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Building Penthesilea's Castle (Read 8623 times)

Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Building Penthesilea's Castle Oct 12^th, 2006 at 4:02am	Print Post
	Come watch me build my Castle and, periodically, lose my mind. I'll be documenting the building process of the Castle itself and if I can manage to photograph them, I'll document the painting of the miniatures too. I don't know how I'll be posting the pictures but I'll take them as I go and worry about it later!


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #1 - Oct 12^th, 2006 at 4:17am	Print Post
	Okay, our Fearless Leader has volunteered to talk me through the GeoCities process for the pictures so that will be taken care of. Guess I better get out the camera tripod and start practicing....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #2 - Oct 12^th, 2006 at 7:56pm	Print Post
	hehehehehehehe The molds arrived today..... MoonCat and I are drooling but I am going to be virtuous (No cracks, DK!) and do my chores before I start mixing plaster. As I promised, I'll be taking pictures as I go... And Fearless Leader? You might want to start thinking about what the Cathedral looks like.......
	« Last Edit: Oct 12^th, 2006 at 11:52pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #3 - Oct 13^th, 2006 at 1:41am	Print Post
	Don't fret, we have lots of time. I still have to figure out how to do this.... Plus the new job you laid on me tonight...


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #4 - Oct 13^th, 2006 at 2:23am	Print Post
	Yeah, I know. EVERYONE is doomed now...


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #5 - Oct 13^th, 2006 at 10:16pm	Print Post
	I'm going to do another color test tonight and I've been rounding up what little special equipment I need: a set of "dedicated" measuring spoons, a large putty knife and a special "working" board. The board is a shelf that we didn't use when we put together MoonCat's entertainment center. I've glued four pieces of sponge to the back of it and I'm waiting for the glue to dry. Why? After the plaster is poured into the molds, it is recommended that you pound your fist on the work surface next to the mold to cause the bubbles in the mix to collapse. Most work surfaces are too sturdy -- or should be! -- to really dislodge those bubbles. So they recommend that you construct a board with sponge squares on the back to pound on. I've also found an unused "spatter" screen that I can use as a drying rack. Once I'm satisfied with the color test, I'll start making blocks. Something tells me I'm gonna need to order additonal basic block molds....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #6 - Oct 14^th, 2006 at 7:49pm	Print Post
	I started making blocks last night as the color test was satisfactory. I currrently have all four molds filled and drying. I'm still in the "experimental/learning" stage. One thing I've already learned. DO NOT wait too long to scrape the excess plaster off of the top of the mold! Trust me on this one.... I'll be ordering additional molds tonight or tomorrow and as soon as the pieces I'm making now are good and dry, I'm going to start learning the "assembly and painting" part of the process. I'll probably be making low walls and a simple structure to practice on. I'll be looking into higher strength materials to make the Castle out of. And I'm already giving thought as to how the Castle should be constructed so all of the rooms are accessible. I don't make it easy on myself, do I?


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #7 - Oct 15^th, 2006 at 5:15am	Print Post
	The last batch of plaster I made was too thick. Some of the pieces broke when I unmolded them. So I know that now..


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DragonMom God Member Offline Lead Electric Triangle for Toad the Wet Sprocket Posts: 557 Location: Ducking Midwestern Snow Joined: Jun 22^nd, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #8 - Oct 15^th, 2006 at 11:38pm	Print Post
	eep... well, live & learn, right? Practice makes perfect? And a dozen other cliches... oo oo one last one! Good luck - you'll do better!

	"You're not a loser... you're just not quite a winner." - Elvira&&&&For Women in Horror, By Women in Horror http://www.pretty-scary.net&&&&Hate only hurts the hater. So stop the madness or I'll have to hurt you. &&&&
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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #9 - Oct 21^st, 2006 at 10:39pm	Print Post
	"Learn by doing." has always been my most efficient learning style. I'm a "hands on" sort of person. (Mind out of the gutter, Kaliani!) Anyway, I finally got the new molds ordered today so they will be shipped Monday and I should get them by Wednesday. I'm going to start taking test pictures and see how they come out. I've had my first batches of blocks drying for a week so they should be ready to work with. I'm still thinking about what sort of base to put them on. Doing the entire Castle on a single piece of base material isn't going to work. I'd never be able to move it anywhere!! And I'm still working on how to stack the various floors so that they are stable in the face of curious felines but can still be opened up for use....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #10 - Oct 27^th, 2006 at 9:30pm	Print Post
	I worked on my grief yesterday by making building blocks and various floor tiles. Consequently, I have enough "cobblestone" floor tiles to make the terrace outside of the Dining Hall so I may start on that side of the Castle. I might have enough smooth tiles already for the terrace outsice the Ballroom and the Pub. I've been checking the Hirst Arts site for ideas on how to make a project of this size. Fortunately, there are other loonies out there who have already done this so I'm getting the info I need. Specifically, what to use as a base for the Castle (plywood, 1/2 inch thick) and how to make it so I can open it. I haven't found any information on how to build an "accessible" tower 24 inches tall. Yet. Incidentally, I'm making progress on designing the Military side of the Castle. I know how many new towers there are (4) and where the buildings are. There is a nice big open area in the middle for drills and "review of the troops." There will be additional training facilities away from the Castle (hehehehehe) but that is a task for another time.
	« Last Edit: Oct 27^th, 2006 at 9:32pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #11 - Oct 27^th, 2006 at 9:41pm	Print Post
	hehehehehe Okay, I now know how to build the towers so that I can take them apart and expose each floor. I will probably have to use something stronger than plain plaster for them though. Fortunately, someone has worked out a very strong formula using cement and plaster.....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #12 - Oct 31^st, 2006 at 8:38pm	Print Post
	hehehehe I've got a photobucket album set up and the Hubby is talking about plywood. So, I'm thinking that I should be getting some base material soon. I already have some wood for the exterior walls which according to the desciption I originally wrote are solid "all in one piece" limestone. I'm already working on the design for the Main Gate...


