How to Build a Model Castle Drawbridge

No castle model is complete without a working drawbridge.

Model castles are one way children can learn about the Medieval period and how people lived during that time. Adults may also like to create their own model of a castle as a hobby. No castle is complete without a working drawbridge. Construct a drawbridge from cardboard. Use string to raise and lower the drawbridge for play, or to create a more realistic-looking model of the castle and bridge.

Things You'll Need

• Spool
• Matchstick
• Wood glue
• Pencil, dowel rod or thick metal wire
• Duct tape
• Cardboard
• Scissors
• Nail
• String

Instructions

1. Break the matchstick in half. Glue the bottom half of the stick to the flat side of the spool. Allow the glue to dry for 24 hours.

2. Place a pencil, dowel rod or piece of metal wire through the center of the spool. Cut the insert to about 1 inch longer than the spool. Tape one end of the insert to the inside of the castle near the drawbridge opening. Tape the opening of the spool closed so it cannot fall off the insert.

3. Cut the cardboard into the shape of a drawbridge. Poke two small holes into the top-right and -left sides of the bridge with a nail.

4. Thread a 24-inch piece of string through the hole on the right side of the bridge. Tie a knot in the string so it cannot pull through the hole.

5. Thread the long end of the thread through the other hole, back toward the inside of the castle. Tie the loose end of the string around the spool.

6. Wind the spool using the matchstick to raise or lower the drawbridge from inside the castle, just like a real drawbridge.

References

• Education: Build a Cardboard Model Castle
• Your Child Learns: Putting Your Castle Together