My inspiration for scratch building a water tower came from reading, Chain of Command, At the Sharp End. page 12 describes the Terrain for a campaign, stating the presents of a water tower in the middle of a wheat field.
Hence I decided to add a water tower to my collection of buildings.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpLxGue2mkPIYKnYmeKIMZCotFWk94AYnvIdE9Hhkj3HAp22oK18scfEhygMd0Wq0s_zBivww0JW2kwW3fHCu0gUq1LjycNa_XfISE86JbdgW4DWCuqjewaAoW-8Ub9oSEsrro4gYr4v2/s640/P1141409.jpg) |
Completed Water tower |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwq6zZQYCOz_mR1gAiHX7N7WS9M3GxYMyNmzYI5d-3twA3MqL9Z5Z9k9OVoxywA9e9-HVdWjmV7L6yjiK7ZRsMPyRG-Cqfx1iNcjxUxcE3dOFmHU9WlgbQuBwmcqd7RqzPQplYg_CDowBG/s640/P1141413.jpg) |
Poster added for a bit of interest |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5IoaNHbMxToIBiUjtHE1oIBUMQJjOpjU9EKVgF78_JFgx75h1KqnSP7_QQmPr00MLPiotasP9iYq2KgYLIYlh9FVPu5uC3K3qMG6bkrkYVjDYULkGpxEwUZFMQgRjxdkO6V-_Q9YlLlV/s640/P1141418.jpg) |
Water gauge is added next to the ladder on the water tank. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixxEL7lM39K7f0UTWB3OV4M4-tifMQ8lM6iIpowdtY_4nV89bSaDsi07vGWU9lO-IcJnUWqJ9OGL2wxBHBEf4hnE3qRZffAegdiXGG65WpByClp_cx19ZLmX3gkQYWFd3eD57Tm7aeK371/s640/P1141447.jpg) |
The tower separates , accommodating a maximum of one Team. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxb4RL24oX7UIYdD5FcjS-x8l4sIvBs2YObdoXoVOldAzvdBUrHm2zVziCvRWV6VFxOKnPmLuzLxow_p-7puTwnhmQaFqIKE2EPnUXo-bBMua8RTyAxwD9BhMtevrZiUKoJhrqSto4MSSt/s640/2.jpg) |
HOW I MADE IT:
To make the tower I raided the recycling bin and salvaged 2 containers, one made from plastic, the other cardboard.
I reduced the height of both containers to 7cm with the use of box cutters.
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE65iFsANlK5o7Y3bUCY8XBE1S8aavOKnNqQ9709wUzw3a_QhHSRQFYjxrFQezn9C7R_I99KfR8wIzX9Q95Y_jo1LT13ltyZmh_4rqyhWInF3H91cKzfCqugYmBO3CmM_Zhma12NM1yynk/s640/3.jpg) |
Trimmed cardboard strips into strips of 4cm x 1cm to the simulate the metal plates surrounding the water tank. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjASABSkIIF8ya_2p6VO6vTb1WOWWnxL_mqShHBmazVdFBEL438czSyxV2GRkwUXHrqioHfOsQrEPWPV_68rX7z3YM1YRAh7eN0qyDQ0rkkdKqrBc0vpJ7cxWGFJku-PsS60VHWmsPQedjd/s640/4.jpg) |
Glue the cardboard strips in place with PVA glue.
I was fortunate to find an inverted lid which was fixed in place with super glue.
If you are unable to find such a lid, you can improvise by cutting a thick piece of cardboard and glue it in place about a cm above the lip of the on a normal lid creating a raised area.
