| An old favorite is back! The "Castle Kits"
are being produced again. They now consist of bricks in a
smaller more rustic configuration that will allow hobbyists to
create a more compact and realistic structure. The bricks are
now made with real concrete and are left in their natural finish,
some with intentionally worn edges that greatly add to their realistic look. |
 What's
in the box? There are four different brick configurations: whole
bricks, half bricks, window bricks and battlement bricks. The whole
bricks measure approximately 3/4" long x 3/8" wide x 1/2" tall. The
half bricks are 3/8" x 3/8" x 1/2" tall. The window brick is a whole
brick with an arch cut into it - when coupled with a second window
brick, both will make one arched window. The battlement brick is a
whole brick with an extended angle that will sit on top of a tower
wall. A whole brick is then placed on the angle portion completing
the battlement. The amount of bricks have been increased with the
new molds currently in production. Now, there are approximately 840
whole bricks (up from 720), 195 half bricks (up from 150), 40 window
bricks that will make 20 windows (up from 30 that made 15) and 40
battlement bricks (up from 21). The following photograph will give
you a clear view of each brick, and additional photos and
suggestions in this section will take you along as a castle is being
built. There is no longer a paper version of
this web section included with the kits. Please refer to this
section for building suggestions and the photos, all of which can be
copied and printed for your convenience. (Clicking the small version
of the row by row photos below will bring you a clear large
version). |
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(Color: Natural) From left: whole brick, half brick, battlement brick, and window bricks.
(Actual color shade may differ slightly from that shown).
(Color: Buff Sandstone) From left: whole brick, half brick, window bricks, and battlement brick.
(Actual color shade may differ slightly from that shown).
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Be aware these kits are not toys and certainly not for little
kids. These are raw dusty concrete bricks for advanced or imaginative
hobbyists...there are no pegs or slots that fit each brick together,
and could be a choking hazard for children. Please keep them
out of reach of small curious hands!
Although there are no "instructions" per say, since it's up to you
what you build and how you build it, you can use these guidelines to
get you started. A level base is best to start with, a piece
of lumber, a patio block, a large ceramic tile, or a piece of press
board as used in the following example. Use a strong white
hobby glue available at your local home center to bond each piece
together, taking care that the areas to be glued are free of dust.
If your project will contain a heat source like a candle or a light
bulb, you need to use a heat-resistant glue like Titebond Wood Glue,
which does work on concrete very well, but dries yellow. If
your project will not contain heat sources, you can use regular
common Elmer's Glue which is strong, and dries clear. Start with a floor plan. This will give you an
idea of how large or intricate of a structure you can build with the
allotted bricks in the kit. The following example castle was built with
one kit, and measures approximately 14" wide by 10" deep by about 8"
high. A small square or combination square is suggested for
keeping walls and towers straight, and a compass will come in
handy for making perfect circles to build towers around. When
you build above a door or chimney opening, it's easier to set those
bricks up separately on a level surface in advance, so they are glued and dry when you
place them. Each photo represents one row during construction.
Click any image for a larger pop-up version. (This function
may not work if you are running anti pop-up software.)
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Row 1. All whole bricks glued along the
lines of the floor plan. |
Row 2. Use of half bricks at doors
allow for staggered construction.. |
Row 3. |
Row 4. |
Row 5. |
Row 6. Bricks above doors and chimney were set up on a level surface
in advance. |
Row 7. Take care when placing window bricks that the surface above
them is level. |
Row 8. |
Row 9. |
Row 10. |
Row 11. |
Row 12. Use half bricks centered
on top of walls as battlements. |
Row 13. |
Row 14. |
Row 15. Battlement bricks centered on
top of the tower wall. |
Row 16. Whole bricks placed on the battlement bricks for the tower
battlements. Finished. |
| See Page Two for additional close-ups of various
parts of the castle...
See photos that
customers have sent in...
The Castle Kits are $60 each. That price already includes
shipping and insurance. The price is the same for local
pick-ups.
(6% sales tax will be added for Michigan residents.) Due to
the weight of this product, we usually only ship to the lower 48.
If you are outside of these areas, please email your complete
address including postal code for a shipping quote. Over-night shipping is not available.
Castle Kits can only be shipped via FedEx to the lower 48. NO P.O. BOXES. USPS may be used for areas outside the lower 48.
Orders received before 11am EST will ship that day. Orders
received after 11am EST will ship the next business day.
Please allow an average of 3 business days for your order to arrive,
4 to 5 days on the west coast.
You can order securely on-line with your
Visa & MasterCard below (now either with or without a PayPal
account,) or use the
traditional mail order form
here for checks and money orders.
Thank you!
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Attention:
I've got plenty of kits in stock, both colors. If inventory
starts to get low I will publish the numbers below.
Thank you,
~Jeff |
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