"28mm Lace Wars Spanish Colonial fort" Topic

I finally got started on my much talked-about 28mm Fort Matanzas model. it is coming along nicely (so far).
Take a look! link

The Spanish built this stone fort in 1740 to replace a series of wooden ones that had guarded Saint Augustine in Florida from attacks by pirates, English and French ships.

University of South Florida recently did a 3-D survey of the fort and it is well worth a read see here; link

Comments, criticism and suggestions are always welcome.

Very cool! Progress looks good.
I visit St. augustine often and actually planned on making a model of this fort myself :)

I'm impressed! And, it looks like you are off to a good start.
One thing that I really like about this fort is that I think it looks doable, unlike a star fort, or some of the other big forts I saw photos of when I started doing pirates.
Was there a moat or something around the fort back in the day?

Grelber

I was just there 2 weeks ago!! Didn't get to Matanzas though, the Park Service runs the ferry and they stopped because of the "threat of rain"…..I'll post a picture of the real thing here when I get home.

St. Augustine BTW…..beautiful! I can't wait to go back….

Dave

PzGeneral

We could have crossed paths, I was there the week after Easter and toured the Castillo and the Fort as well as bumming around the Old Town with my grandkids and children.

Rumor is that they are planning to cover the fort and the Castillo with stucco once more, I can't wait!

Grieber,

As far as I can find there was no moat per-se, the fort had the river on one side and vast expanses of salt-tidal marsh loaded with gators on the other three sides. Approaching ships had to navigate a narrow channel straight into the gunfire of the fort.

I do plan on making a model of the Castillo, which is a four bastioned star-fort. Foolish, I know, but I have been called insane in the past.

Here are my two photos. Like I said, the Park Service shut the ferry down because of a chance of rain, so my only photo of the Fort is from across the river.

The second picture is of a small diorama in the Park Visitor Center.

Dave

Anton,

We made it to St. Augustine on April 13. Were there Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Thursday we went down the A1A and ended up in Titusville, Friday we went to the Kennedy Space Center, then flew home.

BTW, what part of Michigan do you live? I live in the SE corner, just above Toledo…..

Dave

Just looking GREAT!

PzGeneral
Sounds like a great vacation, hope you had a lot of fun.
I am blessed with a very understanding spouse and family; they don't complain (well, not a lot anyways) about "Fort Day" ….. the day out of every vacation that we spend wandering around some fort with me taking pictures.

I have lots of pictures of the Fort and the Castillo I can send you some if you like.

If you attend the ProorCon wargame conventions you have probably seen me, a thick-set guy with a big mustache

I live in Warren, just north-east of Detroit, about an hour's drive away from you on I-75

Coming to Drums at Fort Meigs in May?

If so, say 'Hi' I'll be running a Zulu game and a Martian Front game.

PzGeneral

Drums isn't on my normal circuit of cons but I will try to make it

Wow, two almost neighbors on TMP! I live in Newport, just off 75.