Project Log: The Tombs of Tithing, Part 2

In this installment, I tackle the interior of the tomb...

 

I wasn't quite sure how I was going to model the tomb's interior. It's going to be mostly concealed, so I didn't want to get too carried away (famous last words). I needed to select the sarcophagus that would be in the center of the floor. I took three of the Sigmarite Mausoleum bases and cut them up to get a nice array of sarcophagi and flat grave markers. I'll use some of these on the cemetery atop the hill.

 

And the winner is... The large sarcophagus. It's got the presence required for a tomb of this size, and the slab it's on will help fill out the floor a bit. I planned the layout, and decided to use some 20mm square bases for the plaques on the wall crypts. At this point, I considered having a second, smaller sarcophagus behind the first, but decided against it because it would make the piece too long. I think this tomb will already have a larger footprint than I want, and anything I can do to reduce that will be a big help.

 

 

I cut off the top of the sarcophagus and added card to build the inner walls. Since one side of the hill will be collapsed, I needed a reason why the whole thing wouldn't just be filled with rubble. Having the lid askew will make it appear as though someone had cleared out the rubble to gain access to the tomb and free its occupant. (Or loot his corpse!)

 

 

For the wall plaques, I cut some styrene card into squares and notched their corners with a hole punch. I used my rotary hand sewing punch to add rivets, and attached some classic skeleton shield icons and a little name plate that was meticulously cut out of thin card and rivet punched. These plates were then glued onto the square bases which were notched and distressed to look like chipped stone. For a final touch, I added four bolts cut from styrene hex rod. 

 

 

I cut a thin layer of insulation foam to cover the wall, and I coated the floor with Liquid Nails. Once the Liquid Nails cured, I could super glue the parts to the floor without melting the foam.

 

 

I carved the stone on the front wall and coated it with a layer of Mod Podge and black paint (sorry it's difficult to make out the detail because the surrounding areas are so bright). I attached the sarcophagus and added the stone floor with styrene card and a little sand in the cracks and around the edges.

 

 

For the intact solid wall, I marked out the spacing for the crypt plaques, and cut the stone texture into the foam.

 

 

Then, I coated and painted the foam, and attached the plaques with a little super glue and Liquid Nails.

 

 

I built some metal rails to run between the plaques. For this I cut a square plastic rod into segments and drilled through each one. A chad of thick round rod was attached to the front of each post, and then they were slid over a piece of thinner styrene rod.

 

 

I drilled and inserted paperclip pins to all the attachment points, and used some spare spikes from my Skull Forge Scenics roadside shrines (I always keep my miscasts to use for bits) to add points at the top and bottom.

 

 

The rails get attached to the walls like you see here, but I didn't glue them so that I can paint them separately.

 

 

I fixed the wall in place with Liquid nails and hot glue (and extended the floor to accommodate the length).

 

 

One final touch was to add spikes to the corner posts of the sarcophagus. These spikes were taken from the top of the Sigmarite Mausoleum that I used on the front of the tomb. I also added more sand and gravel in the corners.

 

 

The next step is building the collapsed wall, which will be cross-section of the crypts, now open and exposed with skeletons lying among the rubble. I also need to work on the stairs leading up the outside of the hill to the cemetery.

 

 

'Til next time!