A useful mold.

*

I'll indulge in a bit of a plug here for Hirst Arts, if I may. The picture above shows a useful mold I bought recently from that company - #85 Dungeon Accessories. It was bought with the aim of furnishing a modular dungeon complex I've built for fantasy RPG's; but looking at the results I can also see endless applications for dressing up wargaming scenery and buildings in any period. They would make a great addition to barricades, for instance.

*

The mold produces sealed, open and broken barrels, and a large wine-cellar type barrel (very useful for those ImagiNations that produce "happy grapes" in all their charming variety!); buckets and large ceramic-style pots; a fountain/font/bird bath; open sacks and closed sacks both individual and piled; a treasure chest (suitable for any 17th to early 19th century game, especially those involving pirates!); three types of wooden crate (the largest size is open with an optional lid, the other two are molded in sealed configuration). There are a few items specifically for fantasy/sci-fi games such as crystals and stone formations, and a rough stone slab which can be used as a door or the back of a fountain and so on. These can also be adapted for wargaming purposes.

*

I use Merlin's Magic, a hard molding plaster from Clint Sales produced specifically for the hobby and it produces good results as seen above. Another cheaper type perhaps more readily available in hobby outlets or online is Hydrostone. Both plasters are durable and take inks and paint easily, especially the cheap acrylics sold in most hobby stores. I don't recommend plaster of Paris as it's too soft for the molding process.

*

The mold retails at $34, and lasts for years. Anyone can produce good casting results by following the simple advice given on the Hirst website. I think one would be of most use to a gaming group or club, who can spread the expense of buying the mold and plaster and share all the products therefrom. For a big gaming project that requires a lot of scenic items of this kind, I think it's more economical to produce them this way than to buy retail. Although it does take time to make castings in worthwhile amounts, there's a certain satisfaction gained from the process.

*

For the record I have no connection with the Hirst Arts company other than as a very satisfied customer. The opinions above are just my 2 cents worth of contribution to my favorite hobby of wargaming.

Reality & Fantasy

Just about everything is in hand for my upcoming wedding on Friday. We're planning a dress rehearsal this evening to iron out costume matters and so on. I've been amazingly relaxed about everything, possibly because I've not been entirely idle in my hobbies. They serve as a welcome distraction from planning venues, celebrants and reception menus and so on.

Jeff Bluebear's new project Mythic Fangarm Quest reminds me of happy times spent playing D&D in the 80's and 90's. My old group split up long ago and of course I'm in another country now; but even so I still have a liking for the fantasy genre. I'm in the early stages of planning a modular dungeon complex scaled to 25/28mm using the Hirst Arts system of molds. The Merlin's Magic casting plaster (appropriate name!) is on order.

Once the whole set-up is built and painted I hope to arrange a play session or two in a local games store. Then if I find a willing customer I'll sell the dungeon and begin anew. That's one of the beauties of the molding system. It helps fund further projects, be they more Hirst Arts molds, wargames figures - or even mundane real-life matters.

The Bridge at Kimmelsbrücke.

Babbington's Legion marches across the bridge, en-route to their new employment.

An aerial view.

*

This blog received it's 5,000th visitor yesterday, and to celebrate here are some pictures of the finished bridge!

*

Known as the Three Kings Bridge, this crossing of the River Eisenwasser at Kimmelsbrücke was built in the late 15th century using the Gothic style of architecture. It took nearly ten turbulent years to construct, during which the then-Kingdom of Dunkeldorf saw three monarchs come and go. To commemorate these kings three busts were placed over the bridge spans. The bridge was fortified at the time of construction: the two towers were taller and broader and included gates and a portcullis to prevent hostile forces from crossing the river.

*

In subsequent decades the expansion of the Empire saw the need for a defended bridge decline and the gates became a marked inconvenience. In 1695 the towers were rebuilt in their present style. They currently include offices for customs & excise officials charged with collecting taxes and tariffs from those using the bridge and from river traffic passing beneath. Local legend has it that if any boatman should dare try to pass without paying his fee, the masks of the kings will belch forth flame and incinerate him - a legend stoked most assiduously by the customs officers...

