The latest in my Ancient Greek project is this stone olive press. The first image shows a donkey-worked stone press from the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean.
I was looking to produce a terrain piece that would add atmosphere to a Greek/Spartan game, while still being generic enough to have other uses - for example the same style of press was used in Portugal/Spain during the Napoleonic Wars and similar presses were used on the island of Cyprus during WWII.
Photo One - The raw material is a sheet of 1inch Pink Foam, which was cut with a snap-off blade knife and sanded to shape.
Photo Two - The central beams are Balsawood, which has been distressed with a knife and a wire brush. In addition the mill stone and trough have been coated with watered-down filler and some DAS modelling clay.
Photo Three - I have based the trough on to a piece of 6mm MDF, adding small sticks of Balsawood to the base to act as steps to aid the workers. In addition I have carved a small step (again from Pink Foam which has been blended in to the trough with some DAS).
Photo Four - The finished Olive Press with ground clutter and some resin pots.
The whole project took less than three days - and this while working on other models. I am pleased with the outcome and am now waiting to see if it will be cast in resin. If not I will paint it up for use with my Flintloque miniatures and part of the Ancient Greek Project.Tony
