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Castlemania Stage Thirteen – Towers & Spirals(7)

October 17, 2012

The king sent a message that he would be here for another inspection soon, which had the master engineer a bit worried. The basics of the main gatehouse had to be completed by the king’s arrival, since it is so important for castle security. Progress on the gatehouse was certainly well along, but not ready [...]

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Castlemania Stage Twelve – Gatehouse Work

The master engineer pitched a fit about my plan in Castlemania Stage Eleven to make wagons this time around, since work on the most important part of the castle’s defenses is lagging behind schedule. So plans have changed folks; the gatehouses get top priority now! The three gatehouses are important and vulnerable parts of the [...]

Castlemania Stage Eleven – Building a Cog

The castle needs a lot of materials delivered quickly to keep up with our kingdom’s growth. Since we’re living in 1275, the fastest way to move things is by ship. We built the docks and defenses. Now we need those ships to start bringing in the goods. The dominant type of merchant ship in Northern [...]

Tips & Tricks – 3DVIA Shape Mini-Tutorials

Here are direct links to 34 basic 3DVIA Shape mini-tutorial videos. After the link to the video is a link to a starter model that may help you follow along with the video. Nothing fancy, just the list. Dig in and have fun! 1 How to Box Select – Here is a link to the [...]

Castlemania Stage Ten – Floating & Water

The pace of the castle building has increased to the point where a faster way of receiving large amounts of material is needed. In 1275, when this castle is being built, that means ships! The castle site was chosen largely because it is at the juncture of two massive rivers. Now substantial docks are needed [...]

Castlemania Stage Nine – Merlons & Finials

The weather has been good, stone deliveries are regular and labor is plentiful, so a lot of progress has been made. It’s starting to look more like a castle! In the last stage, I showed you one way to build the tower bases and the arrow slits above them. This week, we’ll finish off the [...]

Castlemania Stage Eight – Arrows & Towers

Construction of the basic foundations and the start of wall building leads to the need for the strategic towers to be built too. While walls aren’t complex, the towers are.  The inner wall towers are even more complicated than the outer wall towers, because they contain rooms for living and lots of other castle activities. [...]

Castlemania Stage Seven – Progress Review

We’ve been moving along quickly learning how to master 3DVIA Shape and have reached a point where a review of what we’ve covered so far would be appropriate. This review will be useful as a quick-reference guide to help you find the videos, tools and tips that have been helpful along the way. The model [...]

Castlemania Stage Six – The King’s Changes

Add Flags! The king has approved the castle plans and has required numerous changes to make it just the way he wants it. The first thing he wants is flags. It’s his kingdom, and he wants everyone to know it! Flags and pennants are important symbols and identification markers. Early on, tomy suggested that we [...]

Castlemania Stage Five: The King Approves the Plans

The big day has arrived. The king is surveying the castle plans and town for the first time. He and the master engineer will review the drawings for the castle and then walk around the castle plan, which has been marked out in full size.  The master engineer will record the king’s changes and then [...]

Castlemania Stage Four: The King is Coming!

The king is coming! It’s time to get everything as ready as it can be. The town and its defenses are growing stronger every day, but the king’s approval is necessary before real work can get started on the castle itself. The main defensive ditch and berm for the Town Wall has been completed, and [...]


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