Haut-Koenigsbourg

Oliver,
The model would have significant meaning for you! I live ten minutes from the largest hydraulic lift lock in the world. And yet, it is commonplace to me. Although you were not aware of the castle being so close to you in Germany, I'd bet that it too would become commonplace. Human nature I guess. But what a missed opportunity!

Jens,
Here's a second comparison of Haut-Koenigsbourg to another model. Your comment about a tight, closed courtyard made me think of the inner spaces of one of courtyards of Burg Eltz. Now that courtyard is easier to see at 1:250. Here is a shot of its enclosed area.

Oops! Senior moment there. You are right. 1:160. Even a larger aspect. That was my point.
John

It's really nice to see this interest here! Great! We are definitely hooked on card modelling.

I wanted to get a shot looking down into the little closed courtyard of Haut-Koenigsbourg, but knew that lighting would be a problem. I have flood lights, but they throw light from tripods at angles. I needed a light right over top of the model. Then it hit me. The florescent desk lamp on my desk shines directly down. The light is a circular tube. Once I changed the light on the camera from incandescent to florescent, and tipped the model forward a bit, I was in business. Here is the result...

[Blocked Image: http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/2042/thecourtyardpd7.jpg]

Hi Oliver. Thanks. No, I'm a retired teacher.Tabletop photography came about as a result of card modelling. You're not bad behind the lens of a camera yourself!

Cheers...John

Thank you for the kind comments Gentlemen.

Here is a view of the north side of the castle's sections A, B and C.

And this closer shot is of the south side. The supports down to the base of this model reinforce the walls and make everything stable.

Here is the next part to be attached - the Petit Bastion. When attached, it will be surrounded by fortified walls and an interesting windmill.

Here is the Petit Bastion attached to the keep tower. You can clearly see here, the gatehouse on the south side.

Behind the Gatehouse is Alsacian House. It went into place kicking and screaming. I attached it fully prebuilt. In the process of wrestling it into place, the inner wall of the house bowed out.

Thank you Herbert and Martin.

Martin, if you visit the castle...and if they have a gift shop... and if they have postcards...I could give you my address! A visit to Alsace next summer sounds wonderful.

I like the way the horizontal skirting pieces (ground) have an index mark on them. You can see the little black triangles in this shot...

This little piece is the last one that skirts the east end of the bastion...

This closing piece is almost dead on. It will have to be drawn a little tight to join nicely with its mating pieces at each end, but considering that the skirting undulated in and out around three sides of the bastion, the fit isn't bad.

This picture shows a tab at the west end of this horizontal section. The tab has been altered. You will note that it has been cut off and reset under the skirting. This will make a flat, smooth join - almost seamless if done well.

If I were designing card models, I would consider altering the tab design. It wouldn't be difficult to add a little white strip in the drawing design between the part and the tab. You would cut off the tab with its white joining strip, slide the white strip under the part and glue in place under the part. Now you would have a stepped tab ready to receive the joining part. Presto, a smooth, almost seamless join would be achieved.

Food for thought...

Now we jump to the rocks. The rocks of Rheinstein Castle are child's play compared to the rocks on this model. Here are the first two pieces that will be glued together. There are thirty-eight folds involved here.

Edit: 60 folds with the tabs

Well, I got the two strips of rock in, but it was a learning curve. I just couldn't get the tabs to snuggle up against the wall. I decided to glue the first tab and then the last tab in place first. This left the centre portion of the strip sprung away from the wall. With each successive tab being glued in place from each end, the strip began to relax and fall into place.

Hi Jens.
Good observations and great questions. This is what is making this build fun for me. We are miles apart geographically and yet the interest is just a key stroke away.

First, you are dead on about that almost impossible gap to fill under the little 'D'tower. During constructon, I noticed the gap was going to be left between the gatehouse and the wall under this little tower. What part filled that gap? I searched through the parts and found it. Parts of E1 and E2 (the first two rock segments) had attached to them, this gap filling part tacked onto their right end. I knew that if I glued the house in place first, I'd never get them in place behind the house. Getting the segments of the rocks in place was going to be hard enough without having to worry about trying to get a specialized portion of a wall behind the house and under this tower. The right end of them also had to slip under the angled wall part running from this tower back to the main wall. So I cut them off and glued them in place before attaching the house. That's what you see missing from the shot of the rock segments above.

