Blast from the past: Celtic Monastery (Part 1)

My scratch-built 28mm Celtic monastery with finished beehive huts and church

Knowing that one day my original Lead Legionaries website will disappear, I'm reposting some of the better content onto this blog. Hopefully, it will not go the way of the dinosaur, too -- or at least, anytime soon! Here is part one of the scratch-build of my 28mm Celtic Monastery.

Work in progress shot of my 28mm Celtic Monastery for my Dark Age skirmish games

My next big scratch-built terrain piece for my 28mm Dark Ages skirmish games is a Celtic monastery. Although I drew inspiration from the UNESCO World Heritage site of Skellig Michael, this is a much, much scaled down version. In fact, after starting it, I scaled it back even further from my original plans. I like to fit my terrain pieces on wooden plaques that are no more than 12" wide or so. Once I started sketching this one out on the plaque, I realized what I would be creating would be way too big and unwieldy. 

Soft wooden plaque from the local craft store as a base for the monastery

So, as I often do, I began with a soft, wooden plaque from the local craft store. This one is about 9" wide by 12" long. I used a box cutter knife to carve a slope all around the edges. I like to use these because not only are they cheap (about $1), but they also are sturdy enough for a heavy piece of scenery. Plus, many important buildings during the Dark Ages would be built on rises or small hills. The plaque gives it some visual heft above the battlefield.

Insulation foam carved to create the upper tier of the monastery

I wanted the monastery to be divided into an upper section and a lower section. So, I grabbed a section of insulation foam and measured it out to fit. Then I used a sharp Xacto knife to carve a slope all around it, like I did with the plaque. I also carved out a gradual slope as a kind of ramp where it will join up with the lower level.  Yes, I know a wire cutter would be much easier, provide a cleaner cut, and look nicer. However, I am very leery about starting down the road of using toxic tools. The chemicals given off in the air when cutting foam frankly scare me. I know I could use a mask and all, but I'm going to flock it extensively anyway. So, my rough and ragged cuts will be covered up in the final product.

Holes drilled into the wooden plaque to help hold the foam upper level in place

To secure the foam to the plaque I drilled a half dozen holes with my pin vice. I then tacky glued in straight pins. I trimmed off the tops when dry and liberally coated the surface of the plaque where the foam would go with tacky glue. The foam piece was pushed onto the pins, which help hold it in place not only while it is drying, but make the bond stronger.

Hirts Arts rocks line the ledge between the upper and lower levels. Also thin "craft foam" was glued down as a surface for both levels

Next, I took some leftover rocks from the Hirst Arts molds I used to build my Saxon church and Pictish broch. My friend Zeke cast these up for me years ago, and I have found many uses for them. I trimmed up the foam to insert the rock pieces into the edge of it so there looks to be a rocky ledge between the upper and lower sections. I am also hoping this makes the monastery look like it is in a more wild and rocky location. Once that was done, I took a section of craft foam, sometimes called "fun foam," and measured out the flat surface of the upper and lower level. A piece was cut for each and tacky glued down. This enables the buildings and other architectural elements to be "sunk in" beneath the surface. I will cut the shape of the building away from the foam surface and glue it to either the board or foam core beneath.

Hirts Arts rocks line the ledge between the upper and lower levels. Also thin "craft foam" was glued down as a surface for both levels

I wanted a church and a collection of "beehive" huts in my monastery. So, I figured I'd put the church on the upper level and the huts on the lower. Once again, I dug out my leftover Hirst Arts block to form the foundations and front and back walls of the church. The long side walls would be made to look like "dry stone" -- a common type of architecture in Celtic monasteries. I used some of the window pieces to create the doorway and tiny windows in the rear wall. More Hirst Arts blocks were used to create a well in front of the church, which was sunk into the foam base of the upper level so only the top lip of the well projected above the surface. I also peeled away the craft foam surface to tacky glue the resin Celtic cross to the foam surface of the upper level. I'm hoping that the glue, lip of the craft foam and the flocking that will be added later will keep it in place. I'll have to be careful to remind players not to pick the monastery up by the cross, though! At this stage, the monastery is starting to come together nicely.

Work in progress shot of my 28mm Celtic Monastery for my Dark Age skirmish games

 While all this was drying, I cut out a couple pieces of foam core for the long, dry stone walls for the church. I simply covered one side with glue and then poured on Woodland Scenics Coarse Ballast (gray blend) onto it. I'd picked it out as looking a lot like dry stone, and the multiple colors in it will keep me from having to dry brush it different shades. I will put on a black wash and it should look great. I also began to work on the roof for the church. Its base was a rectangle of black styrene plastic, with succeeding levels of craft foam built upon it. I capped it with a triangular piece of balsa wood. The entire thing will then be painted with white glue and covered in the gray blend ballast to look like a dry stone roof. The picture shows the bright orange craft foam I used when I ran out of black. 

