Tower Construction (pic heavy)

[HelloChristian]

Hello all,

Thought I'd try something new. The players in my campaign are coming over Sunday. Their small tower will be under assault by an 8th level cleric of Hextor and as many as 60 lvl 2 warriors. To commemorate the battle, I thought I'd build a model to really bring the tabletop to life.

I apologize if this thread is picture heavy.

I got stated by making the tower's shell out of cardboard. I cut out a door and small windows that can be used to lob arrows on foes below. The windows and door were framed with balsa to provide some detail. The edges of the cardboard were taped up.

It's okay if the molding around the door and windows is a bit uneven. Later, when a mixture of glue and spackle is applied, any gaps and irregularities will be concealed.

The cardboard was free and the masking tape was borrowed from work. The wood glue I used to affix the balsa wood was about $2 and the balsa wood was just under $1.

 

[HelloChristian]

To provide a base for the model and to add stability, I cut out a piece of foam board (sometimes called foam core) that I bought for $5. I glued the foam board into place with a hot glue gun. I've had my hot glue gun for a long time, but if you need one, they cost anywhere from $10 tp $25.

 

[HelloChristian]

The players will inevitably pick up the tower and peek through the windows. So that the interior tape, glue and cardboard isn't visible, I paint the interior with an inexpensive black acrylic paint. ($2).

 

[rowport]

The players will inevitably pick up the tower and peek through the windows. So that the interior tape, glue and cardboard isn't visible, I paint the interior with an inexpensive black acrylic paint. ($2).

HC-

I like the model structure and can see where the exterior will look great with some cover and weathering effects, but am not following your intent; are you going to build level-by-level floors? If so, how will you mechanically handle minis on each level concurrently? If not, how will you simulate the battle? I am kind of missing the model's intent for actual play, I think.

 

[HelloChristian]

HC-

I like the model structure and can see where the exterior will look great with some cover and weathering effects, but am not following your intent; are you going to build level-by-level floors? If so, how will you mechanically handle minis on each level concurrently? If not, how will you simulate the battle? I am kind of missing the model's intent for actual play, I think.

Hey Rowport,

The battle will most likely unfold in two phases. 1) The minions of the cleric will wade forth, attempting to storm the stairs outside the tower and batter down the door. 2) A fierce battle inside the tower as either the warrior or cleric gain entry.

The tower will be used for phase 1. It will be set on the table, on top of a green felt cloth, some trees, and of course, the cleric's warband. For this part of the battle, the PCs won't be moving around the tower much. They will mostly likely post themselves in front of an arrow slit and lob arrows and spells. Because of this, I decided to not make the roof and floors removable. PCs will simply say things like, "I am at this arrow slit on the third floor." We will measure range with a ruler and roll for hit and damage. This phase of the battle will run like a wargame.

For phase 2, when the bad guys batter down the door, the terrain will be put away. A chart paper tablet with 1" squares will be laid down. The floors will be sketched and we'll finish the battle that way.

Because this is the final showdown with the BBEG, I wanted to do something a little different, that difference being an almost Warhammer fantasy game.

When I'm done I'll keep the tower in case we ever need it.

Thank you for checking in. Your question helped me to formulate exactly how the scenario would go down.

 

[HelloChristian]

While waiting for the paint to dry, I got to work on the tower's roof. I cut out a piece of foam core and painted it black. The black will look good if there are any gaps between the boards. For floorboards, I cut some thin strips of balsa. I sanded the edges and staggered them to look like a real floor. I cut a square hole and edged it to simulate a trapdoor that can be used to access the level below. I glued the strips of balsa to the foam core and am now waiting for it to dry.

 

[HelloChristian]

I painted the tower's roof with a base coat of Bestial Brown, then dry brushed with Snakebite Leather and Commando Khaki. All three paints are available from Games Workshop for $3.50 each.

 

[HelloChristian]

The tower I am building was constructed by a wizard to house a magical portal. With that in mind, I spent a lot of time thinking about the exterior of the building. I thought about layering the tower in paper squares to simulate stone blocks. Instead, I thought I'd try something different.

I put some spackling paste ($3) into a bowl with a bit of Elmer's glue ($1). The mixture was sticky, yet still viscous.

I smoothed the mixture onto the tower. I spread it all over the surface, the dabbed at it to create a textured look. This technique can also be used to simulate plaster. When it dries, I will sand it down. I'm hoping that when I'm done, it will look like stone that has been sculpted and warped with magical energy to form a tower. I guess you could say that I'm going for more of a fantastic that realistic appearance.

 

[HelloChristian]

While waiting for the spackle to dry, I made a wee front door. I think that next time I will make hinges for some added detail.

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I needed to make some steps to access the front door. To keep with the theme of stone being sculpted into a tower by magical energy, I used Sculpey ($2) to make some blocks. I like how the stones are rather large, with rounded corners. They remind me of the old Land of the Lost TV show. The characters were always crawling over big ol' rocks that looked so fake, yet fit with the show's premise of a fantastic journey. I will glue them together with tacky glue then paint.

 

[HelloChristian]

I painted the tower with a coat of dark gray paint, then drybrushed with Fortress Gray and Space Woves Gray. Again, both paints are available from Games Workshop for $3.50. If I had to this over, I definitely would have spray painted the model with a gray primer first. The nooks and crannies created by the spackle made it difficult to work the paint into all of the spaces. Spray paint might have made this easier.