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DragonMom God Member Offline Lead Electric Triangle for Toad the Wet Sprocket Posts: 557 Location: Ducking Midwestern Snow Joined: Jun 22^nd, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #13 - Nov 3^rd, 2006 at 4:37am	Print Post
	PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES!

	"You're not a loser... you're just not quite a winner." - Elvira&&&&For Women in Horror, By Women in Horror http://www.pretty-scary.net&&&&Hate only hurts the hater. So stop the madness or I'll have to hurt you. &&&&
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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #14 - Dec 4^th, 2006 at 12:44am	Print Post
	Pictures will be forthcoming! Trust me on this one! BUT I've hit a small logistical snag. The Castle was originally designed to be *drawn* on 22 x 28 inch poster board. It is now going to be *built* on 24 x 24 inch plywood and I bet you can see where I'm going with this. Some of the rooms and at least two of the towers would be divided between plywood sheets if I build from the original design. Sooooooo, I'm redrawing the Castle. Forget what you know about the dimensions of the rooms. And a couple of rooms have swapped places. As soon as everything is settled -- this week, I hope! -- I'll put the new description up in the Codex section. As it stands now, I'm gonna need 15 sheets of 24 x 24 inch plywood (1/2 inch thick) for the Castle. The finished model will be 6 feet by 10 feet. The tallest tower, the Keyholder's Tower, is slated to be 24 inches tall as currently designed. I have no clue how many of those itty bitty blocks I'm gonna need -- a lot I'm thinking! I'll be keeping a record so that when I'm done, I'll know how much the project took. I've taken the first sheet of plywood and am gluing three strips of 3/4 inch square dowel on the wrong side. Tomorrow, after the glue is good and dry, I'm going to paint the bottom and sides with primer and when it is dry, paint the bottom and sides black. I'm doing this to keep the plywood from warping or, Gods forbid!, separating altogether in my basement where the work will be done and the humidity tends to be high. I haven't decided which of the 15 sections to do first. The Military side of the Castle is only roughed in so I'll probably start with something on the Castle side. Since the Ballroom and the Dining Hall will be split between sheets due to their size, I'll probably leave them for a while. I'll definitely be doing a tower on the first sheet since, with the Military Complex, we have a total of 11 towers. [Wondering how my Castle got so big... OH that's right!! The Darklord wanted a Military Complex attached to the Castle and, pushover that I am, I said "Okay....."] AHEM...... that's another one you owe me, DK! Penth Making a list of what the Darklord owes, checking it twice and thinking that she may have to take it out in trade....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #15 - Dec 4^th, 2006 at 10:52pm	Print Post
	Well, the glue is dry and I've put the primer on the bottom and sides. In about 2 and a half hours, I'll be applying the topcoat.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #16 - Dec 5^th, 2006 at 6:37am	Print Post
	The first coat of paint is on. It is going to take at least one more coat, maybe two. Then I'm gonna mark it off in one inch squares. And while I'm deciding what section to start with, I'm gonna start making blocks... lots and lots of blocks....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #17 - Dec 5^th, 2006 at 4:12pm	Print Post
	The second coat of paint is on. Once it is dry enough to handle, about 3 hours, I'll inspect it to see if it is going to need another coat. If does, I'll be painting again at 5, if it doesn't I'll be taking it downstairs before bed -- high humidity in the basement, I want it good and dry before I put it down there. Then I'll get out the "lego" making equipment.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #18 - Dec 5^th, 2006 at 11:05pm	Print Post
	I couldn't wait! I started testing this afternoon. The recipe I found for casting plaster called for 2 parts concrete to 3 parts plaster. Since the concrete I've had experience with had rather LARGE bits in it -- relative to my molds -- I went with cement. I mixed up the first batch as I am accustomed to -- pancake batter thickness -- and realized as I started filling the mold that the mixture was setting up in the mixing cup! I got it dumped in the slop bucket before it set up too hard. On the plus side, the one block I got poured was ready to come out of the mold in less than five minutes. I mixed up another batch of 3/2 plaster-cement and tried again, mixing it to soup consistency. That worked a bit better but it is still setting up too fast. The blocks I've made with this blend are great, right color (limestone gray) and hard. I dropped one on the kitchen floor from about 6 feet up and it didn't chip. So, next time I'm out I'll be looking for sand. I'll add one part of sand to the blend and see if that extends the pour time enough for me to fill a whole mold! At the moment, it looks like the Castle section with the Pub on it will be the one I make first.
	« Last Edit: Dec 5^th, 2006 at 11:13pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #19 - Dec 6^th, 2006 at 9:38pm	Print Post
	I tried to find some regular "play" sand while in WalMart today with no luck. Wrong time of year. I got some coarse "decorative" sand to experiment with. I'll get some play sand on Saturday either at Toys R Us or one of the home improvement stores. I'm reconsidering my selection for the first section to be built. I was thinking about it this morning and realized that the Pub section contains most of the Ballroom with its French doors leading out to the terrace. And I have NO clue how I'm gonna do those doors! So right now, I'm looking at the Knights' Tower section which has their tower, the training hall and some wall sections and grass. The only unusual item on that section is the statues of Ares and Eris in front of the training hall but those can be added when I find the perfect pieces. The tower is pretty straight foreward. Common areas and the armory on the first couple of floors and the rest residential. The rooms will probably be like efficiency apartments (single occupancy) since full kitchens aren't needed. I'm just wondering where I'm gonna find toilets to scale. Not to mention the rest of the fixtures....


