the emperors palace

[shanks]

i have always been impressed by the various 40k fortress pictures in white dwarf and other GW books, web etc and always wanted to do something similar, i recently saw the 2009 gamesday space wolves fortress and have been inspired to do something on same scale using the pictures below as inspiration, i will be using mostly GW panels and other gothic pieces plus my owen designs, want to make it very ornate with lots of gold gilding etc, already accumilating parts, will be a work in progress so please check back

[Urgat]

The Emperor's palace has actually been done as a diorama (well, a bit of it, obviously), it was even featured on a double page in White Dwarf, it was MASSIVE. Hold on, google.
There you go:

Maybe you should settle for some other fortress instead?

[shanks]

thanks for the picture, i googled but did'nt see this, very impressive, my plans will mean it will be on this scale or very close to it and will be a lot more ornate, after all it is the emperor we are talking about
making a start this week so will show some wip pictures in due course

[Urgat]

Well, you're extremely courageous, such a project wuold get me all excited for a few days, and then I would be completely overwhelmed by it Good luck pal, I'm not much of a 40K guy, but that will awe anybody if done right.

[Tinners]

thanks for the picture, i googled but did'nt see this, very impressive, my plans will mean it will be on this scale or very close to it and will be a lot more ornate, after all it is the emperor we are talking about
making a start this week so will show some wip pictures in due course

If you look closely, you'll see that is built using a fireplace surround as the main part, so if you wanted to go that way, I'm sure you could find a cheap one that would work. And it was built before 40k really descended into the grimdarkskulls decoration really took off on buildings, which explains the lack of ornateness compared to more recent things., and before the plastic kits were released.

[punisher_1983]

wow that looks amazing, i never saw the firw surround the fist look, but the more you look the easier it looks to make yourself, if you have half a ton of MDF board, Norm Abrams fully fitted woodworkshop and a clear month from work.

[Sean_OBrien]

Most of it can be made with stock moldings from your DIY stores.

Things like columns and what not are pretty easy to do on this scale, they sell all sorts for dressing up kitchen cabinets and the like. A chop saw to cut them to length and a jig saw to handle the arches are all that you will really need tool wise. Most your panels can be cut at the store to size - so while a table saw would be nice, it wouldn't be needed.

With the advent of things like PVC moldings, you can even make it light enough that your average person can handle large chunks of it by themselves using those moldings and rigid foam insulation sheets (in which case you would swap out the jig saw for a hot wire cutter).

I wouldn't bother with GW wall panels though. While they are nifty for what they are, they are not that well suited for something like this. Have the iconography cut with a laser cutter (Ponoko will do it if you don't have local access) and hit up shops like Spencer's Gifts (not sure where you are at - but basically it is one of those stores that sells funky stuff like skull shaped incense burners and the like). Aquarium/pet stores also offer up suitably scaled stuff to detail it out with.

Many years ago, we did something like this for a friends display shelf. He kept his IG and SM armies on it when they weren't being used. Wasn't too bad to do overall. The big thing is to go ahead and plan it out well in advance (drawings, sketches and the like) and figure out how you want to use it (gaming is different than display), where you will use it (do you need to be able to fit it in the back of a car) and what you will need to get it done. Get all your parts together before you start - more often than not, the reason big builds like this fail is that you run out of materials half way through...or you screw up and make it unsuitable for the intended use.

[Dannage]

I will be making a fortress in a few years for my space marine army. It will be a lot smaller than the one in the picture above, so if you make one that's more than 6' by 6', I applaud your energy, ambition and capacity for storage space!

The footprint of the base, probably the most important thing to consider for a start. How much space is there where this thing will be parked?

[shanks]

thanks all, thinking of the floor space i may need to cut the size down a bit but still want it to be impressive, i have a plan outlined but will be winging it as i go along aswell, basiclly i'm going to have a large impressive gate made from the shrine of aquila with towers each side with space marine statues inside, GW panels outer walls with space marine reliefs in them, a landing pad, some big gun emplacements, large gothic cathedral style raised building and plenty of ground space for fighting on, may use it as a backdrop to show armies on, as you can see from the picture i've already been hoarding buildings and more to come

[Dannage]

I find a good balance between foam board and COD/PS terrain makes for effective balance of detail versus plain. I think the first pictures you posted, whilst impressive structures, are a bit too 'greebled' for larger buildings. Having said that, it is very much the trait of such old architecture that it's all based on the close up detail. As Sean says, the local hardware store usually has some useful bits in the timberware section. Look at dado rails, and coving and so on. It's also cheaper than GW stores.

[shanks]

well i thought i would make a tentative start on the build, starting with the 2 large aquila towers that will form the front of the palace itself, consists of 8 aquila walls, i have cut out the window strut as i am going to have the emperor stained glass window in all of them, put one up to show the effect, also covered the doors with plasticard and will be placing gold space marine reliefs in them
let me know what you think, thanks

[Super Mario]

If you look closely, you'll see that is built using a fireplace surround as the main part…

Cannot unsee, as they say.

[imm0rtal reaper]

For the sheer maddening scale of what you're planning to undertake, I must subscribe to this! Good luck!

[shanks]

For the sheer maddening scale of what you're planning to undertake, I must subscribe to this! Good luck!

thanks!! happy at least one person is

[Wolf Scout Ewan]

Will be watching

[Sean_OBrien]

well i thought i would make a tentative start on the build, starting with the 2 large aquila towers that will form the front of the palace itself, consists of 8 aquila walls, i have cut out the window strut as i am going to have the emperor stained glass window in all of them, put one up to show the effect, also covered the doors with plasticard and will be placing gold space marine reliefs in them
let me know what you think, thanks

Be careful with repetition of distinct patterns like that. It ends up being the downfall of a lot of big builds like this. You either want somewhat ordinary walls with non-distinct detailing, or you want to supersize the detailing to fit the scale. In this case, you might consider using the one wall section as the base to create a larger wall which is 8 times the size instead. The specific details (rivets and the like on the feathers) - you will want to keep in scale with the small wall, but have the eagle be huge with a big window and a bunch of small windows to relate the scale of the structure.

Look at something like Notre Dame Cathedral for some ideas in how to do the scaling.

[EDM87]

Subscribed!

[jez]

Good luck man, I'll be watching. Anyone willing to take on something so bonkers needs all the support he can get

[shanks]

thanks for support and comments all..............
so i decided to put the aquila towers together, added a handmade floor with tiled plasticard on hardboard, removed corner spikes and added icons, cut the aquila doors from the sanctum kit and made a small tower entrance also with tiled floor

more soon, cheers

[shanks]

hi all, started the buildings that will flank the large door and also holds the aquila towers, the first one is together but needs some plastikard walling to inside of the statue building, the statue will be painted in gold so it stands out a bit more, the large windows will have stained glass, the smaller windows will have space marine reliefs, comments/suggestions welcome as always