# RedInventor's Chapel of Quietude WIP *Updated 19DEC12*



## RedInventor (Oct 30, 2012)

Well I'm just starting with this thing but I suppose I'll start posting now so I can show the whole process of making it and maybe it'll help someone or inspire someone. For now it is just in the planning stages, so advice, criticism, and comments are very welcome. 
So where to begin...
I have wanted to make some terrain since I started the hobby and now I am ready to jump right into it. I've realized why I've seen so many fellow hobbyists involved in so many projects, it's invigorating to start something new. I personally have to vary it up to keep myself interested; I paint then I'll write fluff then I'll paint again. The process has repeated many times and now I'm just going to throw a third piece in there, the Chapel of Quietude.
The big driving force behind making this terrain piece was so that I would be able to get some photographs of my mini's that wouldn't just have the background of the carpet or my workspace. Granted there are a lot of cheaper, less time consuming ways of going about that but this project gives me the opportunity to make some terrain which I have yet to do. This project will be stretching my abilities since I want it to look great both as a backdrop and as a piece of usable terrain.
I've been furiously scrutinizing as many of the details of this build as I can in hopes of saving myself some trouble later on. I have also bought some supplies which include 1/2" foam sheathing from Lowes, a new hobby knife (one of those extendable razor blade things), extra blades, and some plaster. I will probably have to buy more supplies but for now that should be enough. 
The layout








The Idea






This thing is going to be huge, it'll be roughly three feet long, two feet high, and 1.5 feet tall (at the higher points). The 1/2" foam will be used for the walls and flooring, I plan on mounting it on some plywood I found in the garage. I want to plaster the whole thing so I can add a lot of details into the walls and base, but I'm not sure if I'm going to for fear of it cracking or crumbling with use. I also need to look into the details to see if plastering the whole thing is an option even. I'm not too terribly worried about weight though, so that won't be a concern. The main building part of the chapel will only be 8 inches in height, with the forward and aft wall being 16 inches tall. The roof will be removed since it will obviously limit the project if I put one on, although I have thought about making it removable (probably won't since this is already such a large project).
The Front






The front will will hopefully be the "Ooooo..." piece of the project, if I can get it right. The idea is to have large doors, 8" wide x 7" tall, they will most likely bear some sort textured artwork in gold on them. Alongside the doors will be two simple hanging banners bearing the chapter logo and aquila. Above the doors will be a balcony and above that the chapter logo made 3D. That's right, it'll be a large 3D characterized horned owls head with a pair of "architectural wings". The eyes of the symbol will hopefully glow purple if I can get the lights figured out right. The interior will also be lit with a strand of Christmas lights I bought at the store the other day on the off chance I found a terrain project I can use them in. They are purple led globe lights with about 3.5" between each light and will be built into the walls at the 6" mark. They will also be used to light up a few of the detail pieces I will be adding to make the chapel unique to my chapter such as a bowing owl centerpiece for the raised section of the floor and to highlight the back wall's aquila. 














The raised section of the floor (4") will span the entire back wall and go out 12" with 6" wide stairs on two sides. In the center of the stairs will be a pulpit and below that will be the centerpiece bowing owl. The back wall will have a large aquila lit from the floor by the purple lights, which will hopefully look pretty cool. As I said earlier, the floor will have a large encircled chapter logo painted on it and most likely sealed with something glossy as the floor in the picture was. Along the side walls every 3" will be pillars that support the horizontal ledge built at the 6" level to conceal the light cord. Between each pillar will be a 1" wide x 3" tall arched window that will be about a 1/2" too an inch below the ledge. I could go on about details but that should be enough to give an idea of what I'm thinking.







I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions. Definitely could use some advice on the plaster idea. I apologize for all of the poor drawings, I wasn't focusing so much on the details but rather the idea and dimensions. If you care to see everything else I'm working on visit my blog: Imperial Red Inventions


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## RedInventor (Oct 30, 2012)

So I've finally been able to start on my behemoth sized chapel. This week I left for work Monday morning and got back saturday morning. My wife left town friday night so this left me a weekend of hobby time galore. I took the plans I drew up in Part 1 and started applying them to the 1/2" sheathing I bought last weekend. A lot of measurements ended up being changed as I found out they wouldn't look right or it was going to be too difficult to work out with my foam. This part was relatively easy compared to the next step, cutting it all out. I have spent hours and hours cutting this stuff up. I've found the easiest way is to score the foam about a 1/4 to 1/2 the way through then break it. I originally was using a razor that you can push out further to try and cut through but it didn't work as well as I was hoping. I also have a hot wire to cut the foam but I don't like the smell and didn't draw the measurements assuming the line it makes as it melts the styrofoam. I did however use it to cut out the windows and some of my other detail work, now my house smells like melted styrofoam. But hey lets let the pictures speak for themselves.









