Ishtar Gate

 Hi!

In my last post I mentioned that Umbum had an Ishtar Gate which was no longer in production. I started searching for one and, instead, came across this model from Paperlandmarks ( paperlandmarks). It looks a great model. But beware! You have to glue the parts together and the tabs are rather narrow in places. The crenels are VERY difficult to do if following the sparse instructions. After the first section I just folded the parts and cut out the crenels. Another alteration was lowering the roof so figures can be placed  in a good defensive position rather than towering over the structure which wouldn't look right. You can see where the white card starts, that is the height where the roof should be. I did the same for the towers.

The card is rather thin, unlike the Umbum model which is much thicker.

But don't try to build it if you haven't got the patience of a saint!

The figures are minifigs 25mm Persians, 

Surprise your opponents when you need a city model by putting this down!

The Old Gatehouse

Hi!

Welcome, belatedly, to a New Year.

This was intended as my third post of the year. The first being intended as the second!

Ah! well. I'll catch up with the Frostgrave figures post after this one.

This post is all about a cardboard gatehouse I saw on eBay. It is part of a set of The Medieval Town by a company called UMBUM (no joke!). It includes towers, bridges, stables various dwellings, town walls section and a forge amongst other things medieval. There are also WW2 tanks, winter camouflage or not. Planes, helicopters, galleons, ships of various descriptions to name but other great items. The items snap together with tabs through slots. Not difficult and the instructions, in pictures, are easy to follow. Not only that, they are in full colour and, to my eye, look pretty good for the price and a cheap way to enter a period if the models and buildings fit

They are intended as a child's playset but at various prices from around £8 (the gate cost £6.47 plus postage from the Russian Federation) they are ideal for a cheap, colourful medieval town.

Looking through the companies history I saw an Ishtar Gate! Unfortunately not currently available. I saw this gate and decided to try it out.

The pack

The components

The cardboard figures and bases included, but I will not be using them

The finished article

The figures are Frostgrave Soldiers from Northstar. Just the right size really.

Umbum is available from various sources eBay, Amazon (a bit pricier than other sources) 1001 hobbies including the U.S.

Happy hunting!

Poems for Wargamers 10

Facing Snow.


After the battle, many new ghosts cry,
The solitary old man worries and grieves.
Ragged clouds are low amid the dusk,
Snow dances quickly in the whirling wind.
The ladle's cast aside, the cup not green,
The stove still looks as if a fiery red.
To many places, communications are broken,
I sit, but cannot read my books for grief.

Du Fu