Close up of the church interior -- note the printed off "frescoes" on the walls, the jewelry cross, and the tile floor

I decided to keep focusing on the upper tier of my Celtic monastery. The above shot shows it about halfway done. The stone block foundation and front and back wall are painted. I got smart and am did the interior (see picture below) before I glued in the side walls. The side walls are not complete. I have to add more blended gravel to the front and back edges of them, and then do a black wash over the stones to make it look more shaded. The roof is ready for its coating of blended gravel, but is not in the picture. I really like how the resin cross I bought at Cincycon turned out. I'll have to take a better shot of it to show the nice detail. The church door is done, as well. It is corrugated balsa wood with jewelry rings and pin heads for the door handles. You can see the interior a bit better in this shot. The frescoes of Celtic saints are simply images taken from the internet and printed off and glued onto the wall. I gave the interior of the foamcore walls texture by gluing sand to it, then painting it black and drybrushing it two shades of gray (not 50). The tile floor is styrene from a local craft store. The cross is a jewelry piece from the local craft store, too. You can also see better here how I have to add gravel to the facing edges of the foamcore long walls.

Plastic domes from vending machines that will be used for the beehive monk huts

With the upper tier mostly finished, it was time to begin working on the beehive huts that the monks would live in. First, a word about them. They were constructed of "dry stone" -- which means no mortar is used. The stone was apparently angled out and downwards to shed rain because, well, it rains a lot in Scotland and Ireland! What I've read about them describes them as quite dry and cozy. Anyway, they most often had strong, wooden doors. That actually surprised me. I was thinking monks, with their taste for self-denial and mortification of the flesh, would have just a cloth or fur covering for a door. Apparently not.

The domes after roughing up their surface, inside and out, with fine sandpaper

Anyway, I went through three separate ideas on what to use for them. My first thought was those plastic half spheres which assemble into a ball that you can buy in craft stores. I picked up a few only to discover they were too big once I started laying out the surface of my monastery. Then I went to the dollar store and picked up a pack of those little one-serving cups of apple sauce. Still too big. Finally, I settled on those dome and cap containers that you find in vending machines with little toys or prizes inside. The first step is to use fine sandpaper to rough up the surface so that the paint will adhere better. I roughed up the interior, too, because I planned on painting the interior black.

The cardboard ring that each dome is affixed to

Next, I set them down on a piece of cardboard and traced their outline. I then cut a hollow ring from the cardboard for the domes to be "based" on. I figured this would give them a more solid fit onto the clay rings I would set them on (more on these next). It would also cut down on wear and tear on the edges of the domes themselves.

The domes after painting them black and then affixing the doors and coarse gravel to their surface. The doors still needed painted, of course!

I should have glued on the doors next, but got in a rush and spray painted them black first. The paint would have helped keep the doors attached, but oh well. I wanted them black so that any gaps that showed through the dry stone would look like shadow. The doors themselves were made from corrugated balsa wood. About half of the door projects downward from the dome. This will fit in the notch of the doorway of the clay ring. I wanted the huts to be removable so that things could be placed inside -- they're going to be used for skirmish games, after all! Once the tacky glue was dry, I painted each dome with white glue. I then poured Woodland Scenics coarse gravel blended gray over them to look like the dry stone. I made sure to cover the join of the door and the dome thoroughly in glue so the doors appear to be set into the stone. After the glue dried, I sprayed the stone with a clearcoat. Finally, I brushed on a heavy black wash to darken the stones and blend it all together.

Air drying clay available at the local craft store

I mentioned the rings, above. I thought I would give each hut a foundation of solid, cut stone. Since I don't like firing sculpy in my oven, I purchased a bag of air drying clay instead. I roughed out each ring, trying to give it a more square and somewhat irregular look. I immediately made impressions with a dull Xacto knife to represent the outlines of the stone. I wasn't 100% thrilled with how they came out, but then again, I never claimed to be a potter or sculptor! They should be functional on the tabletop and look nice once the monastery is all painted and flocked.

A clay ring to represent a stone base for the huts

Once the clay was dry, I traced each ring's outline on the lower tier of the monastery. Remember how I had put a surface of craft foam over the top of the wooden plaque's flat surface? Well, this was part of my reason why. I cut each outline with a sharp Xacto knife and then peeled back the craft foam, exposing the wood beneath. Then I used tacky glue to attach the rings to the surface. This gives it more of a snug fit and will serve to blend the stones into the surface of the ground. At least that is the plan! Next up, I will paint the rings like stone and begin flocking the entire monastery grounds.

Carving out the outline of each clay ring onto the craft foam skin that was glued to the plaque. You can also see the finished roof and dry stone long walls of the church in this picture.