Cutting everything out definitely takes the longest.









I was trying to get a better idea of the scale. Even the mighty dreadnought looks tiny.









I was doing some test fitting and decided to snap a pic. My plans had this raised floor a little higher but it didn't look right.









The lights worked!









Test fitting the front entrance, this thing was a pain to glue together and get it to mesh with the wall well.









The front needs a lot of detail work.  But even the land raider looks small.









It's massive, like truly massive.









I am really happy how the chapter logo ended up looking.









The door is big it should let most things pass during gameplay.

I definitely feel like it captures the feeling I would think an Imperial Chapel would convey.  With the details I'm sure it will also capture the character of my chapter, the Guardians of Silence. Sorry for the poor pictures and lazy writing, after a full week of work then two days straight of working on this thing with no breaks, I'm beat! -_-


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## Moriouce (Oct 20, 2009)

This looks like an epic project! Love the plans and the progress! 
I will follow this for sure!


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## Carsen (Jun 30, 2011)

Quality time... when the family is out.. :biggrin:
I'd love to see this painted.. Keep it up.


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## Lethiathan (Nov 11, 2011)

Hmm, Quietude as in the ones described in Prospero Burns?


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## Old Man78 (Nov 3, 2011)

+rep for a start, that is awesome undertaking and looks excellent so far, like the others cannot wait for more and some paint too, keep up the good work!


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## RedInventor (Oct 30, 2012)

Thank you all for your comments, definitely keeps me motivated to keep working knowing that other people enjoy the idea as much as I do.
@ Lethiathan
I actually do not know the reference you speak of, I'm working through the heresy novels but haven't hit that one yet.

I have been trying to decide exactly how I want to go about filling the holes and gaps. My first Idea was to throw a thin coat of plaster spackling all around the sucker, it would serve both to fill the holes and let me add some detail. The only major drawback that I can think of is it will add a lot of weight to a piece that is already somewhat hard to transport (as such I probably won't be moving it too often). The other idea I had was to cover the thing in card stock, but the amount of work it took to cut everything out was insane and the idea of doing it again with somewhat new dimensions gives me a headache. I will be using card stock to add a lot of the details as it is, so I'm still undecided. I'm thinking tonight I'll probably do a test piece to see how plastering the whole thing will go. I'm definitely up for suggestions on how to do it if anyone has any ideas...

Also in the plans for the night is details, details, and more details. I first have to clean up the giant mess I made by building this monster Definitely ran out of time for that step while I was building away. But here's what I'm thinking, first off I need to cover up the christmas light wiring. I'm going to accomplish this by making a horizontal column that will effectively be hollow. This will be made out of cardstock (cereal box) and most likely won't be sturdy enough to support anything. Under the column will be columns, still trying to figure out their design but the goal is to use them as supports for the horizontal column. I will probably "continue" them to the top of the structure. The next phase will be cleaning up the windows, I've sanded them to the best of my abilities and they still look a little rough, so I am going to make a cardstock template for their edges. I'm going to do it in the easiest way I can think of which is to make a section of card wide enough to fit between the columns and just glue it in place. Should be easy enough, I can use layers of card to give it some texture. I also need to build stairs for the raised floor and figure out some detail work for the extended part. After all of that, I will most likely finish making the Imperial Aquila that is going on the back wall. With all of that said and done, I'll have finished a large majority of the main building.

With any luck I'll be able to finish most of that before the night ends, because there is a lot to do after that is all complete before I can spackle or seal it. 

Such as:
Build the pulpit
Add detail to the front "towers" and gate
Build something to hide the bulbs in the front balcony
Build tops for the front towers
Build the doors (I've been thinking about this step a lot though due to my friends thinking I shouln't so vehicles can drive in and out)

Well as always I love hearing everybody's thoughts and ideas on how to make things better, so let me know. Once again thanks for all the comments thus far!


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## RedInventor (Oct 30, 2012)

So didn't get much work done the other night, spent most of the night preparing for the wife to come home. But today, hopefully I can crank out some work. I have the vertical columns cut out and just need to cut out the horizontal columns that will hide the wire for the lights. Once that part is complete, it will just be artistic details to work out. Mostly how to get everything to look more realistic vice plain walls. Once the details are glued on it will be spackling time. I did a lot of research while smoking at work and I have heard good things about mixing pva glue with spackling to make a sturdy, sticky spackling. We'll see how it goes, I really like the muslin idea but I have no experience with it so I'll brobably save that for another day. I'll be posting updates as the night goes on.


