Onion Domed Church - Part 1: Building the Tower

I have a commission for an onion domed church. The request is to base the model on Saint Martin's Church in Partenen, Austria, as below.

I had to make a few simplifications, the most notable of which was to the onion dome. I have made onion domes before, but a long time ago. They are tricky little beasts. The one in the photos above has around sixteen faces, but without a laser cutter I couldn't get the detail fine enough cutting by hand to replicate that, so the dome had to be made as an octagon. Since this is the most complicated part of the structure, I started this first.

The dome had to be 40mm in diameter at its widest point and a height from the base of the bulge of 35mm to the ball at the top of the dome. To start the process I took the second image above,  imported it into vector based drawing tool and then traced around it to create a vector silhouette of half the dome profile. Because the centre of the dome is going to be formed by a 5mm rod (more on this shortly) I removed 2.5mm from the flat edge of the silhouette. I then created a silhouette of a 30mm octagon, created multiples of these silhouettes and printed them out.

I cut out one of the dome pieces and glued it to a piece of 1.5mm rigid card, then cut the silhouette as a card template. 

Using the template,  I cut ten half-dome profiles from 0.5mm plasticard - I only needed eight, but made two more in the event of screw ups. Now, because they were cut out by hand there were discrepancies in the pieces so the ten pieces were then clipped together with a fold-back clip and the curves of the dome pieces were filed and sanded to get a uniform shape.

With the dome 'fins' made I started the assembly. The first step was to make the base by cutting a paper 30mm octagon silhouette and gluing it to a piece of 0.5mm plasticard - I would have preferred a 1mm thickness, but it was out of stock...if needed I figured I could glue another piece of 0.5mm to it later. I then ruled pencil lines point to point through centre of the octagon and glued a piece of 5mm plasticard tubing, 40mm in length, to the dead centre of the octagon using a set square to ensure it was perfectly upright.

To this spindle I then added the 'fins' of the dome with the base along the pencil line with the long straight edge against the spindle, again using a set square to ensure each 'fin'  was perfectly upright, to create the skeleton of the dome.

Ample plastic cement was then applied to all joints and left to set hard.

The next step was to put the skin on the skeleton. I would like to say that I used mathematics to create a template for the cladding, but far from it. I am no mathematician...I simply painted two of the fins edges black then pressed paper against them to create an outline that allowed me to make another template around which I could cut out the skins.

Here was where I made my first error. Thankfully it was not a serious one - I planned to make the skin from 0.25mm plasticard and bought some sheets to do this, but in error I bought clear rather than opaque. Not serious, just annoying because it made it more difficult to see what I was working on.

This part was quite fiddly because of the need to hold the prices firmly in place for several minutes each time while the glue set. When it was all done I gave it a quick coat of white paint so I could see the detail better. Any excess plasticard was then trimmed from the joints with a scalpel and gaps filled. The joints were filed to get smoothness and the lower section of the dome was completed using epoxy putty.

Then to finish the dome, I added the ball, using a glass bead from her indoors beading stock - with permission I might add. On top of this I added a cross constructed from various plasticard offcuts.

The next step was to make the octagonal part of the bell tower, on top of which the dome will sit. This was every bit as fiddly as the dome. The base structure was made from 2mm plasticard, but this left big gaps on the joints, so an outer skin of .25mm was glued over top. With a 30mm diameter and a height of 70 the octagonal barrel was then mounted on a 40mm square by 65mm tall box. To represent the round windows on the octagonal barrel I used 5mm steel washers.

The joint between the barrel and the box was then modelled as a roof and tiles were applied. The edges were filled and filed before the dome was fixed to the tower.

I then worked on the decoration of the octagonal barrel. This involved two ventilation panels (they aren't actually ventilation panels, but are the ventilated arches behind which the bells sit - I just don't know what they are called) that are positioned on the two faces that will have clock faces (that won't be fastened until after the model is painted).

I also created four sculpted panels; plasticard frames into which I glued various spare torsos and heads from my big box of plastic bits. In their final form these will be painted to look like marble. 

As a final touch I glued three spare flag finials from the Perry Allied Napoleonic cavalry set to the cross.

This finishes the work on the tower for now. When it is positioned on its base on the model proper the tower will stand 245mm (10 inches) tall.

Shiloh Church

Continuing my American Civil War buildings I have made a model of the Methodist church at Shiloh that is up on my Buildings for Sale page now.

Built in 1851 this simple log church was in the centre of  Sherman's camp when the Confederates launched their surprise attack on Sunday 6 April 1862. Some of the most vicious fighting at the Battle of Shiloh raged around the church (I'm guessing there was no service held that Sunday).

