MAIWAND DAY: Kohistan Gate for Kabul

Last night I got back home from a very long & productive day's work and -- to relax, really -- spent the late night on something I'd been thinking about for the past few days, since finishing up my scratchbuilt Kabul Bridge... namely, scratchbuilding a replacement for the Medieval European gateway I'd been using as a similar "place holder" to the European Bridge I'd recently replaced in my "Bala Hissar of Bust!" terrain layout.

I used similar materials -- Blue, and cheaper white, styrofoam -- pieced together with hot-glue, and some cut out pieces of 1/16th" or so thick self-adhesive vinyl floor-tile, and built the gateway to fit the space I had available in the city wall, namely 4" wide by 3" deep.

As with my recent bridge build, I think this turned out pretty good and as the walls and towers flanking it were NOT build by Chris The Model Maker, it should have no trouble blending in pretty well. I still need to cover it with wood filler to add strength and texture, and then paint it to match the existing set of walls. In fact, part of me wants to paint over those existing walls in some paler mudstone and sandstone shades to better match the rest of my other Afghan buildings and the hill fort serving as the Bala Hissar, but I just don't have time right now. One reason for that is I may have finally, "hit the wall," with my terrain paint. These are the half-gallons and gallons I bought back in the Spring/Summer of 2010 when I was building my original "Maiwand Day" terrain boards, and which I have been using -- with only slight replenishments -- ever since. It's time to go back to the paint well, so to speak, and get some more custom-mixed supplies at Home Depot or Lowes.

Meanwhile, here's a few pics of what I've got so far...