Building a Medieval fortress - by Waitoa - Del Prado 1/87

[mtaylor]

16 hours ago, Waitoa said:

Adding the people more as a distraction from some of my mistakes.

 

 

I'm not seeing the mistakes but the figures do lend a touch of life to your diorama.

[Waitoa]

On 8/7/2020 at 3:28 AM, mtaylor said:

 

I'm not seeing the mistakes but the figures do lend a touch of life to your diorama.

Thanks, I think I am like most people who take up this hobby; striving for perfection but not quite getting there, that is part of the fun though looking to improve each time you do something 

[Waitoa]

Finished the back roof, happier with the results and spent a lot of time sanding the roof tiles to a point where I don’t have too much skin left on the fingers that were holding the tiles.  Will now move on to the doors and steps and will once again stalk Ekis’ build for ideas and tips.

[Ekis]

Well done: the apse with its circular roof is well done! 😉

[Waitoa]

18 hours ago, Ekis said:

Well done: the apse with its circular roof is well done! 😉

Thanks Ekis, high praise coming from the Master Builder

[Waitoa]

Scratch built the doors using scrap wood, card and bits of a matchstick 

[Waitoa]

Can you ever have too many Monks?  The latest batch of townspeople 

[Waitoa]

Some merchants, soldiers and the last monk

[popeye the sailor]

your making some nice progress....the figures will add to the diorama  

[Waitoa]

1 hour ago, popeye the sailor said:

your making some nice progress....the figures will add to the diorama  

Thanks the main church roof has a lot of tiles and trying to get this down before I head off on holiday

[mtaylor]

8 hours ago, Waitoa said:

Thanks the main church roof has a lot of tiles and trying to get this down before I head off on holiday

I'm sure the friars will appreciate having the roof.  Have a good holiday.

[Waitoa]

Struggling a bit with the number off roof tiles on the church, estimate another 270 to go.  Used clay to form the pillars and will need a lot more for the cloisters, inserted a tooth pick to give it some strength and hoping when the varnish dries it is a lighter colour.

[Louie da fly]

Nice work on the painting. Pretty difficult at that scale.

 

However,may I suggest you replace the purple with another colour? In the Middle Ages there were sumptuary laws which laid down who could wear what clothes, so the best stuff was reserved to the upper classes, and jumped-up merchants couldn't swan around in the clothing of their "betters". And though these laws had to keep on being re-issued because they were so sadly neglected and often ignored (like Finland), the one thing that was totally forbidden was purple - it was reserved for royalty and only royalty. Anyone wearing that would have been in very deep trouble.

[Waitoa]

12 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

Nice work on the painting. Pretty difficult at that scale.

 

However,may I suggest you replace the purple with another colour? In the Middle Ages there were sumptuary laws which laid down who could wear what clothes, so the best stuff was reserved to the upper classes, and jumped-up merchants couldn't swan around in the clothing of their "betters". And though these laws had to keep on being re-issued because they were so sadly neglected and often ignored (like Finland), the one thing that was totally forbidden was purple - it was reserved for royalty and only royalty. Anyone wearing that would have been in very deep trouble.

Opps, busted must be my rebellious nature, yes even my 11 year old son caught me out on that colour along with the orange carrots and potatoes. May have to do some touch ups.

[Waitoa]

So close but so far, didn’t want to risk the wrath of the Admiral so spent the weekend getting ready for a holiday rather than finishing the roof.  The good brothers must be praying for sunshine while I am away.

[popeye the sailor]

good move.....best to keep the admiral happy      nothing worse that an admiral's scorn.  great progress.......really coming along nicely!

[Waitoa]

5 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

good move.....best to keep the admiral happy      nothing worse that an admiral's scorn.  great progress.......really coming along nicely!

Thanks, just need to keep going on the roof as seeing Ekis’ build is giving me many new ideas for modifications on other buildings and not sure the Admiral is convinced I will finish this building let alone the other 7-8 I want to add to the village 

[Waitoa]

Finally finished the tiles, so many ended up seeing them in my dreams.  The kit suggested laying a tile where the roof joins but didn’t like the look of it so try to mould something with clay.  While not going for accuracy looks a bit chunky so will let it dry and clean up with some light sanding but not sure if I will keep it like this.