The rebuilt church on the modern day battlefield
(the original was partly damaged in the battle and then later by souvenir hunters).

It was a tough model to make (well, the actual construction was pretty easy really), but it is so simple that it quite a challenge to make it look interesting. 

In the end it is the different wood tones, along with the fence and the foliage that lifts this above bland.

Now, putting my model in the place of the current church (from the first image).

The Battle for Bertram's Bridge.

It is the early spring of 1781 and with winter passed and the roads no longer quagmires military operations are about to recommence. The British are planning a movement against Philadelphia and the Americans  are planning operations against New York. About halfway between the two cities is the small settlement based around Bertram's General Store. A few hundred yards north of the place a covered bridge crosses the  Goose River that is assuming an unexpected importance. The Goose is neither broad or fast flowing, but its banks are steep and Bertram's covered bridge is the only point for fifteen miles either side where wheeled transport can cross, so control of the area by both sides is important.

Over the winter each side had maintained a small garrison on opposite sides the river, but now with the campaign season about to start, larger forces are beginning to assemble.

As the day of battle dawns starts there are two forces of roughly equal size on either side of the river. The Americans occupy the settlement and have constructed a blockhouse on the heights east of the place. The British have constructed their own redoubt on a height on the opposite bank. The players commanding these forces are the respective CinCs. Beyond the forests on both flanks are reinforcements for both sides (on the map a little further down, marked A and B for the British and C and D for the Americans). These reinforcements, each of two small brigades, have three options for each brigade:

• They can march up the road to join the main force. On turn three will roll 1xD6 and if a 4+ is scored they arrive that turn, otherwise they arrive the next turn.
• They can attempt to move through the woods, on their side of the river, and exit at any point, rolling 1xD6 on turn 4 and if a 5+ is scored they arrive that turn, otherwise they roll again on turn 5 with a 4+ to arrive, otherwise they arrive on turn 6. These large wooded areas are otherwise impassable to troops.
• They can attempt to cross the river and arrive on the enemy road rolling 1xD6 on turn 5 and if a 4+ is scored they arrive that turn, otherwise they arrive the next turn.

In the event of a conflict during these movements there is a means of resolution.

The commanders of the reinforcements make their decisions independently and without consulting the CinC, but once on the field of battle they are under the CinCs comnand.

Also available is a small reserve force for each side that may arrive after turn 6.

The river is fordable to infantry at any point except within 300mm of the bridge and the destruction of the bridge (either deliberately or by accident) is an automatic loss.

My quick sketch of the terrain .

The American position at the start

The British position at the start.

Of the flanking forces only one, the British A command chose to not come on their hone side road. That force chose to bring one brigade on the opposite road and one through the adjacent woods.

The British forces moved to secure the northern approaches to the bridge

The Americans looked to hold the British in position while they flanked them

British 'B' force arrived and deployed on the high ground to the left of the bridge

With 'B' force in position the British centre force shifted right to face the arrival of the American 'C' force.

The militia lined the river bank and sniped at the British 

In the face of a withering militia the British dared not cross the bridge

Instead they brought up their guns, but every shot fired at a target within 100mm of the bridge that missed the target, had a chance of damaging the bridge.

With the grenadiers leading the British advanced boldly

The Americans of  'D' force pushed forward against the British left

Meanwhile the British 'A' force arrived in the rear of the American 'C' Force

The Hessians reinforcement arrive...

The battle in full swing. In the foreground, American 'C' force is attempting to cross the river

The Hessians deploy...

...and press forward

American 'D' force, leaving the British in their rear to the freshly arrived French reinforcements, are moving forward,

A Continental unit has pressed across the bridge in the face of British fire

An American 'D' force battalion attacks and breaks a Hessian unit, scattering it to the wind, but is now isolated from the rest of its command and eventually dispersed itself

American riflemen snipe away at the distant British

The French have arrived and are engaging the British flanking force

More Continentals have crossed the bridge

Above and below, the French are advancing

The battle has been particularly bloody. 

On the British side all of the infantry from the central force has been dispersed and only four battalions of the Hessians and a few guns remain in the centre. To their left the American 'C' force is almost wiped out, but there too British 'B' force is damaged with only a battalion and a gun remaining. On the right 'A' force is also dispersed.

Of the Americans 'C's has one battalion out of six still fighting. In the centre the militia had lost a third of its units and the Continental brigade has lost half. American 'D' Force is also largely dispersed, with one of six units still in action. The French reinforcements had lost two of their four battalions.

So what was the result? Neither side can claim to dominate the bridge. So it remains in contest for another time...or maybe both sides will just fall back on their bases and leave the inhabitants near Bertram's General Store alone.

The battle bear the end of the game, with most of the command is tatters.