Turkish stronghold unveiled

The final step to complete this Big Battle HotT army .. the stronghold. I wanted something that reflected the minaret look, yet was small enough for the gaming table. I had two more of the old curtain rail ends, and had an idea of what I might do... minarets against an 'old world' wall setting for a simple stronghold.

The two curtain rail ends

Amongst my Dad's tools is this awesome device. A series of sliding pins, looking much like a comb. Push the pins against the shape you want to replicate to copy the shape. Ideal for cutting angular pieces to go against a more complex conic shape.

The base with a backboard.

A doorway for the back wall

Doorway construction completed using card

and attached to the backboard

I painted the camp back and base to look slightly decayed.. brown, layered with a beige/bone colour, then given a brown wash.

I then painted an area to look as if stucco had fallen away to reveal coloured bricks beneath.

The floor tiles were scribed with a sharp point, then given a black and a brown wash along the lines

 I painted the minarets wiht blues and gold, and then decided that I really needed to add a little more, so a dormer window was added. he card abutting the minaret was cut using the magical pin device to first get the shape.

I added a gable front, again made from heavy card

The completed minarets attached to the base, wiht a 'stained glass' effect painted on the front, and leadlight window look (black bars and plain glass) on the sides.

Finally (and always a part of the plan - I'd drilled holes in the top of the minarets to accomodate flag poles) .. the minarets with flags on top. These in particular were intended to reinforce the aesthetic coherence of the army.