My main goal is to create a fortress that is relatively playable in a siege game while at the same time presenting a look with a very Bretonnian signature to it - moreso than the commercially available "Mighty Fortress" that GW makes. While the GWMF is a very playable and handsome model, I wanted something with a bit more flash than 4 walls and a gate.
I began by creating a number of drawings where I explored various ideas and began to narrow the scope of the project. I knew that I wanted something lofty, with a very tall central tower which is supposed to be common in Bretonnian design. I wanted to favor round towers over square, and to incorporate architectural elements from some of my favorite buildings in Paris (such as Notre Dame and the Hotel de Ville).
The first decision I made was that I would NOT have a detailed interior. Although I toyed with this idea during the concept stage, I realized that it would dramatically increase the amount of work involved and would not add significantly to the "playability" factor. Next I decided that the basic structure would be from foamcore, with textured plastic embossed with brickwork or masonry forming the facade. I knew I wanted at least two teirs of battlements, so that during a seige game the defenders could retreat from the main walls to a fallback position.
I drew up detailed plans - very important, that! It showed me right away what would work and what wouldn't. It's very important to draw to scale (using graph paper helps) so that you know exatly how much material you need and how it all fits together. My primary inspirations for the overall structure were the the cover of the "Perilous Quest" campaign pack and the Cinderella castle at Walt Disney World. |
