"Do Zvezda castles/forts work for 25/28mm?" Topic

I'm sorry if I've missed this on another post. I've seen plenty of reviews, etc. talking about their minis, but very little about the castles and fortresses.

The modular approach is brilliant and cost effective. The question is, do they really work for 25/28mm? I've not had much luck finding any photos using 25+mm minis or sites with specific dimensions beyond general component sizes. I'd love having an excuse to invest in the stuff, but I can't bring myself to do it sight unseen. Any thoughts and experiences are much appreciated.

I have purchsed a Zvezda castle for my 25mm GW LOTR figures.
I think it works real well. What I like is that they have extensions that you can use to raise the height of the walls with and also the height of the square or round towers with. I do not have mine assembled with the extensions yet though.
If you give me your email address I can get photos of the walls and towers with my 25mm LOTR figs. (The walls and towers won't have the extensions addedthough.)
My email is wsiko2@comcast.net

Thanks WarWizard, I'll shoot you an e-mail.

Hey, while this topic is being stirred, what about other makers such as MiniArt, Imex, and Accurate? Anyone have experiences with those 1/72 sets?

Here are some pictures of my Zvezda castle, and a foam base I made for it, and some LotR figures.

link

The doors are a bit small, and the gate is small for horses. I made my base before I heard about Zvezda's extensions. Mine is for a particular setup, theirs will adjust.

I mounted a bunch of the walls and towers with magnets instead of the plastic pieces they use to hold them together. It still doesn't work that well ...

andy

I would have said they were too small, even for LOTR figures, which are not THAT much smaller than regular 28mm ranges. I have the Tartar wooden fort and it is really scaled for plastic 1/72nd scale figures. The castles I've seen in the local shop look too small as well.

Walt and Andy...thanks for the pics...most helpful.

Altfritz...thanks for chiming in on the wooden fortress as it was the last of the three pieces to consider.

The gate/portcullis area does seem to be a bit on the small side, BUT (you knew that was coming), if one is willing to work with a little bit of "not quite perfect", the versatility, limitless expansion possibilities, and the cost factor are making this really hard to resist for me.

Still welcoming other opinions and pics, especially on those other makers.

Thanks again all.

Our LotR group uses an Italieri Medieval Castle set. It's also "not quite perfect" but if you've got nothing else and want to have any siege scenarios like Helm's Deep or Minas Tirith, then it's "good enough".

The real issue is not really the vertical scaling, but more how many figures can be placed on the battlements. That's where the different ground scale will force a bit of cramming models together.

I may be mistaken but I thought Zvedza had both 28mm and 1/72 scale fortifications.

Andy,
Those are great frogs! Is your castle the 1/72 version?

How expensive are the Zvedza castle bits?

I use Microtactix's Dirt Cheap Keeps. I even have a layout that does for Helm's Deep

The Simba toys "Falcon Castle" set looks like it's be useful with a paint job.

I have their "Black Rock Castle" which is a smal fort and looks Ok for LoTR down to 15/20mm and I'm told the Falcon Castle scales bigger

Zvezda castles, wooden forts et al are all made in a single scale: "none specified!". Well, they probably say 1/72 somewhere on the box, but the box art (for the stone castles at least) shows the pieces in use with both Zevzda's 1:72 figures and also their 28mm-ish "Ring Of Rule" undead Romans (interesting plastic multipose figs by all accounts, if a little pricey). So obviously the fortifications are designed with both scales in mind.

I work in a hobby store, so I know these things ;)

Some of the siege equipment scales well with '28mm' figures, the onager and the ballista in particular. The mobile battering ram does not, and I've not yet seen the trebuchet.

Italieri's castle is the Zvezda castle. The same set is sold for 28mm figures, I think. I can't see them making another set. They have released many variations on that castle, and often older ones are very cheap. But I don't have any of the round towers yet, because those are from sets that cost a bit more.

