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How to Make a Watch Tower

Things You Will Need:

• A cardboard drum or tube with a large diameter
• A cork floor tile (These are available from most DIY stores. It also does not matter if you get varnished ones)
• Some dolls house wall paper with stones on (or you could just paint them on)
• Some sellotape
• A pencil
• Some sturdy but flexible card
• Some PVA glue
• Black Paper
• A small file
• A hot glue gun and a pair of scissors.

Step 1

Cut a long strip of card long enough to go right around the cardboard drum and about 10cm wide. Turn the drum upside down and place a miniature on it (I used a bowman because that is what I am going to put on it when I put the tower into a game).

Step 2

Wrap the card around the drum and slide it upwards till it goes above the height of the miniatures head. Secure it with a little bit of sellotape (I do mean "a little bit" because you are going to take it off in a minute). Draw a line right around it at the height where the bottom of the castleations are going to be, about at the figures waist. Now take the sellotape off and draw lines from the top of the piece of card to the line you just drew every 1-2.5cm (Or whatever you think will look right. Remember that the miniatures have to be able to shoot through the cut out bit so don't make it to thin).

Step 3

Using the bottom of the drum as a template trace round it onto the cork floor tile.

Step 4

Cut out every other little square and then glue it into place. Put it on the side somewhere. It should begin to look a bit like a tower now.

Step 5

Cut a square around the circle which you drew earlier onto the cork tile and then carefully cut around it using the pair of scissors. If you can not do it because of any reason or you are struggling use a craft knife because it will be neater. Leave a small border around the outside of the line because you can always file a bit off or cut a bit off if it is to big but if it's to small you can't stick more on. If you finished this step quickly go and do something for 20 minutes because you must let the PVA glue dry from step 4.

Step 6

Glue the circle of cork onto the the top with hot glue if it is to big file or cut a bit off repeat this until it just fits on. Then glue stone wall paper stuff all over the outside and round the top.

Step 7

Cut a door shape out of cork cut it about a 1cm to big because you need to include a door frame. You can just use brown paper if you want but it is up to you. If you used cork decide whether you want a open or closed door. If you want a closed door stick some stone paper stuff around the edge leaving a door shaped bit of cork showing for the door. If you want an open door cover it all in stone paper stuff and then cut a door from cork and a same sized bit from black paper. Stick the black paper where the door should be then hot glue the cork door to it on the edge of the black so it looks like the door is open. Now go and do something for 20 minutes so all the glue can dry.

Step 8

Stick the door and frame bits onto the tower wherever you want them to be.

Step 9

Cut out some arrow slits or windows from black paper and glue them on round the outside of the tower.

Hint:

I made the battlements with a flat top and also made a roof which would sit on top of the tower so that I could have the tower with battlements or a roof. For instructions on how to make a roof go here

Afternote:

I wrote this page before I wrote the page called Making Doors and Windows, and therefore if you want to make some arrowslits or a door using those instructions, feel free to do so as it will work in just the same way. Also there is a page on Texturing and Painting your tower in my pages about making a castle.

Example:

Baron Etienne d'Arden made a watchtower using some of these instructions and also the tips in the castlebuilding section. Here is a picture of it:

You can get to his website by clicking this banner:

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