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By YRM - Dec. 31, 1969 BUILDING HISTORY:Built in the Forgotten Realms near the Mines of Tethyamar over 300 years ago, the archmage who oversaw the construction had not yet turned to evil. The Tethyamar dwarves assisted in the stronghold's construction and for decades, sent items to the stronghold to be enchanted. Eventually, the Archmage went mad with power and passed from life, and the Dwarves were driven from the mines. The Year of the Rogue Dragon has come. The Cult of the Dragon has captured this very Stronghold as a staging ground to recapture the Tethyamar Mines and offer them as lairs to their Dracolich allies. Will my D&D gaming group save the day? As I type this, they are captured, stripped of their gear, and imprisoned in the windowless base of the left Octagonal tower. ABOUT THE STRUCTURE: The total size is 24"W x 24"D x 30"T This stronghold sits on a 2'x2' base of three inches of insulation foam. A dungeon level is cut out of the base, and a river cuts around the stronghold. The outer octagonal towers do not have doors, and can only be entered by climbing or through the stronghold and over the bridges. Each tower can house a catapult, trebuchet, or cannon on top, and up to 8 crossbowmen or archers in the mid level. The structure is built for three things. ONE - Very strong defensive position. TWO - Channel magic. THREE - In real life, serve as a very interesting game table piece, inside and out. I worked very hard to make sure that the structure looks as though it continually weighs less as the height increases, and that it looks as though it can support itself. The structure is entirely gothic, but, given a different flavor through repetitive use the Dragon's Teeth mold and hints of steel mixed with the brick. I based it in a red-brown and highlighted it in tan for a more colorful look and feel. The floors are washed with a dark maroon and the outer lines of the building are all enhanced with paint treatments to add impact to the design. The spiral columns, statues, and parts of the outer columns are given hints of Dwarven Steel for added structural strength and a nice contrast to the red-tinted brick. The building sits on a quite an investment of time and money in Woodland Scenic products, carved foam rocks, and worked "water". MOLDS USED: 041 - Gothic Dungeon Accessories 043 - Gothic Panel Accessories 045 - Gothic Dungeon Builder 050 - Wizard's Tower 051 - Dragon's Inn 053 - Bridge Mold 054 - Gothic Church Mold 055 - Bell Tower Mold 056 - Tomb Mold 060 - Prison Tower Mold 061 - Turret Mold 063 - Octagonal Tower Mold 080 - Dragon's Teeth Accessory Mold 201 - Floor Tile Mold 205 - Gothic Floor Tile Mold 210 - Cobblestone Mold The water is a combination of Envirotex Lite and Woodland Scenic's Rough Water. The ground effects, except the rocks I carved out of the foam itself, are woodland scenic products. Thanks for reading. I hope that you like my entry because I used up all my dental plaster, fake water, paint and most of my store of earlier castings on this monster. Thanks to my wife for putting up with me working so many hours on the project, and thanks to everyone who provided inspiration or small mailings of pieces that I did not have (Todd, Isa), it's appreciated. To anyone considering a project this large and tall (almost twice as tall as my entry last year), be aware that it's more difficult to keep things square at this kind of size. I had to work much harder to produce a clean result than I did on smaller projects.
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