough point with the craft knife and then glue them together, using the drawing as a template. If you are like me and have fairly ordinary sawing skills, the bottom of the wooden wall will be a bit uneven. When the glue has set, have at it with a file until the worst protrusions are gone.
Now glue the wooden wall down on to the top panel in the space we left for it - you did leave a space right?
| Step 8 - Finishing Touches |
Along the front of the wall we left a 3mm space for the timber trim (which neatly covers up any gaps in the bottom of the palisade). Stain the 3.5mm stripwood using thin black ink. Glue it on to the front wall.
Lightly drybrush the edges of the timber trim with Fortress Grey and Skull White. Done!
| Wall Template available for download here |
See Also
Building Edoras Part 2 - The guard towers
Building Edoras Part 3 - The central gatehouse |
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