DIY Dream Castle

[LadyAmalthea]

So during our isolation, my son and I have been watching the old 1986 pony movie on Hoopla (I ordered it on Amazon about a month ago but it hasn't arrived yet because it isn't 'essential'...whoever decided that movies aren't essential during a lockdown obviously doesn't have a 4-year-old!). He is a bright child who loves all things colorful and sparkly, and has taken a major interest in my recently unearthed childhood pony collection. He has inherited my collector mentality, and has learned all the ponies' names and covets all the ones we don't have in our herd! I'm having a hard time explaining why I can't just buy these toys like I could any toy that is in current production, and why the ones we have cannot be played with the way his other toys can. I did give him a couple of ponies that were in poor condition and of which I had duplicates, and bought him some G4 brushables to play with.

He has seen the Dream Castle featured in the movie, and wants it so badly! His last most recent 'obsession' was Frozen/Elsa/princess-mania, and castles are still very appealing to him. I never personally had the Dream Castle as a kid; it was out of production by the time I started collecting ponies. I don't really want to pay what it's going for on eBay, and wouldn't really want to give a 35-year-old fragile playset to him anyway, but I got to thinking about it, and wondered how hard it would be to make one!

I know there are many creative people on here, so I figured I'd come pick your brains for inspiration. My first thought was to use empty oatmeal cylinders for the turrets, but I'm not sure they would stand up to a child's play. My husband suggested some heavier-duty cardboard tubing or even PVC pipe. So what would you all use, for the turrets, the base, the straight sides, the cone-shaped turret-tops, and any other embellishments? Drawbridge suggestions? How would you attach it all together, and how would you hinge it so it could be opened up? Does anybody own an actual DC who could give me some measurements of how tall/wide/deep it is? (I don't need to follow dimensions exactly, but a basic knowledge of this would be nice, just to know I'm making it large enough to accommodate ponies)

I tried googling to see if anyone else had done this, on Etsy or Pinterest or something, and nothing came up...I can't believe I'm the only one to have thought to try this! I appreciate any help or suggestions anyone can offer!

[Snapdragon]

I would suggest, since he's only four and doesn't know what a "real" Dream Castle looks like, I'd just build it out of cardboard! You could draw the outline of the castle shape on paper, trace it onto the cardboard, cut it out then let him color it in! Oatmeal cylinders sound like a great idea for the turrets too, you could cut out little 'windows' so the ponies could climb inside! It sounds like it could be a really fun family project, and he'll probably enjoy making it as much as playing with it!

The castle doesn't have to have a 'base' exactly, I'm picturing a four-sided castle shape made out of cardboard, with some duct tape used in place of hinges, so it'll bend open! Just leave one side open, so you can open it up for playtime! You could use construction paper for the turret tops, and maybe make a little drawbridge even! I bet it would be cute to decorate with paint and stickers! I bet hot glue would be your best friend for attaching the cones on top, and the oatmeal turrets as well!

This sounds like a great project, now I'm tempted to make one, LOL!! I imagine there's some kind of similar wooden castle you could find in an online toy store that you could repaint to be more 'show accurate', but that might be a better project for an older kiddo, if he's gonna play kind of roughly with it. Cardboard isn't too expensive, and easy to replace if it gets crushed!

[LadyAmalthea]

Thank you for taking the time to think of this and reply! These are great ideas...I especially like the idea of duct-taping the hinge so it can unfold. Easy and effective! Yes, you probably right, being that he is 4, cardboard is probably the best solution for now. When he is older, perhaps we can explore more complicated options. I have a couple of giant dollhouse kits that I purchased prior to my last pregnancy (which turned out to be twins, is there any wonder why I haven't done anything with them?  ) that maybe I should try first, and would give me more confidence to take on a bigger project like this.

He and I did make a castle Valentine box for his school party; it was kind of like a Dream Castle on a smaller scale! It had a drawbridge made out of popsicle sticks and turrets out of toilet paper tubes, and turned out really cool, but it wasn't built to play with...or to last!

