Dark Ages animal pen

So, having made the basics of a Dark Ages British farm, I need to add some details. First up is a pen for livestock, that staple of both diet and mobile currency of the period. I'll go with a circular form, which appears to have been a common configuration as backed up by archaeological excavations. Stone pens were used where fieldstone was available, and the remains of some of these are still in existence in places like Dartmoor and remote parts of the Yorkshire Dales. I'm going with wattle fencing, since this appears to have been the commonest type.

To begin with I took a battered old CD, and sandwiched it between two discs of card.

The bottom disc is a tad wider than the CD to give a chamfered edge. I covered the edge with PVA and sprinkled sand over it to hide the shiny CD and provide a keyed grip for the liquid nails when I come to it.

The fence itself is made from a strip of plastic packing tape. It has a wattled appearance which, with a bit of paint, dry-brushing and ink will look pretty much like wattling. This material is quite hard to cut widthwise, but is easy to cut lengthwise. It goes with its purpose, really, but it's convenient for me because I needed to cut it to a realistic scale height - enough for a 15mm Dark Age British farmer to look over the top of to check his animals haven't been stolen by a Saxon raider. It also serves for short lengths of general purpose fencing around the farm. Under the Dux Britanniarum rules farms and villages should have at least two of the buildings connected by between 6 to 8 inches of fence.

I washed the strips to remove any and all traces of dirt and fingerprints from the passage through the parcel delivery system. Experience has taught me the material needs some help to take paint at the best of times and a clean surface does this. 

The plastic strip has a natural tendency to curl, so I used that to my advantage. First up, I smeared some liquid nails around the sides of the disc where the fence will go, leaving three gaps equidistant apart for the hot glue. The hot glue will fix the strip in place while the liquid nails dries, which may take some time in the generally damp weather we're having here in Ohio.

The strip is now fixed in place, with the liquid nails smeared again to cover its lower edge. It's slightly off-centre - too much coffee this morning made my coordination a bit off! - but no matter. Two lengths of matchstick form the gateposts. I used the hot glue gun and some strips of trusty pizza box to make short lengths of fencing for the farm/village.

(Those figures at the top-centre of the photo are master models awaiting warmer weather for me to make silicone molds of. Amongst the items are Arab slaver casualties for Colonial games, and a door, window, two recumbent statues and decorative strips for my Hirst Arts-related projects. And yes, I will get to the Doctor Who figures eventually).

Next up will be to spread some liquid nails in a smooth layer around the interior of the enclosure, and more around the outside which will be sprinkled with sand. I'll do the straight fencing the same way. Because the pen is somewhat raised above the table level, I'll build a downward ramp at the gate. Once all that is done and dried, it'll be on to the undercoat using enamel paint. Hopefully the rain will clear up in a day or so allowing me to take it outside to spray.