Hussite Warwagon

Overview

Most of my historical armies are 15mm scale figures, available through many manufacturers. Some of the more obscure military devices are not available, though -- nobody makes them. One such is the warwagons used by the Hussites, in the Germanies, and in Hungary in the 15th century. The shape of these things has been pretty well established by research, and we have the advantage of woodcuts and some paintings that survive showing them.

So if you (like me) are an history geek, and you (like me) want to get a bunch of accurate warwagons for a Hussite or Corvinus Hungarian or Medieval German Citystate army, your only choice is to make the bloody things yourself.

Which is actually a lot of fun, if you (like me) are a crafting geek as well.

Craft sticks

These, and balsa wood, and a bit of basswood, and white glue (PVA) is the materials list.

Well, and some pins for the wheel axles, and some cast metal or 3D printed wheels -- making wheels by hand is a real fuss and bother, and should be avoided.

Tools list is simple -- a sharp exacto knife and a piece of smooth scrap wood as a cutting board. Oh, and a file for smoothing wood -- medium, not coarse (balsa wood is very soft).

Side Walls Glued Up

I don't have pictures of the first two steps, so I'll describe them here. Cut a base for the warwagon. Use basswood, which is stronger and thicker than the craft pieces of balsa shown. Cut it to size, then file the two long sides down at an angle. The angle on the sides is what creates the splayed look of the warwagon. The ends do not need to be angled. If you look at the final picture of this webpage, showing a finished wagon, you can see the basswood base of an unfinished wagon on the left side of the image, and the angle of the side edges of the base is clear.

A basswood base is visible just above the front warwagon in this image. You can see the thickness is about twice that of the balsa endpiece to the right (the trapezoid).

You're going to have to experiment to get the base angle right. A lot of dry-fitting is involved here.

At the same time, cut the two long sides of the wagon. It is critical that the grain runs parallel to the long side. Draft up the shape on paper first. Cut triangular firing ports in one side only, using a very sharp exacto knife and patience.

When you are building a number of these, build one first all the way to completion. You might find the resulting model needs improvement; you'll be very frustrated if you ruin six warwagons, rather than just one.

Wood Grain

Before gluing up your pieces, score them on the outside (the side that will be visible with the non-cutting side of your exacto knife. You're not trying to cut them, you're trying to make a linear impression. Do this in parallel with the grain of the balsa wood. Experiment on a scrap piece first to get the hang of it. Try to do it parallel, but do it freehand (not with a ruler or straight edge) -- the irregularity you get is a good thing.

One End Glued Up

One end of the warwagon is glued in place.

Best practice is to cut this piece after the other parts, and to cut it oversize. Then fit it by sliding it into the gap, trimming, sliding again, until you get a good fit. Only then glue it in.

Cutting the Entryway

Best way to cut the entryway is AFTER you glue the wall together. On the opposite side from the shooting holes. If you're making a bunch of these, you don't need to cut all the entryways out -- you can just score the lines deeply and represent it as a closed entryway.

Make sure your exacto knife blade is really sharp. Cut it on this side, where you can have the backside flat against a smooth cutting board or wood scrap, or you'll get tearing and the entryway will get messed up.

When your entryway sides are cut through, cut horizontally (from the other side is easier) to cut it off. Don't throw it away, you need it for the model as a ramp to enter the warwagon.

Entryway Open

Here's what it looks like when the entryway is cut out and placed approximately where it will be on the finished model.

Craft Stick Braces

Here's a picture showing the mostly-complete warwagon and a bunch of craft sticks being cut to size for reinforcements. Longer ones run along the side walls of the warwagons. Short ones are glued to the outside of the side walls.

Top Beam Reinforcements

Glue craft sticks down to the sides now.

After the glue dries, glue craft-stick braces to the outside of the two long sides, as shown in the final picture below.

Not pictured: after all this, glue wood blocks to the bottom of the wagon and score them to hold the pins or brass wire that will form the axle of the wheels.

Axle Channels for Wheels

Two pieces of moderately thick balsa are glued to the underside of the wagon and then scored and filed to create pathways for the metal wheel axles. Make sure these are glued down perpendicular to the long side of the wagon -- if they are angled it will catch the eye of an observer in a way that other errors will not.

Wheels Up

Axles glued down. Axles are brass wire of whatever diameter works best with the wheels you have. As noted elsewhere, wheels are the only thing I don't scratch-build. Tremendous hassle.

Wheels do need to be painted before dipping, unlike the wagon itself.

Finished Warwagon

When the wagon is finished, give it a coat of "Dip" -- Minwax Polyshades Tudor Satin. Or make your own with a satin-finish polyurethane and some dark pigment; experiment.

The image shows a finished wagon mounted on a 40mm square base for Triumph. Mounting the models at an angle is both more accurate and avoids complexities where the models bump into each other when arrayed with side edges touching.

The unfinished wagon on the left of the image shows the bevel in the basswood base piece, mentioned earlier.

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