Battlement Castle Tower
Square stone-look tower with twelve merlons, four cross-shaped arrow slits, a recessed fighting platform and a wide glued foundation.
Materials
- 200-240 gsm cardstock
- Scissors
- Craft knife and cutting mat for windows
- Metal ruler
- Blunt scoring tool
- PVA glue
- Pencil
Finished size: 90 x 90 x 110 mm; tower 60 x 60 mm; deck height 86 mm
Steps
CutValley foldMountain foldGlue area
-
Calibrate, cut and mark edges
Print actual size and measure the 50 mm ruler. Cut six pieces once each. Remove the four cross-shaped window wastes with a knife before cutting wall perimeters. Slits are 3 mm wide by 24 mm high with a 9 x 3 mm crossbar. Cut the 12 x 12 mm top notches; keep all twelve merlons. Copy the edge key onto the reverse. Do not cut dotted glue boundaries.
-
Score the walls
With printed exterior facing you, valley-fold each right tab inward 90 degrees along R1-R4; mountain-fold each bottom foot outward 90 degrees along F1-F4. Keep the crenellated panels flat. Pre-fold and reopen every tab so the later seams are easy to close.
-
Join three corners
Glue R1 behind the leftmost 6 mm of W2, R2 behind W3, and R3 behind W4. Match each adjacent vertical edge to its tab crease, bottoms level at 0 mm, tops at 110 mm. Hold all three corners at 90 degrees. Press the 2-82 mm seams from the open fourth corner and let set.
-
Close the square tube
Glue R4 behind L1 with the same 6 mm overlap. The tube measures 60 x 60 mm between score lines, with an approximately 84.85 mm diagonal. Keep both top and bottom open. Pinch the last seam from inside through the bottom, then let the square tube dry. Keep the four feet pointing outward.
-
Dry-fit the platform
With deck top/printed face upward, mountain-fold all four centered flaps downward 90 degrees. D1 meets W1, D2 W2, D3 W3, D4 W4. Mark 86 mm above each wall bottom on its inside face. Lower the 60 mm deck through the open top until its surface reaches those marks; flaps extend down to 80 mm. Check fit without forcing or bowing; remove it again before applying glue.
-
Glue deck with underside access
Apply a thin glue film to the outward-facing backs of the four 6 mm flaps. Reinsert deck to the 86 mm marks. Reach through the open underside to press each flap against its matching wall while supporting the exterior. Keep deck level; allow all four joints to set before attaching the base. The deck braces the tube against racking.
-
Attach the broad foundation last
Center the tower on B with each wall 15 mm from the corresponding base edge. The four outward feet match the dotted trapezoids; their outer tips remain 8 mm inside the base perimeter. Glue foot undersides to these marks, press from above and dry on a flat surface. Check 110 mm overall height and four level foot contacts. Real printed assembly and tip-resistance testing remain pending.
Notes
The 3D model shows each piece in its finished, idealized shape; the exploded view only spreads the pieces apart. It is not a paper-physics simulation: curved shapes are forming guides, not exact physical folding or proof of developability, and intermediate fold shapes are not supplied.
- Original rigid-face paper construction. Physical printing, cutting, assembly and stability checks pending.
- All dimensions are score-center millimetres. Meshes include every tab and preserve flat triangle lengths exactly. Paper and glue thickness are not simulated; dry-fit the deck before gluing.
- Decorative tabletop model, not a load-bearing platform. Use a level surface; dry the base flat.
- Edge key (write lightly on reverse before folding): each wall has L at its left vertical edge, R at its right tab crease, F at its bottom foot crease. Suffix is wall number. W1/W2/W3/W4 run counterclockwise viewed from above.
- Join schedule: R1 to L2, R2 to L3, R3 to L4, R4 to L1. Corner tab crease length 80 mm (2-82 mm above base), maximum overlap 6 mm. F1-F4 crease length 44 mm, foot depth 7 mm.
- Deck edge labels D1-D4 match W1-W4. Each deck edge is 60 mm, with a centered 44 mm tab crease and 6 mm downward flap. Platform top is 86 mm above the feet; notch bottoms are 98 mm, merlon tops 110 mm.