Building a tower

A couple months ago, using a chocolate powder can (which is tall and slender - very fitting for a tower) I made this medieval tower model. 

The materials I used were:

- The tin can

- Mask tape (to cover the metal surface of the can)

- Clay (to make the tiles. The clay sticks to the mask tape easily)

- Glue (plastic glue, so that the tiles are better fixed, and to add a thin transparent coat on them, just to keep them in place)

- toothpicks (to help make the top of the tower and its battlements)

- metal wire (to shape the round top of the tower)

- popsicle sticks (to make the floor on the top of the tower)

The tower almost finished, with the clay bricks already sculpted. I used a hobby knife to trace the brick outlines on the clay surface (in the background another "tower" I made using the same process but using a towel paper roll. It will become a mill or something like that)

The round top of the tower. The floor is made of popsicle sticks glued together then sawed in a round shape. I then drilled roles with a small hand drill and placed toothpicks around. Then I wraped wire and glued paper to make a round "wall" were the battlements would be placed.

The top of the tower completed with clay, the bricks and battlements already sculpted.

Another view of the top of the tower. The Archers are just for reference. The tuna can in the background was used to help shaping the round wooden floor!

The tower set, with 3 landsknecths arquebusiers already on watch!

Now all that is left to do  is to decide if I will paint the tower or not (I kinda liked this  "earthy" clay tone), and which collor will it it be.

I also need to make a door and a few windows (probably out of cardboard paper).

So far this tower has been sitting on my bookshelf for a few months, waiting a game and/or to be finished.

Construindo uma torre

Há alguns meses eu construí uma torre medieval usando uma lata de achocolatado em pó (a qual por ser alta e relativamente fina me pareceu adequada para construir uma torre!) 

Os materiais usados foram os seguintes:

- A lata

- Fita crepe (para cobrir a superfície metálica da lata)

- Argila (para fazer os tijolos da torre. A Argila grudou com facilidade na fita crepe)

- Cola (usei cola plástica para isopor, para reforçar a união dos tijolos e criar uma fina camada transparente protetora sobre eles, de modo que ficassem bem fixos à estrutura da torre)

- Palitos de dente (usei para ajudar a fazer o topo da torre)

- Arame (para ajudar a fazer a parede arredondada do topo da torre)

--palitos de picolé (para o chão do topo da torre)

A torre já quase pronta, com os tijolos de argila esculpidos. Eu usei um estilete para traçar as linhas dos tijolos na superfície da argila (no fundo da foto, outra "torre" que fiz usando o mesmo método, só que usando como base um rolo de papel toalha - essa vai virar um moinho ou algo parecido, ao invés de uma torre, por ser mais fina).

O topo da torre, em progresso. O chão foi feito de palitos de picolé que colei juntos e então serrei em círculo. Então fiz pequenos furos com uma mini-furadeira manual e encaixei os palitos de dente ao longo da circunferência. Então amarrei o arame passando pelos palitinhos e colei papel canson de modo a formar uma "parede" redonda onde serão feitas as améias da torre. 

O topo da torre já completo com argila e com os tijolos e améias esculpidos.

Vista de outro ângulo do topo da torre. Os arqueiros são só para referência. A lata de atum no fundo da foto foi usada para traçar o círculo nos palitinhos de picolé na hora de fazer o chão! 

A torre montada, com 3 arcabuzeiros lansquenetes já de guarda!

Agora tudo o que falta é  decidir se vou pintar a torre ou não (eu meio que gostei do tom terroso da argila pura) e de que cor pintar, se for o caso.

E também preciso dizer uma porta e algumas janelas para aumentar o realismo (provavelmente vou fazê-las de papelão)

Até o momento esta torre está há alguns meses na minha estante de livros, esperando por um jogo e/ou ser finalizada.

Building wargaming scenery on a budget

(Para a versão em Português, clique aqui)

One of the joys of wargaming (and one of the True Joys that exist in our world) is the joy of creation.

Also, our hobby is a rather expensive one, and it can be much worse if we buy everything that we think is necessary to play.

Therefore, in this hobby I think we gotta be more like producers instead of consumers, as much as we can. 

One good way to save some money and also train our "creativity muscles" is to build our own terrain and scenario, as far as our craftsmanship can take us.

I think almost anything scenario-wise can be built with simple, cheap, household materials.

Here is a list of some of said materials I have used so far:

- toothpicks

- popsickle sticks

- empty cardboard boxes and packages (such as tea boxes, toothpick packages, etc.)

- coffee mixers (those made of wood, like popsicle sticks,  but usually thinner)

- toilet paper (when well mixed with glue it can be used to emulate fabric, clothes, etc.)

- toilet paper and towel paper rolls (the cardboard roll where  TP is wrapped around)

- sprues (I often keep the best parts of the sprues in which the miniatures come - some are great to make trees, logs, fences, ladders, etc. And if the piece os sprue is good enough, one may even be anle to sculpt a simple weapon)

- metal wire (including copper wires - good to emulate ropes and sometimes pikes, spears, etc.)

- clay (to sculpt bricks, tiles, etc.)

- Empty cans 

- match boxes (they are usually made of hard cardboard and/or wood, which is good for making shields and pavises)

- scrap wood (such as old pencils, which are good to make palisades)

- bottle caps (the metal ones may be sawed to make shields)