First of all – this could have been a work bench article – but when things got rushed – I did not stop to take proper pictures of the progress and all of the special tools I used to make this terrain.
Here are links to various pictures of a Samurai Castle based upon a real castle – Matsumoto Castle: link
The castle was constructed of a base of MDF boards which are available at Home Depot and they come pre-cut in 2' x 4' sections. I used these as the base because they easily allowed me to layout a 4' x 8' board for the castle by drawing the foundation on the boards and then cutting the foam to fit the design of the foundation. link
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After creating the foundation in pink foam, the foam boards were gradually covered with a product called Aves Studios Clay Shay. This product is found here: sculptingstudio.com
Clay Shay has as they say the properties of paper mache' and clay – with some of the properties of plaster. It dries very hard and since it is a polymer based product it adheres to the pink foam very well. (You can see later pictures of the castle in action in Olympia, Washington, after it traveled in a car over 900 miles).
The castle was coated with the clay shay and as the product cured, the stone lines were carved into the product to create the irregular stone work which is inherent in the construction of the foundations of Japanese castles. I am sure the process could be used for creating European castle stone work too. The process is a bit time consuming, but if one is dedicated (I was NOT dedicated) the project could have been complete in a weekend or two at 4-8 hours per day working on the project. I took considerably longer – because I am a terrible procrastinator!
You can see here the stone work in progress, and the completed stone work.
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I then constructed the castle out of foam core – making sure to keep as close to the original structure as practical. If you have seen a Japanese castle up close – you will realize that unless you are making it for a static display where NO ONE will play with it, you do not have the time, wherewithall, or need to go into all of the obsessive details which are found in every Japanese castle. They are beautiful and the craftsmanship in each and every one is simply amazing. The architecture, down to the purposely built uneven staircases, maze like interior corridors and passage ways, and the intricate detail on the roof tiles.
Here is the castle at its first blooding at Enfilade! 2008. The scenario being played was a fictional "What if the Ming demanded tribute from the Japanese during the era of the treasure fleets?" Loosely based upon the book 1421, which documents some of the exploits of the Ming treasure fleets and speculates on many, many more. This era of history is going to explode in the next three decades as more and more Chinese scholarship is made available to the West.
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Finally – this terrain and some new games will be played at Tactical Solutions 2008 in Cour d'Alene, Idaho, October 17-18-19. So, if you are interested – make the trip and join in the fun!
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Additionally – we are currently trying to book John the OFM to attend and show off his Sedan Chair racing game. Which, if you have never played, will be a huge hit as it is in the TMP Lounge!