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSLAuch05xB4NwBuNh5WaQv9ULXm3qSPuQVuPez3p1MKz0c9MQ3Cen5C5NAT7gPtYkyeJVhNV6iAUQY9zoEbARVPVcOZIvz-cer0e2i33XgQJWzRZ-1nAcY_l-3KgLCGaBBaXIVQaxENl/s640/44.jpg) |
This the lid for the bottom portion of the water tower. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVp9ZJQrJ4lP_Oyzv6Sao6qn-cF0wRKej13IwSTe9vgW6ZkS9GXqRUoy_deUTQ1uJS2WOsYEaOoImoeIlnONgEaEkYt7nvWOFHqDIFg5VceqA4YDWEOuWaydHglhauEsRzJIB3C1YvpaiO/s640/45.jpg) |
cut out the inner portion of the lid with hobby knife. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2BGoXPMmwvwDPwvxAKI9SEAS9Fm3h3m-Yuc6RzgwynFDo2kr3k1J_erdkpeZC_9bD-QhlNgt8d5k-o0I1L6fBbkLxvV6bC_dJg5Aqeb3aURk7KCI_a7M7PcjnlSfFz_z7nmH1KDiiegw/s640/46.jpg) |
lid is super glued in place on top of the stone portion of the water tower and glued a single layer of cardboard strips just below the edge.
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-MU61yogrMsD_rEfFLWUL3h5ciziTHTP1DNXhyphenhyphen9nl2Al-i0KQ8TfisW-hBGbMc-_qfdNWCmaf2wuwtQWeNWy1ggWZYD2DJ600_1T8sTiAEsIVaO9HvsD7SFGvg0Az04Y90fyULnQBNz2/s640/5.jpg) |
Used a hand grinder to etch details onto the plastic container. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76Siq9qEac0QXlPMvPwtXLUq8LC2QvUcnCBdQzUJnrfpcNTVqRkOAMq19PYMywUTqsKuVqxqyadgcOuv02z82AAa3zhkDa3n-T6sX216vSfkcmAkwgEvZMwRPhb2e_PrccXgCOm67nvt3/s640/6.jpg) |
Drilled 2 holes thru the plastic lid to accommodate 2 water overflow tubes. |
Glued in place tubes and below is the view from the inside of the container.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8_5Y_FJJo1elSEgBSBsVunSszSr-z-noVzKRoLe5P_pJph5EDcvXNTHDYqVfB9qsBl6bm3eUGizQk7eB432m0fxM1BzDKt970bRcZbHDNsLq_kv6KaD7fMkkmfWHautNSHafNdBK3vQk/s640/9.jpg) |
Based the tower on 15cm x 13cm MDF, the ladders where made with metal wire cut to size and fixed in place with a soldering iron.
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA77my3eGRS1dTZROBJhYpBHKjReNe78IaBdxlRJG7e7KgK4Fg3BapDcWdnRtoYDH3Qg_ad4bCpWGaJBz6ZWmn3SbWvlEBikzagtnwA5WQq6klUXGx4PLC2HgeXMhSyZzzWQAJysgxlIyA/s640/11.jpg) |
Ladder glued in place. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKp_aN0GtZaf8YqX5zgc3HYcVEg33CMWG5sIUv3lgRuoBGZdnxOioEt0kwc2jRN5gTKHd6r275XJA0457jscjVg7DGKZfszut_aZMYh-vupxofzJqLX0s0yUQQGtGDdI8uvN4vWaa_qmx/s640/12.jpg) |
Primed with black undercoat. |
- I used Tamiya color Acrylic Paint XF-6 to carefully wet brush the exterior of the tank allowing the black primer to show through.
- For the stone portion of the building I use stone grey and highlighted with some ivory mixed in with stone grey. I then used different washes to stain individual stones.
- For the water I first painted PVA glue on the surface of the plastic to create a bit of a ripple. Once dry I use Vallejo Model colour Black Green to paint over the PVA, while still wet I mixed in a bit of Vallejo Model colour Iquai sand into the Black Green paint and painted the water close to the rim of the tank.
- I applied two coats of Tamiya X-22 to the surface of the water to a bit of a shine.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDBLW-S0bODSFXEWxEStBGTPzj2WUfzN4I2nV1mces66UslcciUxLKMqVPj3vyNQ8QsxEdx6IN-oB1a_jcPzEnBCpScjLsoOY1PaDU1ytnl04wV9p4fU0VUC_WCNV9DGowVV_N6MJpPAg/s640/t.png) |
some images found on the web of water towers I used for inspiration. |
cheers John