First you gotta cast a bunch of bricks.

Then I recommend you make a wood foot. I also made a wood arch.

Start gluing.

Finish gluing.

Paint and varnish.

Now stick in the guts.

Last but not least, acquire a hand model to demonstrate its operation.

The *clonk clonk clonk* of dice on hardwood is utterly gratifying.

Notes

Tint your plaster with iron oxide, the sort they use for cement. This gives more durable bricks and even tint than tinting with paint.

Don’t use cement or other silicon based powders, they will shred your mold over time.

I made a wood foot to protect the base of the tower. All the picking up and putting down the tower will turn the bricks to powder before long, no matter how much varnish you use.

Lego is great for making scaffolds so you can check and maintain your square angles and straight lines as you build.

I used Tasmanian Oak for the wood parts. It has a fine grain that scales for model building very nicely. It is also very durable.

I glued everything with regular PVA wood glue. It is easy to work with, easy to rebuild your mistakes and the glue dries stiff and clear.

Don’t smear the glue everywhere as you go, it will show up when you paint and varnish REALLY badly.

Embellish embellish embellish your brick work.

I painted the bricks without a primer or undercoat. This gave it a bit of a cartoonish appearance but I like the style, it makes the features pop. But it won’t thin wash or dry brush well. If you want to paint your models to be more realistic, you’ll need to seal the bricks.

That’s all I got. Now go make your own.