# Apocalypto!



## Nymphaea (Jan 11, 2011)

While repairing an 'old' viv, I decided to decorate the plain white Conti board rear 'wall' by doing an Aztec/Inca/Mayan themed background, as befits the type of snake we keep (Salmon redtail, BRB, etc).
Initially I thought I'd do a mural, but was put off by the seemingly laborious prep work lol! So I set to work with a tube of 'No More Nails', some polystyrene found in the loft, and a few images of ancient temple ruins from the net...








Next was the 1st layer of sanded grout...








Then the 2nd with a bit of colour added...


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## Nymphaea (Jan 11, 2011)

The chemicals in the grout melted some of the details (grrr!) so I had to add them again, changing some of the 'x's to skulls...








Now I'm painting it, and will add pics when that's finished.


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## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

looks mighty tasty i must say! how'd you make the skulls? or are they shop bought?

when it comes to detail painting add some different greens for a really nice mossy detail, will bring the whole thing to life!!!


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## Nymphaea (Jan 11, 2011)

Thank you!
After my initial 'cheat' failed (I'd shaped some of those little foam packing nuggets for the 'x's and round finials, cleverly I thought lol... until they just melted into a big mess!) I decided to carve the skulls out of some polystyrene offcuts.
They turned out better than I thought they would, and I only cut my finger once lol!
Thanks for the painting tip... watch this space! x


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## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

how the hell you carved them skulls i will not know lol.

if you want more ideas for painting, watch tomb raider and indiana jones films lol


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## ditzychick (Aug 21, 2009)

Looks fantastic so far!! I wish i had your patience. Look forward to seeing the end result


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

looking good! although i'm guessing you may well have muttered the words 'never a-f*^king-gain' when doing all the bricks.


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## Nymphaea (Jan 11, 2011)

Thank you all.
And haha yes Meko, you took the words right outta my mouth lol!


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## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

apparently king span insulation, is alot better to do intricate bricks and the like.


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## Becky Wheeler (Jun 15, 2006)

Meko said:


> looking good! although i'm guessing you may well have muttered the words 'never a-f*^king-gain' when doing all the bricks.


Oh jeez!! Please don't mention bricks!! LOL. I had to cut out 400 bricks out of poly when I made my mayan background!. :whip:

And mate! Your viv background looks fantastic!! It's awesome! Very creative :notworthy:


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## Nymphaea (Jan 11, 2011)

Cheers me dear! I'm currently painting it and hope to finish it this weekend, in which case I'll pop some more pics on so you can see how it turned out. I've thoroughly enjoyed doing it so far... yes, even the bricks! 
But, seriously, 400?!!! I'd have gone bonkers lol!


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## Trissai (Apr 25, 2010)

shweeeeeeeet


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## Nymphaea (Jan 11, 2011)

This is the painting so far...








and...


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## baitman (Jan 13, 2011)

AWSOME....................love it


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## Nymphaea (Jan 11, 2011)

3 coats of varnish, the last one over the top of some 'moss' effect static grass. Still looking a bit shiny, but the last 2 coats dulled down to the satin finish its supposed to be after a few days, so hopefully this will too...








Now all I've got to do is wait for the odour to wear off and rebuild my viv.


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## ch4dg (Jul 24, 2008)

THATS AWESOME:no1:


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## DrChino (Aug 23, 2010)

Thats incredible! Looking forward to seeing it in place. I wish I had the skill and patience to do something like that. Has def given me some inspiration for my natural crestie build I'm planning next year.


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## Nymphaea (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks v much ch4dg... I love your Jurassic Park background :2thumb:


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## ch4dg (Jul 24, 2008)

Nymphaea said:


> Thanks v much ch4dg... I love your Jurassic Park background :2thumb:


CHEERS: victory:


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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

great job , alot of patience i see


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## Soapie78 (Jan 10, 2010)

Fantastic job true insperation.


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## Nymphaea (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks very much everyone.
The devil makes work for idle hands... so with that in mind...
I twisted my knee badly recently, and its put me out of action for a while, so rather than sit around watching daytime tv (never have been a pipe and slippers kinda gal lol!) I decided to 'turn off my tv and go and do something more useful instead'...
Apparently it'll be a while before I can reassemble the viv, so now I'm making a hide for a very large boa, out of the top of a lidded cat litter tray...


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## Soapie78 (Jan 10, 2010)

Nymphaea said:


> Thanks very much everyone.
> The devil makes work for idle hands... so with that in mind...
> I twisted my knee badly recently, and its put me out of action for a while, so rather than sit around watching daytime tv (never have been a pipe and slippers kinda gal lol!) I decided to 'turn off my tv and go and do something more useful instead'...
> Apparently it'll be a while before I can reassemble the viv, so now I'm making a hide for a very large boa, out of the top of a lidded cat litter tray...


I used to love 'Why Don't You' glad it's not just me that gets these ideas.:notworthy:


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