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How to Make a Drawbridge for a Castle

Castles had moats and drawbridges as a means of protection.
Hemera Technologies/Photos.com/Getty Images

Many children are fascinated with the Middle Ages: a time of castles, knights and suits of armor. A model castle can provide countless hours of entertainment and can be educational as well. The basic structure for a model castle involves walls, the keep and a moat, but to add extra realism, a drawbridge should be added to give access to the castle over the moat.

Things You'll Need:

  • Index Card
  • Thin Chain
  • Scissors
  • Paint Brush
  • Sticky Tape
  • Paint

Cut the index card with the scissors so the drawbridge is to scale compared to the castle walls. The drawbridge should not be higher than the walls, but must be long enough to get over the moat.

Paint the drawbridge brown to resemble wood. Many will tell you it should be grey to match the stone walls, but a lifting drawbridge would have been made from planks of lumber.

Make two small holes in the castle wall and through the end of the drawbridge for the chains to go through.

Run the chains through the holes in the drawbridge and knot off underneath. Any thin chain is suitable, anything of similar size to the chains on pens at banks will be perfect.

Put the other end of the chain through the holes in the wall and position them so the drawbridge can be raised and lowered from inside.

Attach pieces of sticky tape to the underside of the drawbridge so it is fixed to the castle.

Tip

This is for a cardboard castle. For a wooden one, use a fiberboard for the drawbridge, cut it with a saw, drill the holes and attach with hinges.

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