*

The bridge and the town of Kimmelsbrücke lie within the Grand Duchy of Hetzenberg, on the west bank of the Eisenwasser. Only five miles to the east lies the uneasy border with the Margravate of Dunkeldorf-Pfühl.

*

Some dimensions: Overall length = 24 inches. Height of towers = 9 1/2 inches. Height of central arch = 2 1/4 inches. Constructed from Hirst Arts molds using Herculite 2 industrial-grade plaster, with some foamcore and card components. Paintwork in acrylics, with Klear varnish treatment. I'm open to commissions - if anyone wants a similar bridge, contact me at:- kirbycane822 @ hotmail.com (close the gaps - email harvester programs prowl these sites) and we can talk terms.

The Bridge Project - assembled.

The three bridge spans and towers - paint test on right bank tower base.

A boatman's eye view .

The three main components.

*

Progress is being made! All the major construction work is finished. It only remains to make the quaysides from which the bridge will spring, and I'll begin work on those this weekend using 1" blue insulation foam as a base. Once all is assembled, the bridge will be painted with Klear (Future in the US) polish to seal the plaster, followed by blocking-in the stonework with a sandy-ochre color using Crown-brand "eggshell" paint designed for use on plasterwork and wood. A small test patch can be seen on the right of the middle picture. All finer paintwork such as weathering effects, the tower sides, timbers and roofs will be done in acrylics. The interiors of the spans were painted before being fixed in place.

*

As mentioned before, all major construction was done using plaster casts made from the versatile Hirst Arts molds. The roofs are of card with the tiles cut from individual strips and the whole treated with Klear for additional strength. For ease of transport the model was built in three sections which will rise to five when the quaysides are done. This has the added benefit of allowing me to insert different central spans over time, such as a broken one showing a bridge demolition, and perhaps a Dutch-style double drawbridge to allow passage by masted vessels. The figures posing on the bridge are natives from my Daftest Africa campaign world awaiting their basework.

Under construction - 1

Tile & miter box with basic shell of left bank tower.

The Central span arches with basic components for comparison.

The left bank tower & columns.

*

Due to some glitch affecting my browser I was unable to update this blog yesterday. Whatever it was that caused Internet Explorer such angst seems to have cured itself, so, on we go.

*

Work has begun on the bridge for 17th century-plus wargaming. As mentioned before I'm using components made of the extremely tough Herculite 2 plaster cast in Hirst Arts molds for the majority of construction. As it happened I didn't need to make as many casts as I'd planned, as I have plenty of spare components in store that suit the project. To make it easier to transport the whole structure will be made in three separate parts comprising the two towers with side spans, and the wide central span. All will be mounted on bases made from two layers of thick card laminated with PVA and sealed with Klear/Future floor polish. MDF might be better in some ways but I find card easier to work with.

*

The top picture shows the beginning. A perfectly flat surface is essential for constructing buildings using the plaster blocks as any errors that creep in tend to become magnified as work advances. I use a spare ceramic wall tile for this purpose, and a miter box to ensure perfect 90-degree vertical angles for the walls. Legos are ideal for this job but I gave mine away long, long ago...

*

The blocks are glued together using PVA adhesive: Aleene's Tacky Glue is good too. Both types of adhesive allow some time for parts to be adjusted before they set. In the event of an error being noticed afterwards, the blocks can be soaked in water, separated, dried and re-glued without harm. Some of the components require sanding to remove the occasional irregularity where the plaster is poured into the mold but this is easily done. The irregularities can be avoided altogether using the techniques described on the Hirst Arts website. Each component is in multiples or fractions of inches, which makes it easy to calculate the number needed and the area they'll cover. The base shell of the left-bank tower is shown next to the miter box, and measures 5 inches long by 2 inches wide.

