"Has anyone mixed Hovels & Grand Manner Roman fort pieces?" Topic

This inquiry is based on a desire to try to save a little "dosh." Has anyone successfully mixed pieces from Hovels' and Grand Manner's respective renditions of their Roman "Hadrian's Wall" fort pieces in the same project?

I have it in mind to build a larger "Auxiliary" (if not small "Legionary") fort -- larger than either company's Mile Castle: e.g., Hovels', at about $175.00 USD, sans interiors, AND w/out figuring shipping…

…or Grand Manner's, at about $300.00 USD, sans interiors, AND w/out figuring shipping…

Perhaps you begin to catch my drift…

I was thinking that using mostly Hovels pieces, I could contrive the main line of the fort walls less… expensively!!! I would NOT use their Mile Castle "back gate." Instead, I would substitute a second set of the pieces to make the Mile Castle's "front gate." These two would constitute the opposite "lesser" gates of the fort -- i.e. with only one passage-way. What I had in mind was to mix in two of Grand Manner's "Double arched gateway" on the other two walls, as the "main gate," and its "mate" into the fort on the opposite wall…

I figure Grand Manner's stuff is a bit "larger" than Hovels', so matching wall sections to each other would be pretty hard, which is why GENERALLY I would not try. That lets out trying to incorporate "Straight wall with adjoining latrine block!" However, there is the free-standing -- albeit wattle-n-daub timber-framed -- "Latrine house!" Then too, either is probably something I can manage from foam-board myself…

However, Grand Manner's "Double arched gateway" stands alone… w/out wall-sections as "wings." Even if the wall-walk doors on the gateway didn't exactly match to the height of the Hovels wall sections level of the wall-walk, I could use some pieces of foam board or even balsa wood to contrive "steps" leading up from the wall-walk to the door-sill?

The "kicker" is I would REALLY like to use Grand Manner's "Corner watch tower" on the fort's four corners, but would they match up to Hovels' wall sections' level of the wall-walk?

Then too, to try to use the corner towers, there is the THICKNESS of the respective company's wall sections?? I guess I could try to contrive more "steps leading up from the wall-walk" to try to match Hovels' wall to Grand Manner's "Corner watch tower." Still, I am not sure how I would "camouflage" the difference in their wall thickness --- assuming there is a difference?? As I BET there is!!???

Then there is the fact that neither company's Mile Castle walls are backed by earthen revetment/reinforcement -- but clearly Grand Manner's "Corner watch tower" is revetted. I may be able to cover that by applying a cut-for-the-purpose and etched piece of thin plasti-card, to make it look like the revetting has been walled off… If I am making sense here… Still leaves the HEIGHT differential, but that should at least solve the THICKNESS problem… Maybe…???

Constructive comments and ideas GREATLY appreciated!!

I should SWIFTLY add --- yes, I DO understand that Grand Manner's "Double arched gateway" and "Corner watch tower" are part of a different set (or sets) from, and NOT part of, their "Hadrian's Wall" milieu… Thanks in advance!

No one has ever tried this…???? Really?

Still… No one can provide this information??

Can't help with the dimensions of those pieces but it looks as if there are two distinctive styles of brickwork there.

I presume (till challenged by any evidence) that when first built stone roman forts were put up fairly quickly and so the brickwork would be fairly uniform.

My impression from my several visits to the wall on/off between 1975 and 2002 was of a decidedly UN-uniform appearance. There is much talk in various published sources of "quarrying" of stone for the wall, but a close inspection of the stone at many points on the wall of the surviving "courses" suggests that stone blocks were only very roughly finished before being set into the inner and outer faces.

E.G.:

Note that this is Milecastle 37's North gate -- where one might think some effort at actual "uniformity" would be made?? Clearly, the LARGE blocks of the arch have received some attention, BUT, they are not of a uniform size (though many are very close -- admittedly). However, glance at the smaller "wall" stones abutting the arch, and how they are not smooth-faced or uniformly sized? Although, they are SIMILARLY but not identically sized.

My main concern would not be so much, "did the stone blocks look aesthetically uniform," but rather, do the walls of the two manufacturer's models "match up?"

Width of the two different maker's walls? Height of their wall-walks? Etc.

You can email Dave and ask him the measurements of whatever you want to know. I asked him about the size of one of his Trojan walls, a breach section, because I have a custom made City of Troy, but wanted to add a breach wall section,etc.

So I emailed him and asked him exactly what I wanted to know. I know that Hovels is mostly true 25mm scale, and Grand Manner is 28mm or bigger. The walls probably wont match.

That is why I would ask him, Dave at Grand Manner, he is super nice.

And IMO, Grand Manner is much better detail.

Tom

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