The collection of F. R. Mason includes the (German language) poster showing
the Large Castle of 1894. The stones in the collection seem to be a
# 34, Lyck, a Grosse Burg (including the wood parts) and some 22,500 other
stones. These stones were bought at one time, and were packed in 13
of the boxes used to hold a # 20 (three used for the # 34). The stones
are in very nice condition.
This poster served as the inspiration for the original-design castle. You
can see modified versions of several of the towers in the photographs.
* * * *
A front view of the castle. Notice the tower on the right. It is very similar to the poster. But the top is a lot easier to build. * * * *
This front view gives a little better look at the interior court.
* * * *
A look along the right rear portion of the building. All three elements
are taken from Richter Large Castles: the tower in the foreground is, of
course, the one seen clearly in the previous pictures; the intermediate section
and the rear section are similar to the similarly placed section of the Large
Castle of 1884.
* * * *
A view of the base. The building will not fit on my table, which is
just 36 inches wide. So, I am building on a 4 * 4 plywood base. The
sixth layer is under construction, with a few small places two layers high.
I am covering the inner courtyard.
* * * *
The entrance ramp is finished. The original design had two more sections,
raising the courtyard to six layers high. But in my opinion, the extension
of the ramp into the courtyard is not attractive.
* * * *
The courtyard is not solid, but uses arches to raise the start of the covering
structure four units above the bottom.
* * * *
This view shows the unseen (in the photographs) portion of the building and
highlights the way the bridging structure is supported along the wall.
Note that the outer buttresses are extended into the building to support
the flooring.
* * * * * *
A few of you may wonder what
I look like. Here is a picture from Christmas, 1996. This picture
is about as good as they get.
For those who are really interested in Anchor stones, I have written a book about them. (I just got tired of either looking up the same information again and again, or trusting my memory on specific details such as dates and names.) It is expensive, $70 (or 100 DM) ppd, because I print it myself on my PC and color ink is expensive. The book undoubtedly contains far more information about Anchor stones and sets, the Richter company, etc. than you'll ever want to read. This book is a lot of work to print (I print about a dozen at a time, in either English or German), so please don't think I am urging you to buy one.
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