With clear signs that the painters and decorators are still around, here's the finished fort, in its ECW "sconce" role. I included some cannons and a couple of officers to show how the scale mismatch works - 15mm buildings vs 20mm armies.
The occupants are obviously impressed by how modern the design is - it will serve as a shining example for the next 200 years...
I intend to have a squint at Chris Duffy's books on fortification, and search online to see how these forts appeared in reality - could it benefit from a garden shed, or a wine-cellar, or something? Starbucks? Looks a fairly unforgiving place to spend any time, especially under fire.
Note that the Roundhead soldiers are making a token show of aggression for the camera.
A ready use ammunition store or perhaps a bookies? :o)
ReplyDeleteA bookies is good - spot-betting might be a problem: (a) I bet that my fire-crew fails to put out the next big fire (b) I bet that a mortar shell destroys the bookies (just a minute? - how do I collect the winnings?...). Some kind of ammo store building might be interesting - I looked at some aerial photos of big star-forts, and they have barrack buildings and all sorts, tucked in below the parapet of the wall - I guess mine must be a very small star-fort, or maybe a sconce...
ReplyDeleteThe Osprey publication "English Civil War Fortifications" by Peter Harrington has some good artwork, particularly of the Queen's Sconce in Newark.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for that - it's pathetic, but I thought I had this Osprey title, but can't find it and can't remember reading it, so I guess I never got around to buying it. I'll do something about this.
DeleteNow I think about it, I also have the Pegasus series DVD of the Siege of Newark, which has a local historian describing the sconce at one point. All I have to do is find the DVD...