When I first visited the Grand Manor web site many years ago I saw this building and knew I had to have it! This is my first of what will be many resin Grand Manor buildings I plan on doing. Personally I consider Grand Manor terrain to be the Rolls Royce of terrain pieces in terms of superb quality but...... also I must say in price as well! It's worth the price for sure, but it's what has kept me from buying very much. However since the pound has come down some and if you buy several pieces in one order you can justify the postage and packing(which is excellent btw). It actually works out better if you buy more and not less to an extent as it seems like he charges per box or something like that with each box being the same size and able to hold several buildings. That's guess work of course, but I do know I was able to put several items on my order without my postage and packing changing up to a point until I had quite a few items and then it changed. Anyhow, I happily purchased several pieces and will continue to buy more on a regular basis in the future as long as the pound remains reasonable to do so otherwise it will be back to special occasions only.
Roman watchtowers were often built on the edge of the roman frontiers to act as a guard post and communications checkpoint. They used torches to signal to other watchtowers if they saw something, were under attack or to send a message. Also riders could be used if available to the garrison as they sometimes kept small stables for couriers and some even had an extra perimeter wall and moat defenses becoming mini-forts perhaps a front runner to the Norman moat and bailey .
While the tower wasn't built to withstand a siege it could delay the enemy long enough for help to arrive. To access the tower one would need a ladder which could be withdrawn into the tower when under attack. The tower could be defended from various openings and the wooden platform.
I mostly used craft paints for the tower as I'm still not confident with an airbrush yet and well....just feel more comfortable using a brush. The stone was done using a umber brown and adding more and more white to the mix and the wood was a brown ocher base followed by a ink wash and then more brown ocher with white continually being added to the mix. Then everything was given a mix of different MIG pigments for the weathering.
The model is of course resin and comes with a roof ,wooden platform and upper stone section that can all be removed which is nice for skirmish gaming if you wish to place models inside. I also really like resin kits as I feel they have far more character, detail and depth then say MDF and plastic although some plastic is getting quite good, but still not at the level of resin imho.
I'm very happy how the model turned out and may even build a wooden palisade and barn for it at some point, but for now it's ready for gaming. I'm quite chuffed at finishing my first piece of Grand Manor terrain and I recommend to stay tuned more in the coming new year as I plan to make 2017 one of my most productive years in terms of terrain. Merry Christmas everyone!
Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company- Grand Manor