STC EMBER SHRINE
Part 2- Detailing
 
Now to prepare the top piece.  Start with the railing piece that has an end post.  Cut the stabby, pokey pyramid shape off the top of the post with your nippy cutters.
 
 
 

Add another post to the other side, removing the pokey bit in the same manner.
 
 
 

Now in order to get this piece to sit level on top of your shrine, you'll need to add a strip of plastic to the back of it.  You can use an extra floor panel for this job.  Using the squares as a guide, cut off one row of squares to form a strip of plastic...
 

as seen here.
 
 

Now glue this strip of plastic onto the back of the railing assembly, down low as shown here.
 
 
 
 

Now when you put the railing on top of the shrine, it should sit level, as shown here.  The front of the top piece makes contact with the top of the skull shrine panel, and the back (with the added plastic strip) makes contact with the tape case.  Glue it on, making sure to keep the posts lined up with the bulkheads so it's all nice and neat.

Now for the fun part!  Grab those battery powered tea lights and the white tape reel pieces.  The Tea lights get glued to the tape reels, with the flame part of the tea light going into the hole of the tape reel piece.  NOTE that the flame part may be too long to fit all the way in- if so, you can cut it down with nippy cutters or a razor saw (just be careful not to cut the LED bulb inside).  Once it fits all the way in, add glue to the raised edge of the reel around the hole, and press the tea light against it as shown to glue it on.

Now to glue the reels onto the back of the shrine.  If you look at the back of the shrine, you'll see that the case has some ridges around the hole and inside the round area where the tape reels used to sit.  Add glue to these ridges, as this is where the tape reels will make contact.
 

Place the reels so that the protruding hub pokes through the holes towards the front of the shrine (see below for a view from the front).  Notice that the switches and the battery doors for the tea  lights are still accessible from the back of the shrine, for easy on-off access and battery replacement.
 

Once the glue is dry, the urge to try out the lights will be unbearable.  Go ahead, fire 'em up!  Oooh, flickery!  Okay, fun's over, back to work now.


Next glue a bulkhead piece on top of the short case.  Glue it on it's side with the rivets facing forward.  Add the skulls you sawed off the back of the skull shrine panel too- one over each light.
 
 

Now to prepare the pipes.  Start with that half-round cover piece that comes with the Manufactorum sprue.  You'll want to saw it in half, lengthwise, as shown here.  This gives you two almost identical pieces to use below.
 

Glue the two pieces just inside the half-round holes (where the cut case meets the base).  You'll want them to stick out just far enough to see the cool rivet detail on them.
 

Next, grab one of the half-pipe pieces and place it against the piece you just glued, with the rivet end closest to the back.  Using the front edge of the base as a guide, mark the pipe for cutting.  Repeat for both pipe halves.
 

Cut down the pipes with a razor saw so the end will be flush with the front edge of the base, and glue the pipes in place as shown.
 
 

Now to form the end cap for the pipe.  Grab the dome light fixtures and using a razor saw, cut the dome off just behind the ridge- you want the dome and the ridge, but nothing else.  File the cut clean.
 

The front edge of the base has a raised edge that you might want to file down, at least around the end of the pipes.  This will help with gluing the domes on nice and flat.

Now glue the domes over the end of the pipes so that it hangs halfway down the front of the base, as shown.  Notice how the domes give the illusion of a complete pipe, half embedded in the base.  Neat!

Next we'll add the lamp posts.  Start by trimming the base of the post down with nippy cutters.  Cut close to the flanges around the base of the post, forming a square shape....
 
 
 

...as seen here.
 
 
 
 

Now glue the posts onto the base.  I like to line up the edge of the square shape with the inside edge of the base as shown here.  This points the lamps at an inward 45 degree angle, which adds some visual interest.
 
 
 

Remember that tank wheel?  It goes into the v-shaped slot on the front of the lower case, centered nicely between the two pipes.  Be sure the cool side with the bolt holes is facing out.  Just a quick way to add some detail there.
 
 

Now for the skulls.  Cut the back of the skulls off with a razor saw.  Then cut off the lower jaw, sawing between the upper and lower teeth. 
 
 
 
 

Glue the back of the skull to the lower case, one each just over the two pipes on the base as shown here.
 

 

Remember the dome lights you cut up earlier?  Well, the remainders don't need to go to waste.  File the mounting bracket smooth on the back...
 

...so you can glue it onto the back of the shrine.  Place it so the bracket touches the reel, and the cut part touches the side of the tea light.  Glue one to each side for some free technical looking detail.
 
 

To add even more gothic industrial detail to the back, cut off a length of ribbed drain pipe.  I like to cut about three ribs' worth.  Use a razor saw and cut close to the side of the rib.
 
 

Sand both ends of the pipe smooth for a nice finish, especially the end you'll be gluing down.
 
 

For the end that faces out, use a hole punch to punch out notches all the way around the end.  Repeat these steps to make two of these.
 
 
 
 

Now glue the flat end of the pipes onto the two reels, as shown here.  Notice that the 3" drain pipe is almost a perfect match for the tape reels.
 
 
 

If you sawed off the two grill lights from the back of the skull shrine panel, you can glue them onto the front of the lower case.  There are two raised posts (where the case screws were originally) in the upper corners, a perfect place to glue the grill lights in.
 

Another optional detail is adding rivets.  Use the 1/16" hole punch to punch some rivets out of an old plastic soda bottle or fast food cup.  Then, pick the rivets up with the tip of a push pin or hobby knife, dip the back in a bit of glue, and press them in place.  I like to add a couple to each corner, and a row along the raised ridge on the front of the lower case for that extra bit of gothic character.

LAST: Painting

Copyright 2009 Sean Patten

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