R e n o v a t i o n  J o u r n a l 

Schloss Cochem  - Constructing the South Wing

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22.1 ~ The Lectern Tower

(May 21-23, 2022)

About Page 39vv...

This chapter will for most deal with the construction of the Southern Part of Schloss Cochem

 This time I was alert with positioning part 11/1 and numbering the wall parts as well

I always find what makes Faller special is the way in which the stone structure of two different parts fit together exactly.

The paper masks fit perfectly. Even the placement over the light is no problem at all because of the recess.

"Only idiots and fools write their names on doors and glasses..."  (Dutch saying)... and me!

I appreciate the designation for a specific color of paint to use, but I prefer my own color scheme.

I just love it!

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The next day I turned my attention to the bell tower.

Although not prescribed, I found a hatch in the bell tower mandatory...

... as is this wooden hatch

It's the tallest tower...

and compared to the Preiserlein, those are a lot of steps to climb!

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Fixing the crown stone

(May 23, 2022) 

There's still a lot to be done... fortunately!

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22.2 ~ Adjacent Corner Tower

(May 23, 2022)

About page 43

Even with a light mask I paint the inside dark to avoid the risk of light transmission.

This door was prescribed with this side out, but the wood structure on the other side appeals to me more.

A door handle is made from the tip of a toothpick.

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22.3 ~ The Two Towers attached to the main building

(May 23, 2022)

About page 44...

Well, this beautifully painted wall also disappear in its entirety behind the tower located next to it.

Since only this attic protrudes above the roofs, I have decided to add lighting here as well. Too cute not to do so...

Roof... and another roof... and again... some more roof... 

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The unforeseen gap between roof and wall must be sealed in the proven way.

Mary Poppins and Bert would love this scene...

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22.4 ~ The Inner Courtyard

(May 26-27, 2022)

This painted wall wil also vanish mostly behind walls and rooftops

I couldn't resist...

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Niche

(May 28, 2022)

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More hidden illumination

(May 29, 2022)

The cables have to go behind the mask...

View on some details. The door handle at the left is also scratch

The balcony gets its roof, as does the statue.

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22.5 ~ A Chimney's adornment

(May 30, 2022)

With no less than 1102 parts, it is a pity that Faller has omitted such a beautiful detail as this wall anchor of cramp iron on this chimney, as well as a connecting iron to the wall.

The chimney can blow over in a strong wind. I therefor made it myself with a.o. remnants of the Gennep Townhall  (Kibri 8300).

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22.6 ~ Staircase and Gatekeeper's Lodge

(June 1, 2022)

About page 52...

While turning page 52 today, we're turning back to the front side with the huge staircase and adjacent gatekeeper's lodge.

Time and again beautifully outdated wall sections disappear behind other buildings...

The next day

(June 2, 2022)

With a slat I press the adhesive edges firmly in place.

That's it for today! Weathering water is dripping in the sink and drying... 

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A propos...

While the castle stood aimlessly on the layout for months after finishing - awaiting Jimmy's cobblestones -

I wanted to temporarily remove it during the weekend of March 31, because I can expect Jimmy's shipment next week..

However, when lifting the south side, I heard a creak on the north side.

Both guardhouses had come loose from the building along with the stairs.

I've always had an awkward feeling towards those two houses. The scale looks more TT than H0.

So, I've decided to remove them anyway.
Because of the glue traces I sanded, primed and weathered the side again.

There is also a gate entrance. I had already installed the window from the beginning.

2.4.2023

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This small house, in combination with a wall section, will be delivered in 2023 as Altstadtmauer mit Anbau

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22.7 ~ The Chapel | Schlosskapelle

(June 4, 2022)

Die Kapelle (oder Rapunzelturm) 

This very same part was separately released as 'Rapunzelturm' in 2021 (Faller 130822)

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22.8 ~ The Outer Wall

(June 4, 2022)

Contrary to what is prescribed, I made some adjustments to the outer wall.