I did not have to cut the rocks anywhere. You are right about the tension. I glued E1 and E2 together first, but I could not dry fit the built up rock strip to the wall at all. It sprung out all over the place. I trusted the designer had worked his folds out so that eventually everything had to fit between the little tower mentioned above and the bastion tower, so I glued the ends in place first. A leap of faith here but it worked. I guess the high number of front and back folds in the strips allowed the segments to release their tension and torsion as each tab was subsequently glued into position. By the way, only one tab could be glued at a time. It had to be allowed time to dry completely, before the next segment was pressed into position and glued.

As you know, this is not over - just round one. Now E3 and E4...

Cheers...John

One tab at a time...
You will note in this photo that I got a little carried away with the edge colouring. I have muddied up the top edge of the rocks a bit here... But I have the vivid setting active on the camera. It's not really that bad in real life.

Edit: You won't believe this!!! My first large image just uploaded - this one. The new server must have had something to do with it. Hope this is not just a fluke.

Cheers...John

The remainder of the rocks went into place quite well. Only one cut was required on the north side to allow the parts to relax and overlap down into place.

This shot shows the ground in place surrounding the walls of the castle. It boggles my mind how the designers, Pierre Guerin and Jean-Marie Lemaire planned the layout of the many folds. Quite fascinating.

In this photo you can see the white outline of the curtain walls (ramparts) that will surround the castle and create an inner bailey or ward. Later, an outer bailey will be added down at the east end of the fortress.

Hi Jan.
I hope your optimism doesn't jinks me. Yes, It's really a treat to simply go to the attachments and perform an upload. I haven't done that in a long time. I think it must be the new server. I still hold my breath every time I post an image. If you see Image Shack photos appear again, you will know our hopes have been premature.

Thank you Jan for monitoring my work and handling photos that otherwise would be eventually gone.

Cheers...John

Here's another view of the fortress. Sorry about the shadows...high angle shot.

This is the west end of the model. With the exception of little roof details, it is complete.

I mentioned the intriguing folds in the ground areas of this model. Here is an example. You see represented here, a rock cut forming a little niche area bounded on the left by a retaining wall. Nice designing.

Hi Jens,
You are right. Twisting will be the major consideration in designing the side plates. As you know, I always construct a wooden base for all of my models. This model is a prime candidate for a secure, stable base. The plan will be to build and paint the base, make its storage cover, install the plates and mount the model.

There is a' J' channel at the bottom of the side plates. Perfect spot to slip in a solid wall of reinforcing MDF. The west end of the model is reinforced with 1mm card, but I will use MDF for the side reinforcement.

Yes, a bit of sloppy work near the gatehouse Jens. I think I know why a double tab system is used to join the skirting parts together. Folds keep parts straight. In most areas, the joins will not be seen at the base of the curtain walls. I think they wanted to avoid a rippling foundation for the walls. Flat underplates have no vertical rigidity. But I didn't take care where the double tabs break out across that cobblestone area. The joint is actually blue, not black - the result of spreading. You are seeing an opened seam, not an overlap.

Surgery will be required here. I should be able to make clean incisions to remove the tabs, close the gap and glue from below with a plate. If I were a surgeon, I would tell the patient the stitches won't show at all.

Cheers...John

Here is the unfinished wooden base for the model. It will be primed and painted with two coats of latex paint. The rabbet in the molded edge will allow a storage lid to slide down over the base.

While the paint on the base dries, I am cutting the reinforcing strips to back the side plates. Here you see one alongside the model wrapped with three paper parts butt jointed. The joining tabs were cut off. Spray adhesive made the covering parts smooth and wrinkle free.

Note: The offending gap in the cobblestone has not been corrected...yet. This will have to be done before the side plate is glued in place.