BSC 2022 Bearwoodman - Where the Voordalak Sleep

[Bearwoodman]

Last year's contest was fun, so I will give it another go this year.

My idea is vaguely inspired by the Napoleonic Vampire novel "Twelve" by Jasper Kent. "Voordalak" (the Russian term for vampire used by the novel's protagonists) are terrifying creatures of the night, but they need to keep out of the sun and tend to sleep during the day, at which point they are vulnerable. I intend to attempt to construct a sleeping place for a Voordalak or two with the intention of using it in a game of The Silver Bayonet, but which might also be used in other gothic horror settings or indeed any fantasy setting that can accommodate pasty-faced blood-sucking coffin-dwellers.

As the Voordalak need to keep away from sunlight ideally they prefer to rest underground and therefore my plan is to build something inspired by the verticality of Dr Matthias's entry in the BSC2021 (which incidentally knocked my entry out of the competition - not that I am bitter of course ).

I am very conscious of the tight deadline this year and my limited time and therefore I will need to keep the project small, manageable and (in accordance with the number 1 rule of terrain making) easily storable). I will also need to get a move on and actually start...

[AKULA]

Good luck 

[Blackwolf]

First a nose,now Russian vampires,you really have to get into Russian literature 
I’ll get my coat *
Sounds like a cracking idea Bear





*Another nod to Gogol

[Daeothar]

If this is going to be even half as inspired as your last entry, it'll be another looker again! 

[Bearwoodman]

Thanks @AKULA, same to you!

@Blackwolf: The real reason I enter this competition is for the education in foreign literature. The Overcoat is now on the list!

@Deothar: You are too kind. This year's entry will be quite different to last year's (no smelly resin for a start) but we will have to see how it turns out.

I was thinking about how to construct multiple subterranean passageways one above the other. It seemed to me that the easiest option, given my lack of wood working skills, would be to use a box picture frame stood on its side, and to build several horizontal levels within it.  I therefore set out to scour the local charity shops to hunt for something suitable. None of the picture frames I saw were deep enough for my purposes, but I did find this amongst the bric-a-brac:

This was designed to display a collection of thimbles and each shelf is deep enough to hold a 25mm base. If I remove the vertical divisions and retain every other horizontal shelf I will have four levels over which to construct my Voordalak lair. I am hoping to design a whole mission for a small unit (or single figure) to take place entirely within the box, starting at ground level (the top) and working down to the darkest depths, and then back again. Storage would be relatively simple as it will fit in a RUB or even hang on a wall, and it even comes with a glass door to keep the dust off.

Here is the detailed masterplan:

Now to attack my acquisition with a knife and saw...

[Burgundavia]

This is amazing. I've always wanted to do a 2.5D vertical terrain piece.

[Vanvlak]

So cool! Good find, that 

[OSHIROmodels]

Sounds good 

[has.been]

and it even comes with a glass door to keep the dust off.

Make it a 'sun specks' glass door & your Vampires will be fine.
Nice idea & I'm keen to see what you do.

[McMordain]

Oh, this looks really interesting.

[Bearwoodman]

Thanks all!

I settled on a layout and then cut the necessary holes and glued the shelves back in place.

I then went looking for a few images for inspiration. I am not aiming to recreate any specific place described in fiction or to build anything strictly historically accurate, but I did want the build to have a vaguely Eastern European feel that wouldn't jar too much with the Silver Bayonet Napoleonic setting. I decided that aiming for a wooden peasants house in a snowy forest would work and also be generic enough to use for other game systems (and would be simpler than trying to build Dracula's castle or a fancy Moscow town house). Here are a few images as a taster. I noted the log construction, the well outside and the bench running along the inside of the wall underneath the window.




I then started work on the ground floor interior:


The next level down will be be cellar. I quite fancy a stone block construction to provide a contrast with all the wood above ground, and I suspect at this stage it will move firmly into architectural fantasy.

[Blackwolf]

This is looking great!

[marianas_gamer]

Intriguing! Nice work so far. It will be hard to top the nose though  That was just great!

[Codsticker]

Intriguing! Nice work so far. It will be hard to top the nose though  That was just great!

Yeah, he is really going to have to knock this one out of the park.

[Bearwoodman]

Yeah, he is really going to have to knock this one out of the park.

Ha! I am resigned to the fact that the Nose was and forever will be the pinnacle of my Build something Competition "career" and that I will for the rest of my days be toiling in its shadow. I embrace my status as a "one hit wonder" ("hit" of course meaning being knocked out in the first round) and my path will now inevitably be one of failed and increasingly desperate attempts to recreate former glories. Understanding and accepting this as my destiny has actually helped take the pressure off me this year (and encouraged me to begin to develop my concept for next year's BSC of a giant statue of an ear). 

This year my ambition is simply to avoid cutting off my own fingers or gluing myself to the desk. But I will always have the memories.