On this page you'll learn how to build a medieval castle. This model Castle is slightly more advanced than the
beginner level castle on this website.
It took quite a bit of time to plan out and ultimately construct this miniature castle. These model making techniques are designed to be easy to follow without having to spend much money. You must first consider the planning stage -in which you decide how complex the structure is going to be and how tall, wide and deep it will be when it's finished. To create an easier -more basic castle miniature check out:
how to build a Castle for a school project.
Be sure to stop by a castle page created by one of my site visitors -it's a castle created for a garden.
For those of you who might have more time or patience, check out the videos below on building your own castle.
The above videos provide a visual demonstration as well as a complete voiceover detailing all of the steps included in building this model. Some people learn a lot faster with better comprehension and understanding with a video, so be sure and check them out!
All of the models on this website are built with pet lizards or tarantulas in mind. Meaning they are constructed safely with layers of non-toxic sealant as a last step. They are all meant to be functioning lizard landscapes that can be placed in a terrarium acting as cage furniture. Having said that, if you are going to build this medieval castle for a pet lizard, make sure it is for an expert climber such as a gecko lizard.
One of the other castle project designs on this website is fairly short and broad, which is appropriate for lizards such as bearded dragons (who aren't the greatest climbers).
The castle project featured on this page is much taller -lending itself to lizards (or tarantulas) that can climb straight up a wall. Even a leopard gecko, which doesn't have the super sticky Spiderman feet, can scale up this castle design.
This is primarily because as a last step I sprinkle fine grain sand all over the structure giving a gecko lizard traction. So, research whether or not you've got a pet that would enjoy its own medieval castle.
You might be some one who just wants to build a medieval castle for themselves such as creating wargame terrain or wargame miniatures -and not for a pet lizard or tarantula. Or you might be into building your own fantasy miniatures, for example your own Harry Potter Castle. You may find it unnecessary to apply a sealant as the last stage of building one of these model Castles.
The sealant does add a shiny finish thus making it look less like real stone, but the sealant is what will strengthen and preserve your castle project for years to come. As you'll see in the videos above, as a last stage- I sprinkle fine grain colored sand to counteract the shiny finish as well as provide traction for a gecko lizard. So even if you're not constructing a medieval castle for a lizard you might want to think about sealing it.
The first step you want to take with any model making venture is to go on the Internet and search for pictures that might inspire you or give you ideas. In this case- many different searches for castle pictures. See what types of details and features you want to incorporate as you build your own medieval castle.
The next thing I did was to create a basic drawing for the model Castle design; a drawing that includes all of the elements you want to reproduce in constructing your medieval castle. Without creating a castle drawing you'll have to refer back to photos you found on the web -which could also work.
Then you want to figure out how tall, wide and deep you want the model Castle to be in size. If you're creating this for a lizard cage you'll want to be able to fit the miniature castle back into the pet lizard's cage.
The model making techniques on this website are different in that I primarily use Styrofoam to build up mass to any given structure. The benefits are obvious in that Styrofoam has little to any weight. One of the only issues can be the construction of fine detail using polystyrene. In the video above on how to build a medieval castle, I show how to use thick grout to reestablish some fine detail in building your model castle.
So what I use -is a combination of polystyrene sheets (Styrofoam) and a product similar to liquid nails called Loctite's power grab. You'll see in the video above how fast this type of adhesive will bond.
I simply cut out shapes, using my basic drawing as a guide, into as close a representation as possible of the castle design I want.
Once I have the castle plans constructed I move on to the grouting stage. I usually buy white non-sanded grout because it's cheaper, with this castle project I decided to get some non-sanded grout that already came in the color of gray. I applied three separate coats using the consistency of thin pancake batter, -not watery. I allowed each coat to dry for at least 24 hours. After the basic three layers of grout are applied, I move on to a much thicker grout batch (the same grout mixed with a lot less water) whereby I can apply fine detail.
The grout (at this stage) is like the consistency of clay which gives you the ability to mold and sculpt easier. It's in this stage where I added the indication of some bricks. Check out the video above on how to build a medieval castle whereby I show how -using a product called sculpy- I construct a brick mold or stencil that when pressed into thick grout can create a realistic brick pattern.
There is another video on this website that shows this brick creation process, this more basic Castle creation video provides a much more detailed description and demonstration of how to create a look of old brick on your Castle.
So if you want the look of bricks covering your entire Castle be sure to watch that video, -check it out at this link:
how to build a Castle for a school project.
Once all my grout stages were done, I used some extremely fine grain sandpaper over the thick grout areas (after it's dried) to smooth out some of the rougher sharp sections of the castle sculpture.
After that, I moved on to the painting stage where I gave it a nice dark gray color. I wanted to convey a sort of ominous -dark haunted castle look. I used a dollar store water bottle, with water and a combination of white and black acrylic paint. With this method you can create a cheap paint gun to be able to cover more area quicker.
One of the model making techniques I've used on other projects is that of a dry brush technique. This is how I applied the highlights to the castle in order to make it look more weathered and old. This technique consists of loading a paint brush full of a lighter color in this case very light gray. Then removing most of the paint on a paper towel or rag, and then using the remaining paint on the brush to brush against the texture of the model Castle. Since there is so little paint on the brush, the texture of the castle is what removes the small amounts of paint that are embedded in the bristles of the brush. This process is difficult to explain whereas the videos above may be of better help in seeing this technique.
One of the last stages in building your medieval castle is the process of sealing it with a non-toxic sealer. If you are building this castle for a pet such as a gecko lizard or tarantula, you must seal it with a non-toxic sealant. With this project I used four layers of a non-toxic acrylic sealer called Shields All. As a very last stage, I sprinkled colored fine grain sand all over the castle project as a way of counteracting the shininess left behind by the sealant. I also did this to provide traction for a pet lizard to easily climb the castle model.
Whether you're wanting to build a castle for school project or create wargame miniatures, or building a Castle for a gecko lizard -check out the video above on how to build a medieval castle. Be sure to send me pictures of your model Castle and I'll post them on this website.
Also, check out the
Lizard store for fun lizard products!