[Archive] Desert Empire Guard Tower by Steepled Hat Studios

The_Penguin:

Unfortunately all the towers are prepainted and I have already shipped them. The only unpainted version I have is the prototype - and that protoype had some very visible errors on it, as pointed out here in my little Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKzT3YTUnWQ&t=11s

Wiegraf
Most likely I shall be ordering more, once I paint those, so I may still get the white ones eventually. ) :D

P.S.
You look like young Vladimir Lenin. That is a compliment, btw! :cheers

Dînadan:

Which leads me to another question: All of these towers  for sale are prepainted but I have in my hands here the original white poly-resin prototype. We decided to go with simple prepainted colors because we wanted the Desert - ready out of the box feel - Do you think in the future it would be worth it to have the unpainted version available?

Wiegraf
You could compromise and add a pigment to the resin mix (if possible), so that the unpainted version will be sandstone coloured, that way those that want to paint it themselves can do so while those that want to use it out of the box can do so.

Admiral:

Much of the glorious looks of Babylon came from the luxurious blue glazed bricks, which also lent splendour to Persepolis and the Ziggurat of U-r. From what I can gather and remember, scholars seem to think the expensive blue glazed bricks (which demanded exact adjustment of temperature in the kiln) were primarily used in large quantities for landmark monuments, such as the Ishtar gate, the processional way into Babylon and the upper temple of ziggurats. For much else of the walls of Babylon, blue glazed bricks probably may not have been used at all, or at best only covered parts of the towers and walls, such as the crenellated top.

The combination of a large mass of sandstone-coloured walls with some colourful bands is tasty. How about using your army’s red colour as the main brick glaze for whatever bricks/stones get glazed in your fortifications, and then using blue or turqoise as sparse spot colour decor among all the sandy beige and red? Perhaps add some black and gold or bronze as decor as well? It would connect the terrain closer to your army’s colour scheme, be your own fantasy take on the theme, and still be a nod to ancient Mesopotamia. If your army’s red is too bright to look good in large chunks, then how about a darker red to complement the bright sandstone? Just tossing ideas at you.

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You may wish to avoid doing all the walls and all the towers completely coloured without visible sandy beige. Likewise, it would probably look best if all the walls and all the towers have some coloured part, as in the processional way into Babylon instead of the probably bland city walls at large. A little colour adds a lot, and the less there is, the less opulent it looks:

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Abecedar:

Maybe bands or sheathed in copper. Copper goes well with reds

Wiegraf:

Maybe bands or sheathed in copper.  Copper goes well with reds

Abecedar
Agreed. As a painter of Republican Romans and other things ancient I'd say any of those reddy metals are a great mix with reds.

I would LOVE to do a Ziggurat - but that would be like doing a Citadel - quite the feat. Perhaps a future project when the company grows beyond the hobby level, whahahahaha.

I am currently in talks with those that help me with my company's design direction, and some friends, and I think the next project will also revolve around ancients, but perhaps not around the Mesopotamian / Assyrian themes. It is important to dabble in all fields and see what works the best , but I have some what I think are splendid projects I want to get going on for the Middle Eastern theme once we market test the other scenic pieces. . :hat:hat off

Wiegraf:

Oh, and as for the adding color to resin mix, that could be done. It’s a nice suggestion I may experiment with! I’d still have to paint the doors on if I wanted to sell as prepainted.

The_Penguin:

@ Admiral You are amazing as usual! :cheers Thank you very much for your comment, I learned quite a bit! I guess I shall go for red fantasy-ish style after all! :hat off

Thank you very much, gentlemen! I shall make sure to share painted towers with you. :smiley:

Admiral:

Thanks! Aye, copper goes well along with red. One way to upgrade the towers for even more Mesopotamian flavour would be to add a top block to make stepped crenellations:

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Wiegraf: Some images in case you’re doing Carthaginian buildings in the future.

Admiral:

Tower received, and it’s a great one! Well crafted in details, and of a good size. The prepaint job is welcome, too. I’ll eventually convert it extensively with a host of add-on details and repaint it, but until then I have a ready-made tower to put on the table.

Recommended!

Thank you so much for putting this on the market, Wiegraf! :hat off

Wiegraf:

Tower received, and it's a great one! Well crafted in details, and of a good size. The prepaint job is welcome, too. I'll eventually convert it extensively with a host of add-on details and repaint it, but until then I have a ready-made tower to put on the table.

Recommended!

Thank you so much for putting this on the market, Wiegraf! :hat off

Admiral
Hey , no problem! I am just happy everyone's loving them!

Here's what I told The Ninth Age Community recently, and I will relay it here as well:
Hello everyone

Just to let you all know, my original stock of the Desert Empire Guard Tower is nearly sold out. The tower has been well received and has sold well beyond my expectations! It was my intention to create an item that could be used in various wargames and customers are using it for both fantasy and historical gaming and I am happy to see both genres of wargaming covered! Woohoo! :)

That being said, August is upon us and the next batch of towers is nearly complete. Included in this batch will be a number of unpainted towers, set in their original white poly-resin form. This will be available within the next couple weeks or so for those who'd rather prime and paint up the tower on your own!

Finally - my next project is in the works. I will take a step away from the Desert Empire for now and dip my toes in another project, one that is much more generic but covers again historical and fantasy settings. It will not be anything unique in the wargaming world, but I am hoping to design it in a way that stands out amongst the other versions of it out there...

Thank you all for the support and comments. I look forward to continue this awesome venture!

Regards!
Dustin

Wiegraf:

Here’s the latest update:

Hello everyone!

The next batch of towers have come in and the stock has been updated for the current stock. There will probably be some price adjustments on eBay that will permanently lower the costs. �?< Etsy should stay relatively the same.

Furthermore, a number of towers will now be sold without the paint job, so anyone who wants the raw poly-resin form to paint on their own will soon be able to order it in. I am currently working on a listing for those and I will post up a link for their sale pages on Ebay and Etsy soon.

There’s also a website in the works that I am designing, but until that comes out, Ebay and Etsy will remain the main sale platforms that I use.

Finally, the next project will appear on kick starter. I am putting out a number of different genres that could easily be used in both fantasy and historical settings and plan to cycle through them, adding new content to each scenery series as I go. Stay tuned for more info as I continue to work through the next project.

I have decided to stick to the historical realms, and create products that can be used both in Fantasy and Historical settings. As mentioned, I want to cycle through some various types of scenery and build upon each of them. I’ve got a few great ideas for Chaos , but I’ve put them off for now since historic miniatures are my main drive and I am sticking with the stuff that makes me the most excited. I believe, however, that everything will be well received for many rank and file mass games, regardless of what army one plays.

Thanks and regards

Dustin