*

While this was drying I assembled the arches that will form the central span of the bridge. Bruce Hirst cleverly designed these components so they can make either 4-inch or 3-inch wide archways depending on their alignment. My span uses the 4-inch version here; 3-inch arches will be used in the tower gateways.

*

The smaller 2-inch wide arches shown in the lower photo are formed from 4 pieces, and will make up the two smaller spans between the towers and the central span. The photo shows two of the arches being checked in the dry assembly stage before gluing to the left bank tower. A roof made from thin card will arc between the tower and the pier on the right. Before this is fitted, I'll paint everything within the area to be enclosed as it'll be too difficult to do afterwards.

*

In the forefront I've shown two of the Gothic columns that will stand on the corners to the right of the arches. Although the photo doesn't show it that clearly, the finials are designed in the shape of heavily-bearded faces. I think it'll add a nice distinctive touch to the design, as they'll frown down at anyone passing under the bridge as if warning them to behave and respect the river!

*

Both towers will butt up to blue insulation foam terrain tiles sized to fit in with those used by the New Buckenham club. I'll make these last, and they'll have stone-flagged quaysides with bollards.

"Monstrous regiments?"

An interesting thread of discussion concerning female units arose on the Society of Daisy Yahoo loop recently. Another loop has some pictures of 28/30mm figures of SYW persuasion here. I must admit they do look nice, and I can certainly find room for a unit or two in my imaginary armies. History shows that more than one woman fought in disguise during the Seven Year's War. Why not get them out in the full light of day? Does anyone have such "monstrous regiments of women" in their ImagiNation, or are thinking of raising them? Comment and let me know!

*

My latest order from Hirst Arts arrived Monday. Excellent service, as I only ordered them Friday. I'm looking forward to casting from them. They will give me the wide arches needed for the bridge project, along with other useful components. For now I'm making preliminary sketches to get an idea of what will be required for the construction.

A street in town.

The Hetzenberg Liebgarde Grenadiers lead the march past the tower and rathaus, followed by the Bishop of Guggenheim's Regiment of Horse.

*

Here's another view of the rathaus with the neighboring tower. My eventual aim is to make enough buildings to create a small generic Middle European town. It'll probably be surrounded by a mediaeval wall which has been upgraded to follow 17th/18th century ideas for defense. The next project *should* be ordinary houses for the citizens, but I've been looking at mold #44 in the Hirst Arts range, and those lovely big arches are saying "Bridge" to me. Stokes Schwartz of the Duchy of Stollen made a nice bridge which included two tower gateways, and I'll follow his lead for my project.

The Rathaus.

Front quarter view.


Front elevation.

*

A couple of days to go before I head for pastures new. Planning is over, packing has begun! In the meantime I pushed ahead and completed a project that has been sitting on the workbench for way too long - the rathaus.

*

This building was designed to be the meeting hall or rathaus of a town council. Construction is mainly from Hirst Arts components from their Gothic range of molds. Only the sides of the two upper storeys, the windows and the main body of the dormer windows are scratch-built, either from foamcore or balsa. Although it can't be made out here, the windows are diamond-paned, formed from the type of mesh used for car bodywork repairs. The roof of the main building lifts off to allow figures to be placed inside. The small plinth positioned over the central arch is intended for a statue of some kind. A 15mm figurine painted in suitable colors will go here.

*

I used ordinary vinyl emulsion for the main paintwork and Vallejo acrylics for everything else, occasionally mixed with "Klear" floor polish ("Future" in the US) for added durability. The roofs do look a bit "hot," but this is due to the lighting conditions. All that remains for me to do is complete the street surface in front of the building. Time permitting I'll take a photo or two of the rathaus alongside the tower I made in the earlier project.

*

Overall I'm reasonably satisfied with the result. As always I can see a few areas which can be improved upon, but that can wait for another time and another project.