Medieval Castle

28Jan
by patmcf

What should I say, eh, neglected stuff, that’s what you folk call it, nice, I just call it too hard to move on to something easier! Ok, the castle was given to me by my girls when they were young, as a Christmas present in 2013 when I was doing the Medieval village.  It was to sit beside the other but it all got too hard with the painting, the colours didn’t seem right.  So I put it away as I had finished the village and lost interest in the subject by then.  Seven dios later I felt a little guilty that I hadn’t done anything with the girls’ gift so on paying more attention to Azazel and his mention of the January challenge, I thought well come on, it’s time to bring your neglected model out into the light and have a go.  Thanks mate, without your challenge I’m sure I would have avoided it as I couldn’t work out how to get the paint job right.  The older IMP tried to give me some advice but I feel he thinks I’m smart and can follow his detailed instructions, alas I’m but a simple soul and was about to give up again when the little lightbulb went off in Bunnings.  Yes! they had this amazing paint in a spray can that comes out with a granite effect! Totally incredible. The paint itself is water based and takes a while to dry so if you wish to try it, make sure you don’t touch it (very tempting though) you have to give it at least 12 hours to cure.

I had a bit (liar, a f…g lot .!!@@##) of trouble with the moat because I was using Woodlands realistic water, a truly great product but if you don’t get the base right it can be a bugger as it is just like water and will pool in low areas! The dio must have an even surface.  I now use a spirit level to check where it is likely to flow, then chock it up so it’s pretty level .

I do apologize I did say that I would post more ‘work in progress’ posts but time just gets away from this old guy, and I forget, but I will try to improve! Hahaha … little hope you say!

It was a bugger to put together,as some models are. There were a lot of gaps which I thought would be a problem filling until the younger IMP gave me the idea of using superglue and bicarb (thanks mate!),  it worked a treat, and it also strengthened the castle.  I have added a few little extras to the interior like the stables and what could be a kitchen or more accommodation for the guards .

At this stage it is just a castle and the surrounds but when the temperature drops and I go back to painting figures I will post another update.

Azazel’s Terrain Painting Challenge

21 thoughts on “Medieval Castle”

  2. Azazel

    That looks… pretty fantastic, mate. What did you do for the mortar in between the bricks? And what else did you use besides the spray? And is that the Light or the Dark Grey? (assuming Dulux Duramax from Bunnings) Do you find the “flakes” a bit too chunky for the figure scale, or does it work alright?

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    1. patmcf

      You are right there mate ,I’m one of those people that if it’s not right rip it out and do it properly and it came up ok ,but as you said it is bloody tricky stuff ! I think they forgot they gave it to me it was so long ago ! ,.I am looking forward to putting some figures up but which ones I don’t’ know ,probably the beautiful Valdemar ones ,question Dave do you prime your metal figures before you paint them ? .

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      1. theimperfectmodeller

        Sorry Pat I missed this one! Yes I do prime first. All I use is Humbrol Matt white thinned with white spirit and brush it on so it’s not too thick and covers up any fine detail. Probably not the best way of doing it but hasn’t let me down yet.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. imperialrebelork

    Wow mate! So is this 1/72 scale?? It looks absolutely brilliant and I’m glad I could help with the glue and bicarb. At first I thought you were referring to me as the older imp haha. Then I realised you mean the old codger from the UK hehe 😉👍🏼

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    2. patmcf

      Thanks mate ,for the compliment and the practical help ,I have since been given some other ideas but no ,it really worked so don’t change it . I have another castle coming up so I will know straight away how to fill the gaps when joining the lot together , and yeah mate 1/72 as that’s about my scale ,my cheeky Scottish friend don’t call me the garden gnome for nothing HAAAH ! .But I have to be grateful for small mercies I could have been a Ginger garden gnome ,oh shit sorry Dave ! .

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  5. patmcf

    Thanks mate ,I’m glad you gave me the inspiration to get it done a bit sooner than I would have . Yeah sorry I didn’t go into the painting in detail but you are right on the money with the Duramax , it was the dark one I used after trying them both out . I first sprayed the various sections with Rust -oleum 2xltra cover flat grey primer as it was the darkness that I felt I needed ,After that sprayed the dura max on and as it is water based I had to wait an hour or so and then I dabbed it lightly with a cloth to get rid of the chunky flakes just like you mentioned, they were just a tad to large and dominating .When it had dried after a couple of day I just used white acrylic paint ,slightly watered down with a bit of spackfiller and then smeared it on ,and again lightly wiped of .I had to be careful as I found the duramax would come of also if I wasn’t careful, even after it had dried for a few days .

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  7. John@justneedsvarnish

    I must admit I fell about laughing when I read that it’s “just a castle”! There’s nothing “just a castle” about it, it’s excellent. The whole thing! I really like the way you’ve arranged the moat feeding from a stream/river and have the roads/tracks complementing them. I think I now know enough about scenic water effects to know that I don’t know enough about scenic water effects. Great job, Pat!

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    1. patmcf

      Thanks John ,I think I meant a castle without the usual figures !,normally I paint them in winter but in this case I’m doing now in the heat of summer when I easily distracted by event out side so not much painting is getting done ! More discipline is needed eh!. It is interesting you mentioned the river ,an ideal formulated in the little brain to do another one that fits up against the castle one ,I do like to make things hard for myself but more on that soon . Scenic water is great when you have everything level but anything other than that is just waiting to bugger up your day big time ,🕷 just like a funnel web spider bite would !.

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      1. John@justneedsvarnish

        Now, whereas another base that butts up against it is a brilliant idea, you might find yourself thinking “Oooh, that looks good, I’ll just do another one to fit against the new one . . .” and you can see where this is going!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. patmcf

      Thanks Mark , am working on the fig.s but having painted some Strelets guys I have decided to go with my new Valdemar ones I got Xmas ,now I have to paint these and although I like the hot weather It slows up my painting enthusiasm ,probably to much beer! Ha!.

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  9. Pingback: Terrain & Centrepiece Models Paint Challenge January 2019 – Community Round-Up | Azazel's Bitz Box.

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