Making some English Civil War fortifications

Continuing the siege theme from my last two posts, this afternoon I decided to make some quick English earthworks using upholstery foam. These will be useful for playing out some smaller siege actions set during the English Civil War. I have purchased the ebook “English Civil War fortifications 1642–51” from Osprey for ideas and some inspiration.

The completed earthworks.

Current reading.

The steps used to create the earthwork...

1) The foam is measured up using a couple of bases.

2) The foam is cut out and the ramparts shaped.

3) The foam is cut in half and an area removed to create the parapet of the earthworks.

4) Scissors are used to help shape the ramparts and cut little divots to make the ramparts a bit uneven.

5) A brown wash is liberally applied to the shaped foam.

6) Additional colours are added.

7) Dark brown dashes of paint are used to give the impression of wood supports on the parapet.

8) Painted toothpicks are pushed into the foam to create the spikes.

By having the earthworks cut in half, they can be placed along the table edge as part of a larger defensive position, or set up as a small standalone fortification. 

Set up as a fortified position.

After looking over the photos and seeing how they dried, the earthworks appear a little lighter than I intended, so tomorrow I will be applying another brown wash to darken them down and give them a more earthy look.