When Games Workshop revealed the model for the Cannonade Cogfort, a massive, walking fortification powered by a furnace heart that strides into battle in the Warhammer: Age of Sigmar universe, I was 100% certain that somebody was going to convert the kit into Howl’s Moving Castle, and that it would be awesome. Reader, someone has done just that; UK based Nick Pittom is such a fan of Studio Ghibli that “as soon as [he] saw the Cogfort”, he started drawing up plans.
Pittom has been following Studio Ghibli’s work since Spirited Away debuted in UK cinemas in 2001. “They’re all fantastic works of art, the craft is astounding”, Pittom says, “the atmosphere and storytelling is also in a league of its own”. Howl’s Moving Castle is one of his favourites. In fact he was so impressed by the walking bastion that he started learning 3D modelling just to make his own sculpt, and years later in 2022 created a version of the model that he could 3D print and paint.
“As soon as I saw the Cogfort, [Howl’s Moving Castle] came to mind”, Pittom says. When the model went on sale at the end of May this year, he “bought it immediately along with the Kharadron Frigate” to start this conversion. For those unfamiliar with Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, the Frigate is a floating sky-ship piloted by avaricious dwarf privateers, because AoS is cool like that.
Having made more than one 3D model of the Moving Castle, Pittom already knew the design well, and relied only on the movie for his reference material. The conversion is made almost entirely from the Cogfort and Frigate kits, “and then some additional pieces and greenstuff [modelling putty] to fill gaps”. He says “mostly I’m just adding parts where they will mimic the castle and making it up as I go”.
The biggest challenge in the build “was the top, trying to ensure it was a whole piece while still being detailed and matching the original as much as practical”. Although the Cogfort model is a very big kit, “the scale is of course different, so challenges emerge from that”. You can find work in progress shots of the build over on Reddit.
Still, he’s satisfied with how much he’s blended the character of the original Ghibli design with the aesthetic of Age of Sigmar, particularly “finding character minis” and “how well the Frigate worked for the ‘face'” of the castle.
While the sheer size of the model is immediately striking, there are hidden details too. “There are actual cogs in the original castle, only seen in one shot of the movie”, Pittom says, “I’ve added them in the same vicinity but they are also well hidden”. And there’s a tiny Calcifer model firing the whole thing up!
It’s a gorgeous piece of work. If you’re a Studio Ghibli fan who’s never considered model making before, we have an approachable guide to painting miniatures that will take you through the basics and beyond. If you’re interested in seeing more great models, or sharing your own, you’re welcome to join us in the Wargamer Discord community!
Source: Wargamer
