The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I love paper models. I own nearly everything Microtactix ever made, and I have bought and assembled countless cardstock villages, castles, and farms. I even built a model of Redwall Abbey. My favorites are always the super-detailed, complex models with moving parts and other ‘gimmicks.’ Swinging doors, spinning floors, shuttered windows – all these make me grin when I’m putting them together. I design my own from time to time – I’m currently hard at work on a Japanese garden, complete with a temple, tea house, koi ponds, bridges and lots of trees and bushes.

Which is all to say that I’m reasonably good at this. It’s important to understand my background with paper models when I say that The Guard Tower was easily the most difficult model I ever built. And I can also say, with no reservation, that it was the coolest paper model I ever built.

The Guard Tower is an electronic product from Fantasy Cutouts, available for download from RPG Now. It is quite reasonably priced at $6 US, and considering the effort that went into the design, the price tag is fully justified. I would not have paid much more for something I had to print myself, but it was definitely worth every penny. The designer, Leo Hartas, started Fantasy Cutouts so that he could provide his models direct to his customers and cut out the middleman. I, for one, am glad he did.

The Guard Tower is meticulously illustrated, with bone piles, broken weapons and helmets adorning the gorgeous walls and floors of the tower. Gargoyles, sculpted demons and gory skulls decorate the dungeon (yes, there’s a dungeon, and it’s incredible). The attention to detail evident in Leo’s artwork is commendable, and will leave you delighted to see how the art works across the design.

The tower is a feat of paper engineering. The grassy knoll on which the tower rests is fully contoured. Each of the four floors can be removed to provide access to the floor below, and the walls can be easily removed from one side of the tower to allow use as a display stand for miniatures. A secret door provides access to the dungeon, and another secret chamber lies within. Leo’s imagination and engineering are amazing.

Unfortunately, Leo is much better at designing models than he is at writing instructions. The painfully brief instructions, included in a separate PDF file, are barely adequate. I would have vastly preferred illustrated, piece-by-piece instructions. The model is so complex that more detailed instructions would not have been a luxury – they were a necessity that should have been included.

If you’re a paper model hobbyist, The Guard Tower should definitely be in your collection. It is a beautiful model, and great fun to assemble. However, it is not for the uninitiated, and should not be undertaken if you’re not willing to invest some time and effort. If you do decide to commit to The Guard Tower, you will be glad you did.

Style: 5. Does this thing go any higher? The coolest paper model I ever built.
Substance: 4. I would go higher here, but the instructions had me pulling out my hair.

The Guard Tower
The Guard Tower Playtest Review by Matt Drake on 04/11/02 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty) The most challenging paper model I ever built - and the most rewarding. Product: The Guard Tower Author: Leo Hartas Category: Miniature Company/Publisher: Fantasy Cutouts Line: Cost: $6.00 Page count: 14 Year published: 2002 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Playtest Review by Matt Drake on 04/11/02 Genre tags: Fantasy	I love paper models. I own nearly everything Microtactix ever made, and I have bought and assembled countless cardstock villages, castles, and farms. I even built a model of Redwall Abbey. My favorites are always the super-detailed, complex models with moving parts and other ‘gimmicks.’ Swinging doors, spinning floors, shuttered windows – all these make me grin when I’m putting them together. I design my own from time to time – I’m currently hard at work on a Japanese garden, complete with a temple, tea house, koi ponds, bridges and lots of trees and bushes. Which is all to say that I’m reasonably good at this. It’s important to understand my background with paper models when I say that The Guard Tower was easily the most difficult model I ever built. And I can also say, with no reservation, that it was the coolest paper model I ever built. The Guard Tower is an electronic product from Fantasy Cutouts, available for download from RPG Now. It is quite reasonably priced at $6 US, and considering the effort that went into the design, the price tag is fully justified. I would not have paid much more for something I had to print myself, but it was definitely worth every penny. The designer, Leo Hartas, started Fantasy Cutouts so that he could provide his models direct to his customers and cut out the middleman. I, for one, am glad he did. The Guard Tower is meticulously illustrated, with bone piles, broken weapons and helmets adorning the gorgeous walls and floors of the tower. Gargoyles, sculpted demons and gory skulls decorate the dungeon (yes, there’s a dungeon, and it’s incredible). The attention to detail evident in Leo’s artwork is commendable, and will leave you delighted to see how the art works across the design. The tower is a feat of paper engineering. The grassy knoll on which the tower rests is fully contoured. Each of the four floors can be removed to provide access to the floor below, and the walls can be easily removed from one side of the tower to allow use as a display stand for miniatures. A secret door provides access to the dungeon, and another secret chamber lies within. Leo’s imagination and engineering are amazing. Unfortunately, Leo is much better at designing models than he is at writing instructions. The painfully brief instructions, included in a separate PDF file, are barely adequate. I would have vastly preferred illustrated, piece-by-piece instructions. The model is so complex that more detailed instructions would not have been a luxury – they were a necessity that should have been included. If you’re a paper model hobbyist, The Guard Tower should definitely be in your collection. It is a beautiful model, and great fun to assemble. However, it is not for the uninitiated, and should not be undertaken if you’re not willing to invest some time and effort. If you do decide to commit to The Guard Tower, you will be glad you did. Style: 5. Does this thing go any higher? The coolest paper model I ever built. Substance: 4. I would go higher here, but the instructions had me pulling out my hair.