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## RedInventor (Oct 30, 2012)

Chapel of Quietude Part 2.2 Construction Again

I got a little work done Sunday, honestly it doesn't feel like much but the work I did get done took a lot of problem solving to get done. I finally got to making the columns, both vertical and horizontal. The horizontal columns were a real pain, the center core had to be cut out to make room for the light cables. The main problem was the 36 inch side columns. Of course they couldn't be simply cut by the hot wire or xacto knife. I tried just placing the hot wire horizontally to the foam and cutting a nice grove out of the middle, but it just led to a few burns and the hot knife jutting out the side of the column, in the end it was a matter of melting away as much of the styrofoam as I could. Mounting all of the columns was relatively simple process of sand, test fit, sand, and the process continued until they fit well enough. After getting all of the columns glued on I decided to play with some of the plaster filler by filling all the gaps between the various foam pieces. It's a little difficult to work with, but I'm sure if I thinned it up a little with glue or water it'd be a little easier. All in all spackling went well, it just takes forever on such a large piece.


Looking forward: 
The Gate- I'm still deciding on whether I will be cutting out the center column in the front entrance. My friends want me to so that it will allow a Land Raider through which means that about anything will be able to come through the doors with ease. I am also trying to decide if I want to go forward with doors for the front gate, if I do I'll have to try and figure out a way to make it so the can be moved on a hinge of some sort. I am really leaning towards leaving the doors out of the equation, but a chapel/cathedral wouldn't be without large doors in the front. I also need to embellish some details on it, to bring it to life. I'm not going to go with anything too crazy, it'll most likely be "framed out" and the top will likely include a quote or saying of some sort.
The Towers- These guys need a lot of work since at the moment they look like tall rectangular blocks. The first thing I want to do with them is build up some "wings" for the owl head chapter logo in the middle. I'll get back to y'all when I flesh out the details of how I am going to make them later. I also plan on having large "banners" hanging from the middle of them. I am not sure if I just want to go with purple cloth at the moment or go with some card painted purple with gold embellishments. The tops of the towers are still up in the air (ha), I have no real direction I've decided to go with them yet. I was playing with the idea of making them gun platforms with interchangeable weapons. The middle level will likely include faux windows just to add some texture and break up the boring flat pattern. I'll probably also add some columns in here and there.
The Balcony- I need to make a hand rail for the balcony and I was trying to think of what kind of cool details I can add to it. When I imagine the chapel, it is built into craggy hills overlooking a city in the valley below, thus the balcony would provide exquisite views and would have to serve some sort of purpose. Also there is the issue of the lights that are exposed in the back wall. Unsat my friends, so how do I fix it? I don't know. I'm sure I'll get a better idea once I discover the purpose of the balcony.
The Raised Floor- Ah where to start? I suppose I'll start with what it is missing construction wise. It needs stairs! Why haven't I made them yet you ask? Well its simple really, I want them to be standable as a mini. The solution is not so simple though and I'm still trying to engineer a way to make it happen. So ideas are especially welcome in that department. Once they are built and installed I can work on the ever so important details! The image in my head is a great mural on the center portion, with the pulpit above it the mural will depict the great heroes of the chapter or a lone Guardian vanquishing xenos foes. I've never tried painting a mural or image with acrylic before so it'd be a learning experience. Yet I am almost not willing to risk the project if my painting skills aren't up to par, so it may end up with me printing an image and gluing it on there. The pulpit above I have plans for as well, I have quite a few lights left on the strand and the raised floor is a perfect place to hide them so the pulpit is probably going to be lit up like a computer screen would be. I have some wire that I am thinking about using to show that it has power cables running to it. The floor itself will likely be painted with the words to a litany I'm going to write for the chapter. 
The Back Wall- I have an Imperial aquila that I printed out and pasted to some cardboard that will serve as the center piece of the back wall. Below will probably be some cheesy Imperial line like, "The Emperor Protects" or the Guardians of Silence line, "Silence the Enemies of the Emperor." Depending on how much light I have under the raised floor, I may cut some holes in it to shine up onto the aquila. 
The Main Floor- When I imagine a large chapel or cathedral I imagine a beautifully polished floor. Don't ask me why, I just do. The servitors will be constantly at work ensuring the floor in the Chapel of Quietude looks just as nice. I saw an image from The Lord Inquisitor that spurred me on to make a shiny, heavily waxed floor. The center will be... you guessed it a Guardians of Silence chapter logo. Around which will likely be some sort of geometric design I have yet to dream up. 
The Interior Walls- Need some work. The holes I cut to make the christmas lights fit look bad, easy as that. I have been playing with various designs on how to make it so they don't look like orbs of light glued to the wall, but I haven't found anything I'm particularly attached to. Suggestions would be amazing. I was toying with the idea of making it appear as if cloth was covering the walls, I know that doesn't really make sense but its difficult to convey the image into words. 
The Exterior Walls- I want to add some more detail columns, nothing too major though. I am also going back on forth on the idea of making it look as though the chapel was made from stone blocks or as if it were cut from one solid piece of stone. Thoughts?
The Back of the Back Wall- I didn't draw up any plans for back here even though I knew the cords would be sticking out, oops. So now I am forced to come up with something on "the fly" (I have so little time at home, I hardly get work done at even a slow rate so its not like I have to figure this out tonight). But anyways, I really wish I would of figured this out in the planning stage, the base I cut is only 1" wider in the back, so there really isn't much play room. Granted there are ways to extend it. I was thinking of a little attached "cottage" or "generator room". This would allow me to hide the cords while hopefully still looking reasonable. Ideas are once again wanted.

