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By BOSSMAN - Dec. 31, 1969 DescriptionIn the steaming black jungles of the south worship of the snake gods has been practiced by the degenerate remnants of the reptilian races that ruled the world in an age gone by. This worship has long been adopted by the ignorant savages of the jungle and the cult has spread over the centuries into the lands of civilisation. Stone temples of the secretive cult can now be found in the streets of the great cities of the north and as their influence has grown, so has the fear of the hooded priests, that pay tribute in blood to their scaled deities. Within the bowels of these temples, in a drug induced stupor, sleep the giant serpents that are sacred to the snake cult. With minds clouded by the pollen of the black lotus virgins cast their lithe bodies into the serpent pit to be devoured whilst the drums and pipes of the priests summon the giant snakes out of their cold blooded dreams. Where the snake cult has taken charge, on holy days the hideous reptiles are released into the streets of the city, where they find their own victims. To flee or attack a serpent is punished by a long and hideous death under the serrated knives of the evil cult priests, or for the unfortunate few, to be taken by the feared sorcerers known as the Ring of the Black Serpent. Construction This is a multipart model that in total has 19 separate components. The building consists of a two level temple area that is topped by a four level tower. The temple is accessed via a great stair that leads to the lowest level of the tower via a wide veranda. Flanking this stair are two great snake fountains, below which is a three tiered fountain consisting of a water spout and three troughs. The rails of the stair and veranda are coiled in reminiscence of a serpent, as are the buttresses that support the body of the temple. Serpent heads rear up from the ends of the rails at the base of the stairs. The tower itself is crowned by four snake heads that look forth, through their crystalline eyes, to the four points of the compass. A central shaft connects all tower and temple levels by way of a chain and counterweight. This can be used to haul stores between tower levels however the reptilian occupants of the tower can climb between levels without aid. Doorways exist at ground level into the main temple however these are heavily barred from the interior. Access is only granted via the bottom tower level, All of these doors are double portals that make a circle, each door circumferenced by a snake such that the two serpent head face each other when the doors are shut. The doors are heavy bronze and enamelled. The base section is the main body of the temple section of the tower and spans two levels. The bottom level is floored using flagstones and is broken into a number of areas. Under the stairs at the front of the temple is a small chamber accessed via a small diameter tunnel. In here may be located a fabulous jewel or some relic of the temple as it is the area best guarded by the giant serpents that dwell in the temple. This small tunnel is guarded by a rearing serpent – whether a statue or live reptile is up to a brazen thief to discover. Littered around this tunnel entrance are various treasures and many bones. These bones spill out to the main body of the temple and here the stench of carrion is strongest for this is where the sacrificial victims broken bodies lie before been devoured by the serpents. A lithe young body, the most recent sacrificial maiden, lies upon the carrion heap. The main body of the temple has three arched alcoves, the centre under the stairs, the flanking two under the snake fountains. When religious rights are performed this area is dimly illuminated by the torches above and the giant snakes that lair in the temple come forth to accept the sacrificial victims that step of the platform above to fall into the snake pit. The rear section of the temple is a dark and foreboding area where thee serpents lay their eggs and lie in drugged slumber. Entrance to the lowest level is from a horizontal tunnel that leads from the bottom of the central shaft of the tower. Two heavy and barred external doors can also be opened to allow the giant snakes exit the temple. The upper level of the temple area is an arched section where the congregation gathers and ceremonies are performed. This is accessed by a divided set of stairs from the entrance chamber above. The tower is accessed via the great flight of stairs at the front of the temple that lead across the veranda into the entrance chamber. Between the buttresses of this chamber hang the ceremonial robes that are donned before leading down into the temple area. The upper tower levels are used as meditation rooms and storage. The top of the tower holds the windlass device that supports the chain that hangs between all the various levels of the Tower of the Black Serpent. Moulds Used Mould #41: Gothic Dungeon Accessories (smooth stair, octagonal smooth stair blocks) Mould #44: Gothic Additional Accessories (3” diameter arch) Mould #45: Gothic Dungeon Builder (arches - various) Mould #51: Dragons Inn (basic blocks, 1” diameter arch) Mould #52: 4” Circular Tower Mould (4” circular clocks and