Darren Hatley’s Castle was done by one of our readers. Wooden castles are very popular. They have been made by various makers over the years. I was lucky to acquire a nice wooden castle that was made by a woman over in the England. She would find out what Britains was making that year. She would then do a building to go with their figures.
Besides professional done castles people have made their own. We have one that was made by Darren Hatley on the United Kingdom. As you can see Darren has done a fine job making a four tower castle of wood. Here is what Darren had to say:
Darren Hatley’s Castle Background
I made this Castle 14 years ago when I worked as A Die-Cutter/Maker in London. It took me A full weekend to Design, Draw and Saw the sections out. The Castle is made of Plywood which is Very Strong and has stood up to many seiges. The size of the Castle is 25 Inches by 24 Inches. I then stuck the 4 corner towers together with Wood Glue. I also sawed grooves into 2 walls of the Towers to slide the wall sections into, So that the Castle comes in 8 main parts for easier storage. I then painted the Castle and finally I drew every individual Blocks in the walls with A Pencil.
Here is a close up of the frame for the boiling oil.
Great work and well done.
I like the boiling oil and door bar ideas .
Awesome!! 🙂 🙂
That’s truly a great job, Darren. I like how you created the realistic stonework texture on the walls. And that framework for the boiling oil is ingenious.
Very nice. Many years ago when my son and my friends’ sons were young and playing with soldiers, I made forts/castles for them. Nothing this detailed, just a simple square about 18 – 24″ per side with a two part gate that swung on small brass hinges. Made the walls of 1 x 8’s, mounted them on a square piece of plywood and added catwalks. Construction was extremely sturdy (screwed everything together) so they withstood many battles; I believe that some are ready to be handed on to the next generation. If I can find my son’s, I’ll send a photo or two.
Awesome job,great details !
Thanks for the nice comments guys, My Dad made me a castle when i was very young using an old box for storing friut, It was very basic but at the time I thought it was awesome and i had many Great battles with it, Then A few years later my parents brought me the Timpo castle that i mentioned before,And again that was Great But I always had a desire to make some stuff of my own, Especially a castle. So this is the result and im very proud of it. It was the brickwork that took the longest to do using the pencil, But i was in no rush and took my time over it. I dont mind if things take a while to do but when i get my mind on something I get it finished eventually, Although i probably wouldn’t make another one, Especially as im not a Die-Cutter anymore.
I like too the fact that resemble too a typical roman garrison keep fort .A lout use x it !!!Well done!!
Good job! How did you do the stonework around the main gate?
Hi Tom I sawed out the Arch shape, Then I Sawed out small individual blocks and stuck them on with wood glue. Then i stuffed in some toilet tissue for mortar and painted it.
Nice! I wish we could collaborate on a citadel about 10’X10′. No, I’m not kidding! I want 4” thick walls and bigger towers. Had you ever considered adding to that and making something really huge? Love the oil pot, too!
Hi Greg Great idea, But now that i no longer work as A Die-Cutter I dont have access to A sawing machine so making more of a castle would prove very difficult and anyway my home isn’t big enough to add much more to it and im pretty happy to leave it as it is.Perhaps your home is much bigger than mine. Anyway these days im more into converting and Painting Ancient,Medieval and Fantasy figures, But by all means you go ahead and do one yourself and if you want any advice I will be glad to offer some although im no engineer. Thanks for the comments, I didn’t think my Boiling Oil would be so popular.
My entire basement is just a carpeted floor for playing with my toys. My son and I ‘battle’ almost every weekend. Yeah, I’m really into this toy soldier thingee.
Hi Greg I wish I had that kind of space and I envy you for that. Up to the age of 16 I had Hundreds if not Thousands of battles with figures from all eras, But then when I started going out more with friends to pubs and clubs I put my figures away for quite a few years up the loft. Then my Nephew came along and was into Toy Soldiers in A big way which reawakened my passion for the Hobby and we had many battles and its Never going away now. Sadly when he got to 13 he was no longer interested anymore and like most kids hes age he just plays on hes computer and playstation all the time. As for me for some reason im now only interested in Ancient,Medieval and Fantasy figures, And im not so much interested in the other eras, And I dont have as many battles as i used to but im into Painting and Converting in A big way over the last few years, And its nice to talk to fellow Toy Soldier collectors like yourself on this website, And to see which New figures come out. Keep enjoying your battles and I Hope your son dosen’t grow out of it like my nephew did.
My son does computer games when I’m not around for ‘real’ battles. I think his chances of growing out of it are slight. He’s 17. I will be experiencing Empty Nest Syndrome in a year, though. Daughter gone, son will be off to start his life adventure. I might need my toys more than ever. I’ll be ready to full on retire in a few years, too. Those toys are going to mean a lot to me.
This site helps A LOT! I’d been overseas for years, in crappy places and when I had internet access, I’d check the site out and get a dose of some Toy Soldier! Even now, during the week, I’m not home. No toys to go back to in The Singlewide Manor Estates, where I’m renting. This place is a sanctuary. I’d like to know more about how you collect. Email me.
Greg sound like in few years we will have to create a playwar assosiation to do same ,like two day shows in a place or home..
Sounds like a Great idea to me Erwin, Although its probably more for you guys there in the States,Its a long way to go for a game of soldiers Lol, But if I could afford it which i cant at the moment i’d love to fly over and see you guys sometime and talk to fellow enthusiasts, But for now i’ll settle for the internet.
Nice castle. I am sure that there was a lot of play value in it’s time. My late father made me structures when I was a child & he later made some for my sons. They still get set out for pictures from time to time.
My interests are also similar to yourself. I find that converting & repainting figures which were once broken & discarded into new figures the most rewarding aspect of this hobby.
Can you please send me your contact information through Stad if possible.
Hi Michael Me and im sure everyone else who uses this site would love to see your fathers creations. If you ask Paul the guy who runs this website Stads would im sure be glad to showcase your stuff.
Yes some figures are just crying out to be converted and painted, My main conversions are making figures as near to 54mm as possible if they are on the small side and a few that are to tall if i can. I also cant stand too many boring poses, So i like to make figures much more action-packed and exciting, And i also add weapons if they need them.
A couple of months ago i put some Ancient and Fantasy figures on here that i Converted and Painted under Darren Hatleys Fantasy figures, So please show your stuff.
I also like to stick bits and bobs of bodies together like Frankenstein sometimes to make very Unique figures.
http://assets.amuniversal.com/f73a341012d201346be6005056a9545d