[Waitoa]

Finally finished the tiles, so many ended up seeing them in my dreams.  The kit suggested laying a tile where the roof joins but didn’t like the look of it so try to mould something with clay.  While not going for accuracy looks a bit chunky so will let it dry and clean up with some light sanding but not sure if I will keep it like this.

[Ekis]

Good job!
You managed to finish this first building: congratulations for your perseverance. 😉
The main roof is a little too low compared to the stone walls. It should follow the triangular slope behind the pediment and cover the wall of your apse.
But Romanesque art accepts many different options in construction.
I can't wait to see the next building: what have you decided to do next?
You finish the cloister first?

[Waitoa]

9 hours ago, Ekis said:

Good job!
You managed to finish this first building: congratulations for your perseverance. 😉
The main roof is a little too low compared to the stone walls. It should follow the triangular slope behind the pediment and cover the wall of your apse.
But Romanesque art accepts many different options in construction.
I can't wait to see the next building: what have you decided to do next?
You finish the cloister first?

Yes, lots of learnings - read mistakes.  Need to do a bit of tidying up on some parts of the church and then will look at the cloisters.  I am not a great one for planning or doing prep work but will try with this as a lot of the challenges I faced were due to earlier mistakes or things I didn’t fully think through 

[Waitoa]

St Jude’s open for worship, other than adding a cross to the tower think I will not be making anymore details.  Good learning experience now on to the cloisters 

[Waitoa]

Planned out the cloisters and monk’s accommodation and think I will it out like this.  None of these a “bolted” down and many are tacked together loosely.  Planning is a bit of a first for me but hoping will see the benefits.  Now onto laying the bricks along the back wall after a work table tidy up.

[Ekis]

Oh oh!
It seems that you are suddenly moving away from what was planned by the kit on the assembly of this cloister... I think I recognize an assembly that is familiar to me. 😁
Bravo for the initiative and the thickening of what should have been a simple corridor with arcades.
I'm going to look at all this with great attention. 😉

[Louie da fly]

Looking good. Lots of fun. 

 

On 9/6/2020 at 6:49 AM, Waitoa said:

The kit suggested laying a tile where the roof joins

Yep, they're called (surprise, surprise!) ridge tiles because they go on the ridge of the roof. But your alternative solution looks good.

[popeye the sailor]

nice finish on the church    are you going to modify the roofs for the cloisters?  looking really good!  

[Waitoa]

3 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

nice finish on the church    are you going to modify the roofs for the cloisters?  looking really good!  

Thanks, given how much I loved the church roof temped to leave it off but sure the good brothers would complain.  I think there will be some tweaking here and there but need to research a bit more around these types of buildings and what period I am aiming for.  My initial thinking was a Cathar fortified village but the heavy presence of Franciscans may mean it is post the Albigensian crusade

[Ekis]

Are you aiming for the 13th century?

[Waitoa]

7 hours ago, Ekis said:

Are you aiming for the 13th century?

Was thinking of that period but not sure what level of accuracy and realism I can achieve balancing with the enjoyment of building.  Intend to have a mix of styles and want to replace the missing gate house with what is basically a Roman structure.  Understand that wouldn’t be totally out of place as these tended to survive and be in use in this period.  

 

What period are you looking at your build?

[Ekis]

I have not determined a precise period, but I am aiming rather at the 14th century for several reasons. ☺️
I locate the village during the foundation of the bastides in the south of France during the whole of the 14th century. The spirit in which they were built responded to security needs with elaborate walls with loopholes, hoarding, corbelling and crenellations. There are economic needs that can be seen in the architecture with slightly wider streets, covered market squares with a dedicated building and almost systematic paving of the streets.
In fact, I chose the period that allows me to have the most buildings still visible to serve as examples, with the construction also of large religious buildings such as monasteries and other cloisters, the period of French Roman Art to match the pieces of the kit, and allow me to create others with the most possibilities.
The Romans have indeed left traces, but I prefer for my village to start again from elements really identifiable by their medieval architecture without making visual mixes. 🏰