Some of you may remember this from FB and the LAF but it makes sense to have it here as well. The project has been split over several posts as I want to try and include a bit more text and explanation into the construction.
Yamashiro were the most frequently seen type of fortification throughout Japan in the sengoku period. Although there are only a couple of reconstructed ones now to see what they might have looked like, there are hundreds of earthworks dotted about the country. From simple fences to more elaborate earthworks and wooden walls, yamashiro were more often than not built to fit the terrain and provided strategic defences and outposts for the various daimyo and warlords throughout Japan.
Yamashiro basically means 'mountain castle' and they were typically built on mountains and hillsides but could also be on flat-lands and similar areas. The intention behind the model is to show the various aspects that could be included in such a fortification, it's not based on any one yamashiro in particular. Given it's playable, I've forgone the mountain aspect and kept it fairly low level as storage would be a problem along with actually placing figures.
The start was the basic layout and as most of my boards are 50mm thick and 600mm square I went for this. It was two layers of 25mm thick foam that allowed me to cut in the moat and I also added another 25mm on top of this to allow for some height to show. The earthen ‘bridges’ crossing the moat were a defence tactic as it concentrated the enemy when approaching the walls. They also helped to strengthen the earthen banks.
All the parts used are available in the catalogue via the link below.
So on to the build.
All the roofs and upper floors were left removable for ease of storage and to add to gameplay but I left plenty of space inside the walls to allow for units to move about if needs be (heroic and probably not realistic cavalry charges etc).
All the parts used were either first pulls or miscasts and the painted wall store is actually the master. Also, the clear simple gateway was the master under construction.
The foam was stuck together using a hot glue gun and the walls were also stuck onto the foam with this once they were painted (more on the landscaping in a later post). The bridge is made from balsa wood and there was also a version that had the planks removed; a tactic often used in the period to help deny access. There will be more on the bridge in a later post.
The walls were loosely laid out on the table first before deciding on a final design, they were then stuck together (when all the parts had been moulded and cast) with super glue and filled where necessary with normal ready mixed filler. The interior buildings were left loose along with the walls to make it easier to paint them.
That's it for this post, in the next one I'll go into more details about the landscaping
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