How to Build a Castle Out of Wood

Pieces of wood held together with carpenter's glue provide the basic items needed to make a simple model castle. Adding architectural details with commonly found household goods helps your model medieval castle look more realistic and will allow you to add more stylistic touches. Balsa wood is on of the lightest and easiest woods to work with which lets you quickly and easily measure and cut it to the correct specifications.

Draw up your plans for the model castle with as much detail as possible. Sketch out the basic design on a piece of paper and make an architectural blueprint of the layout. Choose exact measurements for the castle plan; the size will depend on how large you want to make it and what the model castle will be used for. Gather materials together for the castle and have them all laid out in front of you within easy reach when constructing it.

Mark the balsa wood with pencil at the points you will cut it. Draw any flourishes that you will add to the walls directly on the balsa wood. Cut the wood pieces to the correct size using an exacto knife or carpenters blade. Be careful and go slowly to avoid the knife falling into the grain of the wood and messing with your design. Add windows to the design to make it look more realistic. Cut the paper towel tubes down with scissors to the correct height for towers and spires.

Lay a large piece of balsa wood down as the bas of your model castle. Mark the bottom piece of wood with the architectural layout you created, as if it were a house blueprint. Glue down the balsa wood to the base piece. Glue small cubes of balsa to both the base and walls along the inside to provide more structural integrity to you model castle. Allow the walls to dry for 2 hours before adding more to your castle.

Add the paper towel tube spires to their correct positions. Duct tape them to the base and any castle walls that they touch. Do not be too worried about the aesthetics of duct tape on the model castle as you will be able to paint over it. Add any extra pieces or embellishments to the castle that you like and paint the castle. Use a basic grey acrylic paint on the entire structure. Once this dries you use a permanent marker to draw in details of bricks to make your model castle look more realistic.