Take a look at squadron.com, go to Search, and enter Zvezda for the manufacturer. Look at the last two pages. The Ancient Stone Fortress is the best value, in terms of wall and tower pieces. $27 USD or so for 6 towers and 12 walls. Wow, they've got a lot of extras that I had not seen before. The full whiz-bang castle is $170. USD

The wooden fortress is much smaller than the castle. It would be really hard to use with 25mm or greater, unless you assume the doors and such are small because it is a military outpost.

Are there any other options for somewhat inexpensive castles?

I know GW has the fortress set, and The Miniature Building Authority now has castle walls, but these are somewhat expensive - However they are painted. Are there any others?

The Ancient Stone Fortress I mention above is very cheap for what you get. Check it out at Squadron.

You can also go with cardstock. Someone above mentioned MicroTactix. Also check out Work Works' CastleWorks Ultimate. Cheap to buy, though I could see waiting for it to be printed, which might turn out cheaper overall (considering ink).

link

andy

"Are there any other options for somewhat inexpensive castles?"

Hirst arts moulds springs to mind- if you can lug plaster around.

link

I have most of Hirst Art's towers and other projects as ready-to-build kits at my site.

You can also buy sets of cast pieces to make your own castle.

Regards,

Iain

imartin@castlekits.com

Andy, your Zvezda kit looks an awful lot like my Imex Models castle. Might be an identical kit. Like you, I put mine on a foam base and use it for LotR.
-Scott

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and comments.

@hurcheon...Castle Falcon is great and great value; I'd gladly take the plunge on that if there were an easy way to modify the towers to accomodate multiple-floor mini placement.

Everyone should also take a look at MysticMoldwyrks (he has an e-bay store)...I wish his stuff were a little more detailed (like having actual window and door cutouts instead of representative stick-on pieces) and that he'd expand the range a little bit, but if you buy his unpainted stuff, it's quite a value.

i think i'll buy the zvezda ancient fortress, paper houses and bridges look very good, but i think a castle needs be a little more sturdy.

Andy Skinner; why are some of the pieces white? are they from the extension sets?

lykaon:

Will you post again with an update (pictures if possible) letting us know how the fortress is working for you? Thanks.

i will, as soon as i buy the castle.

Hi,

I have the Zvezda Stone Fortress, the Zvezda Wooden Palisade Fort, GW Helms Deep, GW Minas Tirith, HIRSTS Castle Molds, and the EXIN Castle blocks - I like castles ;-)

I bought all of these for my LOTR gaming. The Zvezda Stone Castle is a fine representation of a curtain wall and tower combination. They will work fine for the right sort of game and be a poor representatin for others (the sweeping walls of Minas Tirith for example - but so is the GW Minas Tirith wall set). They are great represenetations of Hadrians Wall, a Mile Fort, Robinhood castle, Cair Andros, the outer wall at Helms Deep (from the book), a Norman Keep, etc.

The battlement is 1.5 inches deep. One idea I had was to add a wooden extension around the rim (seen pictures of this on real castles also). With GW bases one figure can defend the battlements - nice defensive arrangement!

Each wall is 3 inches long, 3.75 inches to the top of the merlons, and the battlement is just over 2.5 inches. (By the way the ends of the walls are hollow.)

The towers are 3 inches square at the base, 6 inches to the top of the merlon, and just under 5 inches to the floor of the roof. The area enclosed by the battlements is 2.75 inches square.

You can open small doorways or windows in the sides of the towers and walls - these openings are just over an inch tall and 0.625 inches wide. Nice small defendable doors.

In the US these are very cheap through Squadron. They are easily modified. As has been noted lots of accessories are available including round towers, drawbridge, a bridge, windows/doors/portcullis, a living quarters building, watch towers, and height extensions. It is hard to imagine a more flexible castle system for gaming.

By the way, for the wooden fort, I raised the roofs on the towers using longer supports and made the roofs removable. This is fine for use as fort in the marches. Again, the battlements only accomodate one figure at a time.

Jimmy

LostPic:

Thanks for the detailed specs...as yet, I've not gotten these.

The one complaint I've heard from some is that the portcullis/main gate is a bit too small for mounted 25/28mm. What are your thoughts? How do your mounted LOTR minis work with that from a scale standpoint? Thanks.

