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.