I thought the stone inlay just didn't fit in color, but also not visually sound.

That is why I opted for a wooden inlay from the back.

I replaced Deco 5 with real wood. 

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Since I was busy cutting wood anyway, I replaced the deco of the dormer's window with real balsa wood as well: 

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In the afternoon I glued the raised courtyard, but I'm still hesitant to glue the outer wall,

because I don't know yet how exactly the connection will be with St. Johann's Church (Faller 130599). 

And whether a wall lamp still needs to be installed. Now I still can reach everywhere....

Today, I finally opened the box... 

Painting and Constuction of the St. Johann's Kapelle is described in Chapter 23

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22.9 ~ South Wall

From June 6th to 10th I stayed in Rothenburg ob der Tauber

(June 12, 2022)

After my holidays in Rothenburg, I continued working on the Southwall.

Deviating from what Faller suggests, I decided to change the order of some construction steps,

to not only make it easier for myself but also avoid eventual problems later on.

The sloping part called for a small tiled roof, although Faller did not intend this. Unused parts make this possible.

 A nice snapshot in between.

I wanted to make something special from the well. It was clear to me from the start that there would be 'real water' on the bottom.

Because the 'water' dries less quickly than I thought, and there was a risk of getting dirt in it, I temporarily covered the well with tape.

 And so the south side is now closed...

Faller 130825

In November  2022, Faller announced this part as a separate kit, called 'Pulverturm mit Wehrgang'.

As soon as I saw it, I knew that this part would be a beautiful extension of Schloss Cochem.

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22.10 ~ Poetry

(June 14, 2022)

I couldn't figure out the meaning of that odd square on the tower wall.

Until I saw the original. There's a text written on that square.

While being in Rothenburg, enjoying a cup of coffee at 'Brot und Zeit' (corner of Rödergasse/Alter Keller),

I noticed this wall decoration across the street, written on the facade of Hafengasse 23-25:  

Musing about the bare spot on the tower of Schloß Cochem, I realized that this was such an appealing text, perfectly fitting for this purpose.

It reads: 

"Gottvertraun und Selbstvertraun

helfen dir dein Werk erbaun

Beides brauchst Du

soll das Leben

deine tiefsten Kräfte heben."

These are details that give a building such as this its special flair.

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22.11 ~ The Chapel

(June 15, 2022)

Here is a clear example of different order. I first glued wall part A (see p. 60 ad D), and then wall part X.

Otherwise I would undoubtedly have gotten glue traces and I had to press wall part A into a gap that was way too narrow. 

I also added extra 'connecting' parts (taken from a spare 8/4) on top of the walls for more stability and firmness.

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Just before...

Before I close the wall, a few more shots of the courtyard are imperative, so...

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In the afternoon I decided to make a fairly drastic adjustment. The idea crossed my mind of something like 'the tree of life'. 

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But first...

22.12 ~ The Forgotten Staircase

(June 16, 2022)

While working on the courtyard, I noticed that I could see inside and stare at an unpainted wall.

The rising outer wall made me suspect that there was a staircase. But the manual showed no sign of it. I suspect Faller overlooked this part.

So I took the stairs 13/7 and this part fit the bill.

In addition, I placed an extra piece of 'wall' against the back wall (see arrow) because of the view. 

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However...

On Tuesday July 5 (2022), I received a very kind email from Herr Harald Köntopp from Faller Marketing.

He sent me the now adapted manual of Schloss Bran with my remark considering the missing staircase adjusted on page 59.

Left side: the original page 59 in my box with part 13/7 missing (top right) ~ Right side: the adapted version of July 2022, now with 13/7 implemented

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22.13 ~ The Tree of the King

(June 16-18, 2022)

Even before I started the construction of Schoß Cochem, I had the idea to make something special out of the courtyard and have a central focal point there.
At first I thought of a lantern. Kind of like the lantern in the middle of the forest of Narnia.
But as the construction progressed, this idea became less and less appealing to me and I began to think of a tree.