Now I've blabbered on and on. I hope you guys are enjoying watching the slow progress I'm making because I'm definitely enjoying the project. The technical challenges while annoying at the moment definitely bring a greater sense of satisfaction once I've solved the problem. I'm still in the planning phase which is generally a no no for my projects, but figuring out whats practical is sometimes hard to plan for when you've never done a project like it before. So please leave some feedback, if you have any ideas let me know. Each and every idea and response is given a lot of thought and consideration. Thanks for reading! Here's some pictures of where I'm at.









My wife got one of me plastering some of the windows.








So I got one of her and her cheesy smile... She was actually helping me plaster and glue today, it was nice! She can often get pretty disgruntled about the hobby (all the $$$ spent), so its awesome when she helps out. 








The chapter logo all plastered up.








The new columns with some plaster work done.








I'm not too sure how this corner ended up like this... :wacko: 








The back of the back wall. As stated I need some creative work to hide all this stuff.








The overall look.


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## RedInventor (Oct 30, 2012)

So with only a short time to work tonight, I managed to get just a little bit of work done because I spent most my time playing around with my models to get an idea of how things could be played inside the chapel. So it'll mostly be pictures this post.

















Here's the work I did get done, just some card I cut out for some detail and to hide the cord in the back of the balcony.








This chapel will definitely have to be played in a storm the castle type of game, on the raised floot I have twemty five terminators, a terminator captain, a librarian and a dreadnought. In front is a chaplain, librarian, and chapter master all in terminator armor with a Land Raider Crusader and Predator. Plenty of room for more too!


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## ckcrawford (Feb 4, 2009)

Looks pretty awesome. I have much respect for people who make their own terrain and scenarios. I've done a few, and they've all been tedious only turn out to be mediocre looking.


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## RedInventor (Oct 30, 2012)

@ckcrawford
Thanks, it has definitely become tedious and I have at many points now just wanted to give up with all the details and say its good enough. I keep telling myself that if I get the details right it'll look really good, so that and people's comments are keeping me going for now. 

Short little update brothers, it's been a long month already but the chapel is starting to look how I imagined it. Such a large project is a slow roll forward. But too the pictures, that's what everyone likes anyways.  









The front is coming together, tried out the "wing" idea on the left tower and I like it. The spires are a fun, new find from the dollar store. With some cleaning up they should look awesome. There needs to be more details added but everything needs to happen in carefully planned layers as I'm finding out.









I originally was going to go with a larger brick size on the wall, but I was worried it would make the building further out of scale. I like the look of them thus far, but making them is one of the most tedious tasks I've ever done.









I glued the lights farther in to make them uniform and spackled around the holes, it'll need some sanding but definitely looks better than having them hanging all over the place at different lengths.

Well thanks for looking, sorry for the short post. Hope the Holidays are treating everybody well!


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

I think the saying you're looking for is that 'the devil is in the details' 

They're horrible but you kinda need them to make the good good


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## Moriouce (Oct 20, 2009)

What is your plan with the spires. At the moment I'm not to fond of them, they look to small in comparison to the towers themselves. Pictured this as a more "catholic" look to it with square castle-like towers.


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## Scalpel (Dec 26, 2012)

RedInventor said:


> I keep telling myself that if I get the details right it'll look really good, so that and people's comments are keeping me going for now.


Keep at it dude that thing will be absolutely awesome


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