So this is more an ideas in progress rather than even a work in progress post.
Packaging Polystyrene blocks kicked this idea off
Having just been on a late Roman figure painting jaunt this summer and despite having numerous castles yet to be built I somehow returned to a theme of Roman city walls “would be nice”. I think it was propelled by the guardsmen diorama where I made a card backdrop.
All sorts of ideas have led to experiments The internet has plenty of gatehouses Colchester’s almost unique 4 arch gateway – I do like the red brick courses……And at the east coast end of Hadrian’s wall but on the south side of the Tyne river is Arbeia
So plenty to inspire and cajole me into trying out some homespun walls. Of course I could just buy off the shelf or made to print ones but it is of course the creativity element that’s being sought here.
I have opted for some crenellations and a ready supply of thick corrugated cardboard is the experiment hereDove grey dry brushed over a light grey and then a very light dusting of dry white on top. The roughness comes from the polystyrene plus some indenting with a cuticle manicure pusher! Then tissue paper glued over with pva followed by the paint regime.
And those brick courses which it turns out were most definitely a later Roman idea which among other things could sustain the wall better during earthquakes!
I decided I would experiment with discrete strips of coursing made from cornflake card
So here is some wall testing for the look of the thing.
First up when I visit York I often liberate a magazine or two from TGJones in Coney street (formerly WHSmith). Now it is also soon to be formerly TGJones as the company has got permission to shut what was York’s main post office which currently relocated, sits inside this store. The rest of the shop sales I am sure relied on post office footfall for a now faded business model. Of course the original grand Edwardian? general post office building is now a giant steakhouse restaurant…..
Anyway it looks like my “walk up and look before buying” days are over and I might need to subscribe. Hmmmm or maybe not?
I did like the fact they carried three magazines and I could just pick the one I liked the most that month. With subscription, which is cheaper, you are locked in for good or ill and three subscriptions of course makes no sense at all.
I might revert to buying up old magazines instead.
Farewell dear friend
“magister militum” Tiny (was a giant of a cat at 6kg!) looks away in disgust as he gets some bad rolling of the dice while reluctantly playing modern stuff.
My favourite cat Tiny (he was the runt of a litter where we got three including the ginger alpha male) sadly died in a road accident. Given he was a big rat hunter and crossed a busy road to his hunting grounds he had used up his nine lives – in his case by the age of nine.
As my constant companion during lockdown and then home working not to mention wargaming, he will be greatly missed. From a Wargames perspective he was the “Magister Militum” to the ginger alpha males “Emperor” as our ginger cat rarely bothered to leave the house let alone the garden or street! Tiny on the other hand was a fighter, kept the street clear and was often reported beating the bounds over a kilometre away by dog walkers and runners I knew.
Farewell to an ever cheerful cat.
Pro cycling still just about delivers
Pro cycling has pretty much blown out its commercial popularity on media, with the demise of the GCN app showing the sports world has moved on.
The days of 100% coverage of the big three tours – de France , Giro and la Vuelta are gone. In their place a lot more studio chat and analysis while focus on geography and historical views from the helicopter are now often faded out in favour of yet another meaningless opinion interview. And the coverage of races is now shrunken even for live showings.
Still I have picked up a few good castles this season while Spanish soil offers the gamer absolutely anything to justify any colour or grass you could want!
Plenty of soil variation A bit like spurn head with nicer climate!Plenty of castles Yep that’s a drawing pin!
A recent trip to Newby Hall, Ripon, North Yorkshire brought me into the world of dolls houses, very much expensive museum pieces these models are quite stunning pieces of work.
Did you spot the castle and boxed soldiers? Much of what was on show was scratch made.
The pirate city shown in my last post also offered up a train – sponsoring the giro of course. They often carry the trophy in these trains and the train matches the riders usually on a coastal stretch for photo opportunities! Obviously don’t catch a train when the giro is near your route…..
Here is one castle that fell under eye of the giro pro cycling helicopter. A classic hilltop location. It still has some nice details especially the main gateway area.
Late Spring sees the first of three top pro cycling events – the Giro d’Italia which are helicopter televised from start to finish.
This means you get about 4000 km of Italian countryside.
And with Italy that means castles.
Fortified cities are also favourite visits on two wheelsThis year saw a couple of stretches of the white gravel of Tuscany Everyday the cyclists head out castle hunting!
Intermissions have been thin on the ground this year. Perversely the awful weather has meant more time indoors – war gaming.
But there have been some interesting sights all the same.
