Sometimes you just have to get that special building or terrain piece ready for the next Blockbuster Game or then again, inspiration seizes you and seeing a piece of packaging an interesting picture can catapult me into a building project because i just see the finished project within the polystyrene, foam core board or tube of Pringles bursting to get out!.

And so it was with the Samurai Castle I built earlier this year. I can't praise the Osprey book

Japanese Castles 1540 - 1640 by Stephen Turnbull

enough it provided all the detail I needed and fits right in with the Takeda Samurai Army I am building from the fabulous Perry Miniatures range of figures.

The castle is loosely based upon Kakegawa Castle Keep around 1610

I guess it's important to say at this stage that the models I make are there to be gamed over and as such aren't super-detailed but intended to house my Lead Mountain of figures! I also cut stuff by 'eye' and with reference to the figures involved, so no detailed measurements I afraid.

Thanks to the zen-cowboy for prompting me to post this page.

It started life as a couple of surplus polystyrene terrain squares which were cut with a hot wire tool to form the base and lower wall of the castle. The Square in the top right would form the base of the Donjon with the multi-storey living quarters. Note also the ramp leading from the ground level upto the wall ramparts. This was fashioned from polystyrene off-cuts.

These pictures show the walls with the flared base made of two sections and glued together with liberal amounts of UPVC The upper section has vertical sides which meet the top of the flared base. You will also see the first coat of thinned down Tetrion mixed with a little UPVA in an attempt to seal the polystyrene.

The walls then had to represent the heavy block work employed in Japanese castle-building so they were clad with irregular card squares stuck on with UPVC

The next pics show the walls and the inner courtyard, firstly plastered with the Tetrion and glue mix and then sprayed with a matt desert yellow.

Next the walls received a series of dry-brushings, using progressively lighter shades of emulsions.

Then the first curtain walls were cut from foam-care board and offered upto the existing ramparts. They were then held in place with dress-making pins until they all fitted well together.

The arquebus and arrow slots were then cut in various shapes and the curtain wall and first storey of the donjon were glued into place. You will see the outline of the fixings to the ramparts, they are trimmed down cocktail sticks to about 1cm. which are used to bore into the rampart floor and into the foam-board to provide solid anchors along while the UPVA sets, a dash of builder's sand soaks into the join to help disguise it.

Next was the construction of gate and the traditional gatehouse above it. The heavy doors were made of cut pieces of foam-board, planking was scored with a blunt pencil then painted and fixed with some model makers hinges midway in the entrance. The gatehouse would not be moveable so the floor was constructed from wooden coffee stirrers and card strip or balsa.

The gatehouse has 'murder-holes' in the floor to allow stuff to be dropped on attackers at the gateway. Next the body of the gatehouse was made from a box of foam-board, with balsa strips to show planking and woodwork panels in the construction. This would be later painted black and heavily dry-brushed with dark grey.

Window construction was simply cutting a rectangular hole and adding cocktail stick struts: cut to be slightly longer than the gap and sharpened at both ends and then eased into the foam core - top and bottom with just a dab of glue. A simple roof of foam-board was added and this would be embellished later...

These pictures show the roof made from sheets of corrugated paper (a sharp blade is run across the paper in evenly spaced lines to represent rows of tiles) and a top ridge of tiles from a drinking straw spit in half. I used plastic ones but would recommend you use paper straws as they take paint better. The roof is removable to allow figures to be placed inside

The second storey was to be a wooden walled room with opening panels to allow rocks fire and anything else to be dropped on enemies below. The box floor becomes the ceiling of the storey below. Windows look over the inner courtyard and the finish is black dry-brushed as per the gatehouse.

A note here about the interiors. The floors represent the wooden parquet of Japanese castles and are made from the thin cedar wood inserts from my favourite Cigars Romeo y Julieta!

These interior shots are 1st floor 2nd floor

3rd floor and 4th floor

The third storey was smaller in floor area to allow for the sloping tiled eaves and the 4th storey was the final room with a small balcony for the Daimyo to oversee his realm. All the tiles rooves and eves are lined with 'half-straws as ridge tiles, scored as before to represent the tile joins.

The curtain walls also received tiled roofing, which needed some triangular bracers let into the top of the walls to support the corrugated paper.

Held in place by pins while the glue sets.

All the construction methods were repeated to produce the finished article, I attach the remaining pictures for instruction.

The finishing touches were added with brown stuff sculpting the golden balls on the balcony posts and the Dolphin's on the top roof ridges - The 'Sachi'

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