Castle Walls

The most practical dimension for a wall section is 12" long, 2" wide and 4" high. Basically, It is a rectangular block with battlements. It could be made from a solid block of wood or polystyrene. It could be made from cardboard or sheets of balsa wood. It could even be made from a box, if you could get some of the right dimensions.

The ideal materials for making a sturdy box-wall section are polystyrene ceiling tiles, cork tiles, thick cardboard or sheets of balsa wood. For added strength glue the section on to a strong base made of either wood or thick card. (You should cut out all the bases for the project at the same time to ensure that the dimensions of the sections are the same and that all sections fit together.)

If you are using thin materials you might want to add buttresses for added strength. Buttresses can be made from thin strips of cardboard, balsa wood or any other leftovers from pervious projects. They should be glued on to the wall every few inches, inside as well as outside.

If you are using corrugated cardboard then you will have quite a sturdy construction but there will be unsightly holes along the edges. An easy way to fix this is to simply run a strip of masking tape or paper tape along all of the edges.

Folding thick cardboard can cause uneven folds. To get around this problem cut the card where the fold would be and stick them together with PVA glue.

The front of a wall section should have raised battlements which screen and shelter the defenders. On most castles these would be about the same height as a man, with regular intervals where the defender can shoot through. If you want simplicity just have a raised bit that the defender can shoot over without the bits to hide behind.

When you are gluing the box structure together, you can use tape to hold it all together while you are applying PVA glue somewhere else on the model. One important thing to remember when gluing anything is to take your time. Wait till one bit is dry before you apply glue to another bit. Steadily drying the section over a day or so is best. The principles of building a real castle also apply to your model one, build for strength, thickness and durability!