half blocks, floor sections, central pillar) Mould #53: Bridge Mould (railings, sloped railings, recessed ½”x1/2”x1/2” block, capping block, 1”x1/2”x1/4” trim blocks, arch) Mould #54: Gothic Church (smooth capping blocks, end base trim pieces) Mould #56: Tomb Mould (lead roof) Mould #60: Prison Tower Mould (1/4” diameter arch, 3” diameter arch, stairs) Mould #61: Turret Mould (3” diameter bricks and half bricks, floor sections, arch, turret underside) Mould #64: 8” Round Tower Mould (supports) Mould #74: 4” Round Fieldstone Mould (floor sections, decorative caps) Mould #80: Dragon’s Teeth Accessory Mould (small twisted pillars, twisted pillars, capping, various tooth ornament) Mould #140 Columns or Pillars (1/2” long 5/16” diameter pillar) Mould #150 Trim Pieces – OOP (to sided base trim blocks) Mould #164 Round Connector Pieces (3” and 4” tower connector pieces) Mould #202: Smooth Floor Tiles Various Sizes (floor tiles - various) Mould #205 Gothic Floor Tiles (engraven edged tiles) Mould #260 Flagstone Floor Tile Mould (floor tiles) Mould #265 Large Flagstone Mould (floor tiles) Mould # 311 Skematic Pyramid Mould (decorative floor tile) The block count on this project is approximately 2,300 bricks. Customising The bottom tower level is buttressed by pillars that are essentially, in plan, a 3” diameter tower. These are clad in a 4” diameter tower however where each semi-circular tower section abuts, the bricks have been mitred. Some sanding of the bottom stairs accessing the temple area was required for them to fit around the central stair pillar. The veranda tiled sections required sanding to fit cleanly into the temple body. The main stairs had to be sanded so that that exactly matched the height of the veranda level. The twisted pillars in general required some shortening to align vertically with the wall bricks. Extras The temple doors, snake fountains and snake statue all come from the Grendel resin set # 0046 “Temple of Set”. These are plaster reproductions, the first using a pour on silicon mould, the others a brush on silicon mould. The bone piles are from an old Grenadier set “Encounter at the Ogre’s Lair” (I think) which were reproduced in a silicon mould. The snake eggs are from an old Grenadier dragon set. The wings of the hatchling dragon where removed with a chisel to make it more like a giant snake. The wheels of the windlass mechanism are reproductions from the Grendel resin set #0061 “Siege Tower”. The snake motif is from a jewellery set reproduced in a silicon mould. The snake eyes and gems used to decorate the above snake motif are fake plastic gemstones. Painting All the castings were coloured with a black oxide cement die. This was then sealed using a concrete sealant. Unfortunately this softens the glue and my snake head tower top started to fall apart under the weight of the snake heads. I never got this fixed as well as I would have liked and this is causing the uneven joint to the next level of the tower. Once sealed the model was then sprayed in a white undercoat using a cheap white spray pack. All stone work was then washed in a diluted Woodland Scenics “Burnt Umbar”. Drybrushing was then done in two different colours, British Paints #30 “Weighbridge”, then British Paints #32 “Tiger Stripe”. The flagstones and stone floors were painted with Folkart #944 “Nutmeg”. This was then washed with diluted Woodland Scenics “Burnt Umbar”. This was followed by a drybrush in British Paint #30 “Weighbridge” and finally drybrushed with Folkart #418 “Buckskin”. The pillars and rails were painted with British Paints #165 “Blue Gum Park”, the washed with diluted black housepaint, then drybrushed with Folkart #609 “Thunder Blue”. The veranda tiles were painted with either British Paints #129 “Tornado” or with Folkart #609 “Thunder Blue”. The snakes on the doors were painted in British Paints #165 “Blue Gum Park” then washed in black. The enamelled doors were painted in Folkart #609 “Thunder Blue”. The bronze was painted in Citadel “Brazen Brass”. Stone sections were painted as the tower however no white undercoat was applied which explains their different colouration to a degree. Snake eyes were painted in Citadel “Amethyst Purple”. I used the Hirst fishing line method for water spilling from the spouts that worked quite well. Water for the snake fountains is simply clear varnish. Water for the tiered fountains was made with Woodland Scenics “Easy Water”. This was my first attempt and it was a disaster. Firstly I used it in the fountain basins which were overfilled. The water set like toffee and popped out cleanly without damage – the first time. On my second bungled attempt I ended up chewing up the water section of the fountain and hence went back to varnish. The basins were also a disaster as I either overfilled them or the water did not flow in to the corners properly so I added more to fill the corners but this set as beads making the surface uneven. A heat gun may have solved this but I didn’t have one handy. With a chisel the water fractured reasonable easy and again popped out fairly well with minimal damage. I re-used the easy water which caused it to go a bit brown and thus I ended up with both clear and brown water pools.
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