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- Details - More Details
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MaterialsCorrugated cardboard is used for some details. The ends of the cardboard need to be filled. I use pre mixed filling paste used for patching plasterboard as I had some left over from repairing a water damaged plaster ceiling. You could also use Spakfilla or Polyfilla or similar. Towers and some buildings are made from foamboard. Details are added in a variety of ways. Matchsticks were used for some of the horizontal ledges. Some windows were made from polymer clay (first making a master, then a mould so I could make lots). Some whole walls were made from polymer clay. For some walls I used plastic stone wall sections from a model railway shop. Corner stonework was added by gluing on cardboard rectangles in a staggered pattern. Rockwork was made using cans of expanding foam as used to fill cavities. Some sections were left with the natural surface. Other sections were cut to shape using a serrated knife to give a rough texture. Painting The DetailThe whole structure was given a coat of matt black acrylic paint. Once this was dry, a coat of dark grey was dry brushed on. With dry brushing, you only put a small amount of paint on the paintbrush. You then wipe off most of it onto waste paper or cardboard. Then you lightly brush across the model. This only puts the paint on the raised surfaces and leaves the previous darker paint as a shadowed effect in the crevasses. Allow each layer to dry. Each successive layer should use a lighter shade than the last. Also each layer should have less paint on the brush and put on more lightly than the previous layer. The end result is a very realistic effect. The photos on this page have had the black undercoat, dark grey dry brush coat, and a mid grey dry brush coat. Next will come a light grey and then a white dry brush coat to finish and turn it into the white city of Gondor. Stay Tuned For More DetailsTo see how Minas Tirith looked at Games 2004, click on Lord of the Rings at Games 2004. Stay tuned for more details once the dust has settled from Games 2004, including how to build a siege tower. But for now, click to return to the Lord Of The Rings Home Page |
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Above. Expanding foam added at the back where the city was carved out of the mountain. |
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Above. Use normal polystyrene foam to reduce the amount of spray can expanding foam that will go over it. I cut horizontal ridges out of the vertical polystyrene block to help the expanding foam sit in place while it is drying. |
Above. The round towers were made from a variety of cardboard tubes with foamboard butresses. It was a good excuse to buy some Pringles potato chips (crisps for those in the U.K.) because they come in such a good sized container. |
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Above. The brown item in the picture above is a Gondorian Trebuchet model from Games Workshop. The second wall of Minas Tirith alone is 610mm (24") high |
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Right. Not quite the White City of Gondor yet, but it will be when the painting is complete. My son Murray shows just how big the model of Minas Tirith is. |
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Above. Gate through wall 3 being constructed. |
Above. Some detail before painting. The front wall is part of a model railway building with cardboard roof tiles and polymer clay sculpted side walls. |
Above. Some buildings on the right side. |
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Above. The building at the top of the courtyard on level 7. |
Above. A close up of another building sculpted from polymer clay. |
Above. Some buildings on the left side. |
