Very quick update of the progress so far. All my attention has been on completing the roof
and internal roof space. The 1/48 scale Citroen parked outside is just a guide for scale.
Next up is prepping the ground floor for some interior design work and painting.
A much needed update on my chateau project. Things have finally started moving again as I have cleared by back log of painting during the covid 19 lock down.
As you can see, I have been working on the ground and second floor and have just started on the third floor and attic space. It still looks a bit Heath Robinson at this stage but once I get some paint on it will come on really quickly. One thing that has surprised me is the sheer scale of it as it comes together. I wanted a scratch-built Chateau as nothing on the ready built market ticked the box in size or detail, even so this going to be a beast.
Things that have slowed me down are the planning of how everything will fit together and allowing access to all rooms and spaces for figures. Its difficult making whole floors that can be separated for game play and structurally solid at the same time, especially in foam card.
Interior design will include marble floors using marble effect sheet, wooden flooring using model boat planks and dolls house wall paper for a lot of the rooms. Fire places have been scratch built and I intend to fill out every room but in a moth ball type state if that makes sense. So white sheets over chairs etc etc.
Big thankyou to my laser cutting friend who was responsible for turning my very basic diagrams into some fantastic looking windows and doors.
Next challenge will be the roof which is a Mansard and the dormer windows protruding from it. The roof will most likely be the most complicated part of the building and I think it will test my limited building ability to the max. Wish me luck.
A bit more armour for the allies. An M10 Wolverine tank
destroyer by Warlord games in 1/56 scale. Marked out in
British colours of the 20th Anti-Tank Regiment with men from
3rd Infantry Division. The original picture the mini diorama is
based on is a short distance from Sword Beach on the 6th
of June 1944.
The raised railway line is simple 28mm resin and the embankment
is styrene. The road is real earth.
Been busy at home during this corona virus lock down
adding bits and pieces . This is a simple large, fallen
oak tree made from wire wrapped in woodland scenic flex
paste. The canopy is made from a floor cleaning pad that
was ripped up and the roots are a combination of sponge, real
dirt and rubberised horse hair. Basically anything spare lying
about was included in the build.
Lords of Midnight
For while now I have been wanting to recreate a favourite 80`s
computer game called The Lords of Midnight into table top
wargaming and I fortunately stumbled into Para Bellum`s
Conquest game which seems to fit perfectly with my vision.
For those of you who are too young to remember the 80`s or just
missed this game it focussed on a land locked ice kingdom with
the good fighting the bad in a Lord of the Rings type environment
and more.
Para Bellum`s new conquest figures which are roughly 36mm are enough
of a match and ideal for conversion to get me started.
The soldier in the picture comes from the Men at arms figure set
and will represent a Lord of Midnight. Hope the frozen atmosphere
of the landscape comes across ?
Just a small update of progress being made during these strange and worrying times.
The picture is of a mock up for the front entrance of the chateau before I start
gluing things in place. I have an excellent contact who is able to make most
things from laser cut mdf and he is responsible for the brilliant doors and windows.
I now have a large ready made supply of doors and windows for the project so things
should start to get a move on shortly.
The stretcher bearers are from Black Tree Designs, otherwise known
as EOS Orbis Black Tree Design.
These guys are for my Commonwealth Crete force and are made of metal.
A word of warning. The figures are quiet nice but the company is
completely useless. Don’t just take my word for search around on the
internet and read the tales of disappointment. I gave up waiting for my figures
to arrive after numerous emails and phone calls which never get answered. Luckily
Paypal came to the rescue and got me my money back and eventually I bought the figures
off fleabay from a private seller.
These are the Cretan Police force on Crete in WWII. They fought for the resistance and
the Germans depending on local and personal loyalties. This bunch are on the allied side
and are a conversion of Gripping Beast Ottoman Turks with French kepi heads.
Armed with basic rifles and looted German kit.
After the success of my foam card French house project in 2019 I have
decided to be a bit more adventurous and go the whole hog and build
a chateau. I love individually built terrain as it brings something
unique to the table top, that combined with a desire for centre piece
for the table fits perfectly with the idea of building a chateau.
On top of this a lack of ready made buildings is driving me on and
the strange discovery of a beautiful abandoned chateau online has
aroused by creative curiosity.
I discovered the beautiful abandoned chateau online while searching
for images. It turns out there is unique bunch of urban explorers who
specialise in discovering and photographing derelict and abandoned properties.
The details of many of the places are kept secret as once a location is
known it often becomes vandalised. Luckily with a bit of research I was able
to locate the said chateau on google maps helping me get a better idea of
the layout. Sorry the chateau location stays a secret and my chateau name
is fictional.
So progress so far is slow, but its a start and I’m finding the scale
and complexity challenging for my basic ability.
I have measured the whole thing out and drawn a master diagram. I have
also started cutting out the ground floor walls. On top of this I have
started on some of the internal room features such as fire places etc.
I am presenting working on the internals wall and will post up pics
shortly.
Chateau diagram
I bought these two very different glider kits for
wargaming Bolt Action on the island of Crete. The larger
kit is by Sarissa and is apparently 28mm and made from a
combination of mdf and card board.
The smaller kit is made by Hobby and is a 1/48 normal
plastic kit.
Pros and cons, cons first. The Sarissa kit is huge, compared
to the 1/48 scale Hobby kit and to be honest is an incorrect size.
It has also started to come apart along some of the joint lines
and will warp if left near a heat source. I also had to reinforce the
wings to support the weight.
The Hobby kit was quite difficult to assemble and the glass windows
were a royal pain to insert into place. The Hobby kit was nearly twice
the price of the Sarissa kit.
The positive points were that both kits look excellent when painted
up and really bring the wargaming table into the lime light. They are
also an essential part of the Cretan terrain if your wargaming the
invasion of Crete.
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