Mile Fort, Pt.4

It may seem like I'm working at a furious pace, but remember I am actually several steps ahead, and am just trying to catch up.

Whoa! Now we're gettin' somewhere! The roof's walls are complete, a look-out tower has been built, and a Dr Seuss stairway winds to the top.

Legolas at the top. The top step and the capping are yet to be installed. You  can see the two rare earth magnets which connects the stairs to the top. The tower, which is removable, is held in place by two more magnets at the bottom.

Aragorn contests an Uruk-Hai for control of the stairs. They only touch the tower at the very top.

The two figures fit comfortably on the large steps, but even the narrow top flight will handle them.

Notice the break in the wall, nearest the camera. The two sections are held together by locating pins and magnets. (Magnets also position the far end of the wall.) The stairway is glued to the wall, and the whole assembly slides off.

The dramatic angle makes the model look larger than it is.

Let's talk a little about stairs. Originally, I had planned on a conventional stairway, attached to the tower walls as it wound its way to the top. When I made the short, second flight of steps, it was supposed to turn inward to the middle of the roof. On a whim, I tried them outward, and once they crossed the top of the rear wall, the die was cast. Sure, I could have saved a ton of time going with my original plan (or eliminating them entirely and going with a ladder), but making this quirky stairway was too much damn fun. Now, more than one person has pointed out that such a stairway could not be self-supporting as modeled, to which my first thought was, "Uh, yeah, look at them, they're supporting themselves." Immediately I realized that was a cheat, as ancient Númenoreans, Elves,  and Dwarves did not have access to high-strength, low-weight styrene like I did. (Almost as immediately after that, I realized there were no such people as ancient Númenoreans, Elves, and Dwarves.)  My second thought was, "Hey, it's Middle Earth, bitches." Tolkien didn't explain everything in his books, why should I?  But that would be rude. That is one of the reasons I made them removable. Though I may eventually make some supports underneath, I can replace them entirely with something more realistic. (More realistic? "It's Middle Earth, bitches!) ;o)

Come back soon.