Medieval German Warwagons

[David Kuijt]

Hey everyone,

One of the cool stand types available in the Medieval German army, and also in neighbors like the Later Polish and Later Hungarians, is Warwagons. But they are supposed to be emulating Hussite technology, and frankly all the commercially available wagons... do not cut the mustard, at least in terms of looking like Hussite Warwagons.

When I painted up my Hussites, some time ago, I ended up making my own warwagons. I'd been using those Hussite wagons as M.Germ / Polish / etc. substitutes when needed.

But that doesn't work if the M.Germs are FIGHTING the Hussites, at least when both armies are my own. And most of my regular opponents don't have quite as many armies painted as I do. (I'm not sure if all my regular opponents together have as many armies as I do).

So I started work on some M.Germ warwagons, and while I was working on them, I thought that maybe people would be interested in seeing the process. So here's some pictures. Tools are trivial -- some basswood (basically like balsa wood, but a bit stronger), a sharp exacto knife with #11 blade, a file, and some white glue.

Here's the rough-out, in basswood. You can see a base piece above it, and some end pieces. It's much easier to cut out the triangular shooting holes before putting the walls on, so that's done already.

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Same wagon, a little later, after gluing in the end piece. It's mostly to form already. The end piece ensures that the whole thing is nice and sturdy.

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Here's what the finished wagon will look like from the front. The braces are easiest to attach after the box is formed.

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And here's an example of a finished wagon from the rear. Easiest to cut the ramp out of the finished box, and (as mentioned before) glue the braces on after.

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The finished example is one of my Hussite wagons. I'll probably do the paintjob differently on the Germans, just so they look different from the Hussites.

The only thing is to use commercial wheels, if you can get them. It's really difficult to make your own by hand. Although with 3D printing, maybe not -- anyone 3D print wagon wheels in 15mm scale? If so, I'd like 20, please!

[David Kuijt]

Here's an Etsy link for wheels, about 1/2" diameter, which should be okay (I'm hoping!):

https://www.etsy.com/listing/992702761/ ... 4?ref=cart

[David Kuijt]

Some more construction and technique pics on the WWg.

This shows how the door is cut, after gluing (much easier), using a #11 exacto knife, in the backside wall of the war wagon.

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Here we've got all the top struts cut for all five war wagons.

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You can cut the struts out yourself, but these are the perfect size, and 250 for $3 (some long time ago, probably more now).

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Here's the approximate final position of the ramp/door in the backside wall of the war wagon. Don't glue it in place until much much later, though.

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Here's an image with top struts glued in place. Starting to look like a war wagon.
Note that I have scored the war wagon sides to give a rougher look.

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Here's an image showing how you score the walls to give the look of rough boards. Use the #11 exacto knife, but upside down -- back edge, not front. Better if it isn't brand-new sharp point either. Scoring by hand, rather than using a straight edge, gives you a better result. Don't worry if it isn't perfect -- just add more lines.

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