Willmark:
Update #1
Alright, as promised here is where I’m at. The structure is still very rough but if you look at the middle tower in the illustration you can see the form taking shape. I did add a mini to give you an idea of scale.
I’m trying to keep the base as light as I can, hence using the wine boxes which is fairly strong cardboard. The R4 foam is eventually going to be covered with paper-mache and then gravel and small stones.
I was getting a bit frustrated with the project so I started at the top and decided to work down as you can see in the photographs near the bottom of this post. I did make a mistake with the upper floor which I added the wooden popsicle sticks. I’ll need to correct that (I need to cut out stairs on the right hand side too).
In terms of overall height its 27". For reference my Nippon castle is 23" in height. Based on the illustration the middle tower is the highest point with the lower bailey gatehouse being roughly the same size. This (roughly) works out to being about 1/2 of what it would be to scale. I figure if it was truly at scale based on the illustration the cliffs alone would have to be 4 feet.
Since I’ve taken these photos I have completely shingled the roof which is removalable.