Pernstejn castle - Erkotyp - 1/220

My next model will, again, be a Erkotyp one
The Pernstejn castle is a big one and the kit is a big one too. However, the scale is smaller than usual in Erkotyp and the 12 B4 pages contain no more than 369 parts (if I counted them well...). This is a modest number for a Erkotyp big kit and the reason is simple: there are no recessed windows and doors
I'd prefer a more complicated kit (just imagine the Betexa's Pernstejn model in Erkotyp's Pardubice style and, say, over 2000 parts =)) but this one should keep me happy for quite a while...

The main building is made of a lot of walls, each one with some pretty details. I'll make them one by one and make the final assembly later on.

@ John - Thank you very much for your pictures There is one thing that I particularly like in the Betexa's kit: the base has several levels. Like Erkotyp's Romantic Castle but not Pernstejn. It is interesting to note how colours are different in the Betexa and Erkotyp kits! Both in walls and roofs!!! The Betexa kit looks harder to build because the scale is smaller and the detail level similar. Betexa's 120 parts count must be grossly underestimated...

@ Jens - I'm looking forward to the continuation of your report. We definitely have different construction methods but what really counts is the pleasure we get from building

A couple more walls. Erkotyp's method of adding detail outside and gluing part of it inside is a good one! Just look at the roof over the balcony.

Jens - Oooops! Thanks for pointing the faulty cut before it gets much harder to make
As the door has a pattern of red and black, I didn't notice it :rotwerd:

...and two more

You're right, Jens. Some of those red/cut lines are a little bit too far apart. When gluing, I have to be careful to pull the paper from behind, otherwise, part of the tabs remain visible. I guess that folding the tabs to the interior and gluing them on the outside will tend to leave the red lines visible

Moving on to the last walls and final assembly of the centre part of the castle. The method for putting everything together is far from obvious. There is an upper floor level and the walls are to be glued all around it. Not forgetting that there are some minor, inner walls and a lot of roofs...

@ Nova-Felicitas - thanks for your comment The model is a large one. Maybe 60cm wide or a little more. Not the easiest model to build but certainly a good one.

The central part is now complete. I enclose some pictures of it.

Thank you John The very good fit certainly helps
I enclose a picture of that small bridge that Jens referred to in an earlier post, as well as some others of the model, as it is now.

Starting with the surrounding barbicans and towers...
Some of the buildings have tiny dormer windows, as you see in the attached picture. Overall, there should be around 30, in zones B and C of the model.

You know, Jens. I'm alarmingly quick building models. You can imagine what that means regarding space at home...

I enclose two pictures of what must be one of the funniest towers in town

Two more buildings and a picture of my workbench. You can see that there are few parts remaining...

@ Jens, John and UHU - well, I don't remember using any other type of glue, as the very old but still state-of-the-art tube holder proves 8) :D. The cyanoacrilate glue is a relatively new addition and I find it very useful when extra strength is needed. That is often the case in vehicles but not so much in buildings. Perhaps I should try other kind of glue but doesn't water-based glue tend to distort the paper?

The last tower is complete. The fit with the lower roof was just fine!
I guess there will be some problems matting all the assemblies but that's part of the fun

John - Woodturner? Yes, now I understand the tools I see in your posts, the use of MDF and, of course, the white glue Doesn't it take a lot of time to dry? The all-purpose UHU is very good in this matter fast, but not too much. The cyanoacrilate glue is very tricky - you join the parts and, very suddenly, they get glued for ever!

Work completed on Pernstejn :yahoo:
I enclose some pictures with details...

...some others taken from a circling plane...

...a few more from a circling tourist :D...

... and the inevitable top view.

Overall, a very entertaining build. Not the easiest, of course, but well aided by the fine fit. Recommended!

Thank you very much for your posts, Jens, Tino and John. I really appreciate them

Tino - can you tell me what white glue do you use? Is it easy to find here in Portugal? The only white glue I know takes ages to dry and I'd never think of using it on paper :rotwerd:

John - you said it all about my personal space In 2004 I only assembled buildings and you can see the consequences here...
That's, partly, why I've been moving a bit more to vehicles and my next model will be a plane.

@ Tino - thanks for the tip. I have to try that glue

@ John - for the moment, I 'invaded' a lot of wardrobes (upper part, only...) and some other places. Some models are already in the open but well away from direct sunlight. That's why I draw a piece of furniture to store them. As you might guess, the basic unit is the cubic meter. It should be ready, hopefully, next month or so.
The models that are on the picture were built in 2004. The big Erkotyp models and some others from Schreiber kept me happy in 2003. See for yourself
The models in 2004 are from Instant Durable (Chennonceau, Pierrefonds, Palais des Papes, Chartres, Notre-Dame de Paris and Hospices de Beaune), Schreiber (Stephansdom, Speyer, Himeji, Frauenkirche Munchen, Linderhof, Semperoper, Grafenegg, Maria Laach, Marksburg, Ronneburg and Schlob Neuhaus). There is a single one from Merino (Colegiata de Toro), another from GPM (Sandomierski) and two Modeliks (Stettin and Gryfino) apart from the smaller models available at Erkotyp.
Regarding the picture on Instant Durables site, I sent it (free, of course). I do that, from time to time, just for fun. They very kindly asked if they could put it on their site and I, naturally, answered yes

@ John - I noticed the two shots you mention regarding storage. You may find it funny but overlapping part of the bases allows me to put some more models in the same space (yes, the situation at home is dramatic :D)
Regarding the camera, it is a very basic and outdated one. I 'inherited' it from my father some years ago, when he bought another one. The good point is that it has a optical zoom. Another trick I use a lot is to take the pictures at higher resolution (it is a 2 Megapixel camera) and, then, resample and clip the picture to get only what I want. It works well for both wide landscape shots (just clip the upper and lower parts) and for tiny details. To fill a normal picture, I'd have to take the shot too close for the camera to work properly.
I have no 2005 and 2006 family portraits. The 'problem' started in 2005 because I built the Medieval Town but the base is not complete (no space to store the completed model). Most of the work on the Leopold (GPM) was done in 2005 but I completed the model in January 2006...