Back Again,

So the gate on the stone fortress is 2 7/8 inches wide (I love Imperial units) and 2 1/2 inches tall. These gates are typical of real castle gateways. It easily accomodates a column two men wide or a single LOTR cavalry figure or a double line of 1 inch wide cavalry mounts (as a reference - mounted Aragorn (from the bottom of his base) is 1 3/4 inches tall. In my travels in the UK, many castles have gates that are about these dimensions. This gate will also easily accomodate 1/72 or 25mm scale land vehicles (I've been imagining using this castle for WWII prison somewhere is Europe). Again, I think it is good match. One suggestion is to order just a tower or wall and check it out.

One thing about these things - they take a while to build. Each wall section has 9 pieces and each tower has 14 pieces. The corners of the tower crenallations are a bit fiddly. It took me at least 8 hours to build all towers and 12 wall sections. The doors/windows look good when opened, but are a bit of a bear to cut.

The wooden fort is significantly smaller dimensions:

Palisades 2 3/4 inches tall, the battlement walk is 3/4 inches wide and 1 7/8 inches off the ground. The gate opening is 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches tall. Remember the gate in Bree? It is about that size. As such the gate would accomodate a horse drawn cart, a double column of troops (the soldiers would scrunch up as they stepped through the opening) or a single column of dismounted cavalry. A non-slotta based figure fits comfortably on the battlements and a GW base slightly hangs off the back. These walls are definitely tall enough for outlying fortifications. They are not massive, but would require scaling ladders to surmount. The logs are probably about 10" in scale diameter.

The tower is 3 3/4 inches tall. The doors are definitely undersized at 3/4 tall and 3/8 inches wide. These doors' size are very much in keeping with defensive doors I've seen at wooden stockade forts in the States. You can enlarge the doors with a model saw.

It is easy to imagine a defender standing inside and guarding the entrance. I snipped off the roof supports and replaced them with 1 1/2 inch long pieces of sprue. I left the roofs loose so it is easy to take remove troops. Four GW figures can crowd onto the tower's top.

I've decided to mount the palisades and towers on top of a grass fort to make a nice modular dark age fortification. This components go together quickly. Each wall has 4 pieces and the towers have 7 pieces (plus the 4 sprue roof support replacements). You will need to sand and fill some of the log joins to make them look right.

Good gaming!

Jimmy

LostPic (Jimmy):

Thanks for the great info...that's exactly the kind of data I'm looking for. It confirms what I've been thinking about doing.

I've been toying with the idea of using the smaller Zvezda stuff for smaller, regional or perimeter fortifications and getting Imex 1/35 castles for primary, more imposing city and palace walls, etc. I know some will think the scale is way out of wack, but not so for every use. If you haven't seen those, they're great. Wall walkways are wide enough for 3-deep defenders on 25mm bases and actual combat taking place.

No worries on the assembly. With the Imex, I'm even thinking about slight mods to enable removal of the inside wall section panels to enable placement of minis inside the wall.

Thanks again.

Does anybody have any suggestions on Painting the Zvezda Stone Castle. Sorry if this is posted in the wrong forum.

I painted mine dark grey as a base coat. Then I mixed white into the grey paint and dry brushed successive layers of paler grey tones.
(I did try some brown tones but didn't like the result so repainted in grey tones.)

I used Humbrol Matt enamels. It worked but GW or similar Acrylics are probably easier.

Regards

Mick

I came across this painting guide a while back.

link

Obviously these techniques are for deeper recesses than with the zvezda or Imex castles but the principles are identical (so just don't push so hard – for those who are not experienced in painting).

Due to the size of the castles it really makes common sense to use house paint as opposed to ridiculously priced model paint.

Hi Guys,

The Zvezda castles are merketed under a number of different names:

- ZVEZDA = Italieri = Imex

Some different brands are:

- MiniArts from the Ukraine

And…

- Airfix Sherwood Forest Castle

And…

- MPC / Marx castle pieces (…intended for 54mm, but look good with 28mm figures).

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
6mm-minis.blogspot.com