Something like 'The tree of the king' in Minas Tirith (The Lord of the Rings).

I spent quite a few hours on making this one tree: selecting each twig, going to the store for a can of hairspray in between, greening...
But in the end I found this tree too bulky for the square. So I made a new tree, finer and more fitting in the space of the courtyard. 

The King's tree for the courtyard...

The bucket is scratch, the handle of copper wire and the rope is yarn from the sewing box.

I love a cosy atmosphere like this... sitting at the well under a tree's shaddow!

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22.14 ~ Closing the Gap

(June 19-20, 2022)

On spots like these I prefer wood over (prescribed) plastic

To make the hatch functional, I glued a slat in front of it. Works fine...

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The slate roof came a bit loose due to too much pressure from below. Just a little re-glue and all's fine again.

Testing to see if everything fits...

The arrow indicates the positioning at the tower seam, so that the spire shows the most beautiful painting at the front.

Left the 6 pinacles on the rooftops (too fragile yet), on the longest day of the year Anno Domini 2022, before the solstice, we can confirm:

FINISHED

Painted in between... a mix of black, /green, brown and in the end some white dry brush

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22.15 ~ Sneak Preview...

(June 23, 2022)

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23.6.2022

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22.16 ~ Outdoors on August 19, 2022...

This is the very picture that will adorn the Faller Newsletter of November 4th, 2022

22.18 ~ Less is more!

Sometimes things happen that you want but don't (yet) do.

Somehow I had a vague feeling about the little guardhouses near the stairs.

On the one hand because they are too small for me, rather scale TT or N.
On the other hand, because I had given the stairs a nice color and...

because Faller had already made space for a window and a gate in it, with a view to a future variant.

When the castle was recently lifted on one side, the staircase got too much pressure and broke apart from the main building together with the two houses.

To me, it was the direct reason to NOT put these houses back again.

However, this vision required some adjustments.

By only placing the stairs back, an empty window (a hole in the wall) became visible. No worry, for he who keeps something, has something!

A fitting window from the sparepart box was quickly found.

However, applying it from the inside without damaging the rest was a completely different matter. Well, all's well that ends well.

The very last remaining piece of window film with a honeycomb structure came into play.

Then filing away the glue residue, applying a new coat of paint with coating, and... DONE! 

2.4.2023

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And hereby some recent shots of the Inner Courtyard 

(April, 2023)

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6.8.2023

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Since I removed the gatekeeper houses from this location, this staircase appeals to me enormously.

Since both a door and a window have now become visible, I thought lighting was appropriate. 

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After the stair lighting was tested, a light seam was visible on the side of the castle.

Therefor I applied a mask, and voila.

6.1.2024

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22.19 ~ Pinnacles attached

(28.11.2023)

Although Schloss Cochem has been ready for over a year, I waited to attach the 6 pinnacles to Schloss Cochem,

and the 7^th to the Pulverturm, 'until the coast was clear' and the castle was permanently attached to the module.

From left to right: spare (top, copper),  Rundturm set (copper, below), Pulverturmset (130825) and Bran ( 130820) 

With the evening sun behind the window you can take beautiful atmospheric photos. 

28.11.2023

3.12.2023

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When I observed color damage to the roof tile at Schloss Cochem, I decided to apply the same decoration as the Pulverturm.

24.12.2023

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While visiting the Faller Compound on 8.8.2024, I was able to see the original Handmuster at the Faller Shop:

August 8th, 2024 at the Faller Compound in Gütenbach

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A propos...

For those who were unable or simply unwanting to obtain the Bran Castle since too large for their layout,

Faller released a smaller version in Autumn 2024 as 'Small Castle' or 'Kleine Burg' (130819):

Faller 130819

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Frits Osterthun © 19.8.2022

Last update: 29.10.2024