This page contains instructions on how to use mold #64 to build the round tower. You will have to cast the mold 24 times to build the tower. This round tower is slightly more difficult to build than the average model. The pieces are easy to cast and the plans are easy to follow, but the difficulty lies in keeping the tower round. Since this tower takes so many basic building blocks, there wasn't room for any floor tiles on this mold. However, I do show instructions on how to make floor sections on this page. This photo shows miniatures from Games Workshop and The Foundry.

Building Instructions

1.	You will need to cast the #64 8" Round Tower mold 24 times to have enough blocks to build the tower. I know that sounds like a lot of casting, but this is a really big tower. You can download the plans shown here from the Building Plans page. Start by gluing a ring of blocks together as you lay them on the floorplan. Do not glue them to the plan! We will need to use this floorplan several times.

2.	Every ring you make will be used as a floor section. Since I'm only going to put 2 floors in this tower, I'm only making 2 rings. Feel free to add more floors if you like. When the rings are dry, place them onto a piece of cardboard or foam core board (I'm using foam core). Take a pencil and trace around the inside of the ring. Since the ring of blocks may not be perfectly round, put a pencil mark on the blocks and the board. This will help you get the board in the exact same position later on.

3.	Using a hobby knife, cut exactly on the line all the way around. Test fit the floor inside the ring of blocks (lining up the pencil mark). It should gently touch the blocks on all sides and not be too tight or it might break the ring. Trim it further if needed.

4.	For the stone texture, I'm going to use a piece of vinyl. You can find it anywhere that sells fabric. This vinyl has a leather type of texture to it. The color I got was horrible, but I'm going to paint it anyway so it doesn't matter. You can also use the vinyl from notebooks.

5.	Glue the vinyl onto the board. Spread the glue around with your finger before laying the vinyl down. Use scissors to trim off the excess. Don't use paper notebooks. I tried out a couple of paper notebooks that had a cracked leathery texture to see if it would work. The paper soaked up the glue and paint, forming uneven bubbles and warps under the surface.

6.	We're going to make the top of the tower first. Place the ring of blocks upside down. Now glue the board in the ring vinyl side down and push it all the way down. When you flip it over, the vinyl will be flush with the top of the blocks. Now is a good time to cut an opening for a trap door. I screwed up because I didn't spread the glue out with my finger and it left ridges under the vinyl.

7.	Once again, place this ring upside down. Take the arch pieces and place them around the outside of the ring. You'll notice that the ring of arch blocks is just a bit too large and there is a gap on one side. Sand a couple of the arch blocks to bring the ring closer together. Glue the arches around the outside once the gap is removed. I knew getting the arches to fit perfectly would be nearly impossible. Since you repeat the same arch 24 times, the slightest error when making the original block would be compounded 24 times. I was pleased to get them as close as they are.

8.	Add a ring of blocks and the decorative pieces that go around the outside. Next, add one more ring of blocks and let this dry completely.

9.	Flip the piece over so we can finish the top. Add a ring of 9" blocks around the top. These blocks are specially made to fit this diameter of circle. It will take 24 of these blocks to go completely around.

10.	Finish the top by adding the smaller pieces and the decorative top caps. Please notice that these top pieces aren't meant for the 9" diameter but they'll work in this case. Place all of the blocks down before you glue them so you can see how they fit. They're actually made for the 8" diameter tower, so it's really nice that you can use them for both diameters. That finishes the top of the tower.

11.	Now for the bottom of the tower. Start with a pre-glued ring of blocks and add a floor to it as shown in steps 2 through 5. For this floor I used a piece of blue vinyl from a notebook. Glue the board (with the vinyl) down into the ring of blocks. Be sure to push the board all the way down when you glue it. This will leave an edge of blocks sticking up that we can use later.

12.	I'm using a piece of 8" wide aluminum flashing as a guide to keep the tower round. You can buy it at most hardware stores by the foot. It's used in roofing for sealing around chimneys. You'll need about 5 feet of flashing and it will cost you around $2.50 for a piece this size. This aluminum is thin enough that you can cut it with a pair of scissors.

13.	Roll up the flashing and set it into the ring of blocks. Spread out the flashing so that it completely fills the ring. You'll notice that there's a couple of things that keep it from being round - the piece that sticks out and the big gap on the inside. To fix this, bend the flashing on each end to form a gentle curve.

14.	Place it back inside the ring of blocks. Use a marker to place a mark where the edge meets. If we taped the flashing together at this point, it would be too tight to remove from the tower after it was built. To give yourself a slight bit of room, slide the edge past the mark about 1/8". That should shrink the diameter of the circle just enough.

15.	Place pieces of tape across the seam and over the edges. You'll notice that after it's taped securely that it still may not be round. To fix this, take the ring of flashing and gently bend it back to a rounded shape as best you can.

16.	As you build the tower, leave the flashing inside. I've removed the flashing for the next few photos so you can see which blocks are used. As you add more layers to the tower, occasionally remove the flashing just to make sure it didn't get glued in accidently.

17.	Add a ring of blocks on top of this first ring. Keep in mind that the flashing should be inside the tower so you can build around it. The front step is made from the same blocks you're using on the walls. They don't fit exactly, but they'll do well enough. If you want to use the 9" blocks instead (the ones actually meant to go around the outside of this tower) then you'll have to cast the mold a few more times. Do not glue the block shown in red! It's used to hold the place for the doorway.

18.	The third row of blocks has the arrow slits. It's helpful to glue the arrow slits together beforehand. Continue adding blocks according to the building plans found on the Building Plans page. Once you reach the 6th row (shown on the right) you can remove the blocks holding the place for the door (shown in red).

19.	Glue down all of the 7th row, but only glue a few blocks on the 8th row. Mark the top of the blocks with a marker. From now on, do not glue to the marked area. If you do this, the tower will come apart in the middle so you can paint it easily. Finish the 8th row, but don't glue to the marked area.

20.	Continue gluing rows of blocks but do not glue to the marked area. Continue all the way up to finish row 14. Remember that the flashing has been inside the tower the whole time, and that you should remove it occasionally so it doesn't get accidentally glued into the tower.

21.	Remove the flashing and glue on the top of the tower. This is the reason I made the top of the tower first. Since the glue on the walls below is still a little wet, you can gently push them to line up with the top of the tower.

22.	For instructions and colors used to paint the tower, refer to the Painting instructions page. The top half of the tower comes off to make painting easier. It's also used to set miniatures inside. Feel free to add more floors and make the tower separate wherever you want. Here's a photo of the finished tower.

23.	The top can hold a lot of miniatures. I added the trap door using the wooden plank mold.