Q&A for How to Make a Model Castle

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  • Question
    Can I use cardboard boxes and empty toilet paper rolls?
    Community Answer
    Yes you can! You can even use empty paper towel rolls, cereal boxes, and tissue boxes as well.
  • Question
    Can you use paper for the walls?
    Community Answer
    No. Paper will be too wobbly. You could stack and glue several layers together to make a stronger, sturdier piece of paper, but this is time-consuming.
  • Question
    How do I make a castle moat?
    Community Answer
    You could make a bridge from cardboard, use necklace chains to hold the bridge up, and use blue tissue paper for the water.
  • Question
    How do I make a clay castle?
    Community Answer
    Roll out sheets of clay and let them dry until they're firm but not chalky. Next, cut out the different shapes of your castle. To assemble the pieces, use the "scratch and slip" method, a common handbuilding technique. When you've finished your castle, fire it in a kiln to harden it.
  • Question
    Could I use empty toilet paper rolls instead of tin cans?
    Community Answer
    If you're using the toilet rolls as turrets, and they aren't used to support the weight of your castle, then yes.
  • Question
    Can you make a castle with only plastic bottles?
    Community Answer
    Plastic is not a recommended building material. Paint has trouble sticking to this medium and it's not very sturdy. Additionally, if you only used plastic bottles, you would have trouble making any straight walls or rooftops.
  • Question
    How do I make the bricks of a castle look real?
    Community Answer
    Build the walls out of foamboard (can be found at local craft store), then either spray it with a textured spray paint or cut in shapes using a box cutter.
  • Question
    If I cover the pieces in tinfoil before I put them all together, will I still be able to paint the tinfoil?
    Community Answer
    It depends what kind of paint you have. Acrylic paint and spray paint will cover the tinfoil, while watercolor will not. Also, you will have to be careful not to handle the finished castle too much. Paint does not stick to metal very well, and will chip if handled too often.
  • Question
    Do you think that clay is a good building option?
    Community Answer
    Unless you have access to a clay studio with a kiln, clay is not a good option. Other kinds of clay can be used, such as modeling clay that you bake in your oven. However, this kind of clay can't be rolled out into sturdy sheets. Therefore, if you use this kind of clay, you will have to use giant blocks to build your castle. These blocks may not completely cook in the oven and your castle would eventually fall apart.
  • Question
    Is there anything I can use instead of popsicle sticks?
    Community Answer
    You can use a variety of things! You can use cardboard and paper towel tubes, paper, or Styrofoam. You can even use toothpaste lids, just as Charlie Bucket did in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
  • Question
    What can I do if I don't have the right plastic shapes to build a mosque or a house?
    Community Answer
    You can get creative and use different objects from home, like a funnel.
  • Question
    What should I use to make the water in the moat look realistic?
    Community Answer
    If you have enough, then hot glue is a good option that looks realistic. You could also use colored glue sticks.
  • Question
    How do I make fake water for the moat without using resin or epoxy?
    Community Answer
    You can use different varieties of blue tissue paper to make water. You can either scrunch them up and lay them down, or lay them down one by one (to give the appearance of floating).
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