[Aeryala]

This sounds like such a great project, especially at a time like this.  Post pictures for us!

[Ponybookworm]

I'm here to see piccies too!!!

[Snapdragon]

Wow, it sounds like you've already had a great dry run of a castle with Valentine's Day! Best of luck to you, I hope it turns out fabulously!!

[Thimble]

If you're going to build with cardboard, it may need a couple layers to withstand gravity on the long flat horizontal bits like the second story walkways. If you use corrugated CB, pay attention to which way the corrugation runs while you cut your pieces. It's stronger in one direction than the other.

You can simulate bricks on the castle by gluing on small pieces of cardboard or foamcore. That's a good way to get window sills and arches, too. When you're assembling, you can add x-shaped pieces to the inside of any closed off areas to make them stronger. (like drink packaging.) And foam core is much nicer to work with if you have any. the edges are prettier and it's generally stronger than the average box.

You can cover the ugly cardboard edges with sturdy paper and then paint it. A bunch of paper layers and glue can add stability. (Think paper mache, you need to cover the paper in glue and then stick it.) It also lets you do interior decorating by printing the decor and gluing it on.

If you score a sheet of cardboard carefully, you can make round tubes of whatever size you want.
like this !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7XKoArbVPo

[LadyAmalthea]

Thank you all for the support! I wasn't sure if it was a dumb idea or not. I just wish I could go wander around a craft store right now to browse materials to start this. Yes, if I ever do get it made, I will definitely find a way to post pics of it!

Post Merge: May 07, 2020, 06:18:30 AM

If you're going to build with cardboard, it may need a couple layers to withstand gravity on the long flat horizontal bits like the second story walkways. If you use corrugated CB, pay attention to which way the corrugation runs while you cut your pieces. It's stronger in one direction than the other.

You can simulate bricks on the castle by gluing on small pieces of cardboard or foamcore. That's a good way to get window sills and arches, too. When you're assembling, you can add x-shaped pieces to the inside of any closed off areas to make them stronger. (like drink packaging.) And foam core is much nicer to work with if you have any. the edges are prettier and it's generally stronger than the average box.

You can cover the ugly cardboard edges with sturdy paper and then paint it. A bunch of paper layers and glue can add stability. (Think paper mache, you need to cover the paper in glue and then stick it.) It also lets you do interior decorating by printing the decor and gluing it on.

If you score a sheet of cardboard carefully, you can make round tubes of whatever size you want.
like this !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7XKoArbVPo

Thank you for all of this information...it really is helpful! I like that round-tube tutorial, that might just save us from having to gorge ourselves on oatmeal just to get the containers quicker. I had to google foamcore to see what it is, and now that I hear the description I think I've seen that stuff before. I'll check it out!

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Oatmeal cans for the towers isn't a bad idea, honestly. They're tall, the cardboard is usually a little thicker than the pressings used for your average cereal box, and the lip and base wraps reinforce the structure. Cocoa cans are also good - they usually have metal bases and lips, making them quite sturdy

[LadyAmalthea]

I didn't think about cocoa cans, that's a good idea, too! I have one oatmeal can saved, and working on another...my family's going  to be sick of oatmeal by the time I'm done with this!

Looking at pictures at DC, it looks like the towers are tapered a little...I know mine is unlikely to be an exact replica, but I like the look of the tapered towers. So although I'm wracking my brain for a way to accomplish this, I'm not holding out hope I'll be able to be that creative, haha.

My husband had a bunch of PEX piping that he was debating to get rid of, and I was contemplating using it, but it was only 4" diameter. Then a guy knocked on my door yesterday asking if he could have it after seeing it stacked out up against our recycling bin and I said yes, since I was put on the spot and had 2 crying babies and hadn't had enough coffee yet to make a clearheaded decision. Oh well.