Fort Poldor

Once a stronghold guarding one spur of an empire’s expanding frontier, Fort Poldor was abandoned as the very frontier it was protecting expanded outwards and the need for it gradually declined. With no substantial local population needing it as a focus of settlement, it became an easy mine for ready-cut stone for a few remote farm huts and was otherwise left to the elements to gradually weather away. Even so, it remains an easily defendable place for occasional merchant train or detachment of troops moving across the landscape so ad hoc repairs to the keep have been made from timed to time…

The fort was designed to provide an ‘open access’ fortification that could be easily taken and re-taken from occupiers. It is for this reason that there are a number of weaknesses already built-in such as the collapsed parts of the battlements that allow an attacker to creep up behind defenders without blasting the structure apart. In addition, the flooring in the second and top floor can be removed enabling some flexibility in moving any models wanting to scamper up to these levels.

Fort Poldor is made from 5mm and 10mm foam core covered in plaster of Paris. The wooden decking is made form balsa, suitably scored with the back of an X-Acto scalpel to produce the exaggerated grain. It was constructed on a base of spongy foam bits that were liberally drenched with plaster. While reducing the weight (and cost) of plaster required to build up the height, this has also resulted in an uneven courtyard which was intentional to represent the weathering over the many years since it was abandoned. Foam core walls were then set atop the plaster and then also covered in plaster. Into the plaster went around 1/3 of its weight in dirty grey sand. This has helped to give the model a rough texture (and it also saved money on plaster). It is pleasing that since being built back in 1998 that the plaster-sand mix has remained very strong, surviving more than three long sea journeys.

The paint job was achieved using poster colours, black and white. Mixed with a good amount of water to thin it down, a grey mix drenched the plaster. A light dry brush with lighter grey/white was then toned down with several black washes. The balsa wood was painted with poster colour brown and given a burnt brown wash. Finally, PVA glue was lathered on certain parts and green flock patches or just plain old out-the-back sand was sprinkled over it.

Mill

When you’ve got countryside put under the plough and a river running through then a mill is a bit of a time-saver for making flour. This mill was made to go a little way into a wide river to pick up just enough of the slow-moving current to turn a paddle that’s within the structure (there is a gap under the mill house which isn’t too obvious from this photo). I suppose this allows the workers to work both sides of the mill…

Made of balsa, scored wit the back edge of a modelling knife, each plank was then pasted onto a cardboard superstructure – otherwise it would easily have fallen into a pile of sticks. Tiling was squares cut from the breakfast cereal box. Poster paints were used for the walls (grey, to give a sense of being out in the weather a long time) with a blue-slate colouring for the roof. A bit of green flock was PVA’ed about the place. A quick matt spray varnish helped to hold it together. The whole structure was then placed on little stones made from DAS modelling clay painted brown which in turn were placed on mounting card as a base.

Waypoint Inn

A welcome sight for lonely travellers is this inn with yard, stables and defiantly the best ale for miles around. The wall also helps to keep a few of the smaller nasties out, although the area would have been long-cleared of the larger miscreants.

This model was inspired (if not more or less copied) from an article in White Dwarf, although where it is now is anybody’s guess. It is made from foam core with balsa half-timbering glued on the top. The stables and wall were rendered with plaster and then coated with PVA to hold it all together: this has worked well given this model has been in a storage box for seven years where it was left lose and rolled about a bit. The inn (which is not glued down to the base) had watered-down DAS modelling clay put into the facing. The base is thick card with a layer of plaster dolloped onto the top with flock put on the top with PVA, which has worn off a bit by now. The front doors were made from balsa with the hinge a simple ‘eye bolt’ made from copper wire embedded into the walls with a matching L-shaped bit of wire embedded into the balsa.

Waypoint Chapel

While wondering about the vast lands a goodly knight would appreciate a place of dedicated worship. This little chapel was designed for the knight passing through a not too lonely waypoint still within civilised lands. One would suppose that a knight of particular virtues would merely have to use the knocker for the door to recognise a kindred holy spirit and swing open to offer some peaceful refuge from a brewing storm.

As with most of the structures Neral surveys this one is made form foam core with a plaster of Paris/sand texture render. The windows were just a random splodge of paint on some re-used acrylic packaging. Perhaps if this was to be made again the roof would be removable and some basic furnishing would be put inside for battles where the structure could be used as a base of operations or could otherwise be overrun.

Other stuff...

Gun emplacement