The clouds and sky remain a fascination for colours and shapes Yorkshire playing fields – cricket might be a case of no pitch rather just rain stopping play Moonlight has been ok Plenty of dark brooding skies even during the day!There have also been very bright days – the Roman multi angular walls of York stand proudly Cinema top view in 2024 was Oppenheimer – but what’s on the wall? A commemorative plaque to this free French hero of WW2 York – P/O Yves Mahe – 82 years on.The odd Sahara warm front plume has given its signature vibrant sunsets The demise of GCN plus pro cycling app means it’s Eurosport on discovery complete with amazing editing that chops the last 200m of the race (you could not make it up). Still you get the castle pictures during boring mid race bits Very moody castle at Sandal near Wakefield.Sky colour – blue pink contrasts are always impressive I always like these skies when there is some fiery yellow gold of the sun still in play I think Tony Blair was in power last time I stepped inside the walls of the national railway museum. Still it is a fantastic visitI think I was last here when England won the World Cup (only joking). It was quite a while ago and now it’s got a roof of sorts. I seem to remember a lot of complaints about the proposal although that was probably the visitor centre that has not appeared. Clifford’s tower in York is erroneously called a castle (of which it was only part). It is vastly improved by the protection and access works that have been done. The 17th century garrison destruction of the tower interior turned the walls red. Last of a sunset and the inspiring colour gradations of almost black through dark blues to a washed out grey then tepid orange. the black outlines of trees and buildings are important to provide contrast to the orange while without the orange the colour range of blues would be the poorer
Typical Italian town with narrow streets, church and often detached square tower Flags and Sashes – Italian Cities all have identity and their medieval past is often the most influential – also heralding the rennaissance. The very concept of a modern united Italy overlays strong local identity. This keep at Ripattoni caught my eye with its stone framing? The splayed base is something you don’t often see in in earlier castles in the UK. Is this early medieval or much later then? Strange – internet searches only show a different Ripattoni whose keep/tower or torre is clearly built of bricks and stones without the framing.A typical hilltop town expanded around its original castle with square defence towerThis castle is attributed to Frederick II – Emperor – mid thirteenth centurylooks more Norman?
Naples – some serious constructions
round towers and flared bases – looks like it was moated – wet or dry? not much opportunity for mining even if it was a dry moat though.detour – always an amazing sight.
Amalfi with Ravello cling to a rocky coastline and were naval in outlook. Amalfi was a vibrant state in the late Byzantine period
Back to Naples……
harbour fortress and former medieval castle I believe
Heading north……..
This looks like a new build in the gunpowder era or just maybe there was an earlier castle now buried within its construction.
Italian castles are a splendid mix of square and round towers plus later bastions. Wikipedia have a convenient thread on bastions………
Bergamo was a significant City and often fought over.
Further into the lakes…….
Which Romans in the 6th Century – 500 to 599 AD? I guess thats Byzantine Exarchate by then as we are on the Adige in the Trento region? Shortly to be invaded by the Lombards and then the Carolingians. After them came the German Emperors and this castle layout dates from 13th century.
An original “guns of navarone” – scenario beckons?Something a bit different – the bridge had many interesting lives and was destroyed in world war 2 – this modern version is a copy of the 1569 replacement bridge – if you see what I mean.The great thing about many castles in Italy is they are a composite – irregularly shaped, with square and round towers plus later gunpowder era bastions.circular wall circuitsquare wall circuitcongestionthe ever present piazza and tower – note its looks to predate the adjacent building because of its misalignment. Its 13th century and so is the Paazzo to the left while the connecting part seems 17th century – which makes sense and again is characteristic of building upon building giving these cities their attraction to the eye.
now we go to the high passes…..
Fort built in the 1890’s Memorial tribute to the savage mountain war between the austrians and italians in world war 1 complete with artillery pieceThis impressive tower in Rome overlooks the Tiber and was there in 532 when Belisarius retook the city from the Goths for Emperor Justinian – Castel Sant d’Angelo AD134/139, which I think is so impressive when you see it. Its contents were looted in the 401 sack while later on the Romans took its decorative stonework to dress up St Peters. This reminds me that you can see fantastic Byzantine metalwork in Italy – made by craftsmen from Constantinople and sometimes simply looted from there by Normans and Venetians etc.no idea which battle or which painting/mural either !I started to watch the Slovenia cycle race but got distracted – I believe its a castle rich area given is “marcher” region history.
dates from 1278 according to brief wikipedia entry. I like the pen and ink picture!
There you go – hardly a straight edge in sight – 0k a couple – but in Italy the castle and fortress designs seem to hug the contours and show only your imagination stands between you and your own dream castle.
Some more castles and fortresses as the Basque Tour went to the east coast and Barcelona. This time the theme is Rennaissance and Early Modern Warfare with structural reactions to the development of gunpowder………
the original medieval citadel/castle is in the middle centre stretching back toward camera to the right.Square towers tell you it was a pre gunpowder build with round towers maybe added later although sometimes if half round they suggest a roman era construction continued in use.The well defended entrance of this fine fortress above Barcelona shows the impact of gundpowder technologyre-entrant angles permit killing fields for the attacker while the density/depth of the lower profile walls absorb the effect of gunpowder projectiles far better.
The Wargaming Erratic 