Castle Quest - Reply to Topic

Forum:	Model Making
Topic:	preservation of rock and mortar model

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T O P I C R E V I E W
CastleMummy My 10 year old son has completed a castle made with river rock and mortar. He also has some concrete, concrete caulk, metal mechanisms, wood, cardboard and acrylic paint exposed. The foundation is glued to a 1/4" paneling board screwed to 2" x 4"'s to form a box. He packed around the foundations inside the box with potting soil and planted grass in the courtyard and outside the curtain walls. Its dimensions are approximately 21" x 26" x 12" (above ground)within a 2'x 2 1/2' box. We would like to display it in a garden outdoors, but need advice for preserving it against the elements. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Maria I'm not sure how useful this is, but perhaps a transparent plastic box... of course, it might spoil the efect. Hm... varnish won't last for long. Well, anyway the materials you listed aren't subjected to erosion usually. Op perhaps you cold build some sort of... ah, English language... mainly a roof on four stiks, there's a word for it... so the castle could be protected and also seen.
Merlin ...you mean a tent? That was also my first thought. Would be the easiest way.
Levan You could try creosote or wood preserver on the wooden parts (can be nasty stuff, so you'll need to do that for him). I doubt that the other components will be much at risk - sure, they'll weather a bit, but this might actually add to the realism.
On the other hand, you might not want to worry too much - I expect it'll last 2 or 3 years without any intervention - sadly it's likely that your son will have lost interest in the model by then (there's huge difference between the interests of 10 and 13 yr olds) so your best bet might be to take lots of photographs of the model in its prime and look forward to lots more new and ingenious models to come.
Levan