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DragonMom God Member Offline Lead Electric Triangle for Toad the Wet Sprocket Posts: 557 Location: Ducking Midwestern Snow Joined: Jun 22^nd, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #20 - Dec 8^th, 2006 at 4:57am	Print Post
	Check out miniatures sites. I know this sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised what you can find. Some dollhouses are incredibly detailed, and collectors always need parts to keep them show-quality. good luck!

	"You're not a loser... you're just not quite a winner." - Elvira&&&&For Women in Horror, By Women in Horror http://www.pretty-scary.net&&&&Hate only hurts the hater. So stop the madness or I'll have to hurt you. &&&&
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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #21 - Dec 11^th, 2006 at 4:26am	Print Post
	I'll be checking but they are going to have to be really tiny to be in scale -- a standard human sized toilet is 28 inches from floor to the top of the tank. The scale the Castle is being built on in 1 inch equals 6.5 feet/78 inches. So, a Castle sized toilet would be less than 1/4 inch high. thud Most dollhouses are build on 1 inch equals 1 foot. I might be able to use some stuff, like rugs, pictures, mirrors and things like that. And I will certainly be able to use some of their building techniques for making my own minatures. [Note to self: find or take pictures of the Dollhouse/Minatures display at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis and get them up here!] There is one gaming minature company that is making "furnishings" for games, including modern settings so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If I can find an email address for them, I'll let them know that there is a market for modern "facilities!


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #22 - Dec 12^th, 2006 at 7:40pm	Print Post
	I tried another Castle casting blend last night. It still set up too fast. sigh I'll give the matter some thought and try another combo tonight or tomorrow. I've about settled on the Knights' Tower section as my first project and then the Keyholder's Tower which will be the tallest tower with the most variation between the different floors. We'll see. *First things first.* The right blend of plaster, cement and sand for the casts....
	« Last Edit: Dec 12^th, 2006 at 7:41pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #23 - Dec 14^th, 2006 at 1:04am	Print Post
	SUCCESS!!!!!! I've found a formula that sets up quickly but stays liquid long enough to fill the molds -- as long as I mix it in small batches. So now I will begin casting blocks, lots and lots of blocks...


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Building Penthesilea's Castle Reply #24 - Dec 14^th, 2006 at 6:38pm	Print Post
	I've hit a small snag. The sand I'm using is too coarse. It is making tiny bumps in the "flat" side of the blocks and some of it is settling out of the mix as I'm pouring it. So now I'll be going in search of the finest sand that I can find. I'm thinking that my best bet is probably a home improvement store as they would carry a very fine sand for making mortar -- not everyone uses "ready mix" I'll use the blocks I've already made for the low wall separating the green in front of the Tower and Training Hall from the Main Courtyard.


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