# Zelda Themed Custom Vivarium



## River Zora (Oct 16, 2010)

_NB: THIS IS A DUPLICATE POST OF ONE I POSTED IN THE LIZARDS SECTION- I POSTED IT THERE, THEN THOUGHT IT WOULD PROBABLY BE EQUALLY IF NOT BETTER SUITED TO HERE. I'D LIKE TO KEEP THEM BOTH OPEN TO SEE DIFFERENT REACTIONS, BUT IF MODS HAVE A PROBLEM, FEEL FREE TO DELETE ONE OR T'OTHER- RZ_

HEy everyone, I've been wanting to let my arty side loose and create a custom viv background for a while, but wanted something interesting as a subject. So I devided to let my geeky side loose with my arty side and transform my vivs into settings from The Legend of Zelda series.

Loads of thoughts crossed my mind, and I decided on a tWW's Dragon Roost Cavern for my baby beardie viv, MM's Ikana Canyon for Lerb's viv, and TP's Forest Temple for the tropical viv, but my first endeavour will be the biggest one- Shem's viv, and perhaps the most suited level for a Beardie...










OoT's Dodongo's Cavern. Complete with Beamos, Bomb plants and lava, and of course that giant Dodongo skull in the background. Obviously some artistic license will be had as to the layout, but this is what it will be... eventually. Now it is just this:










Dodongo's Cavern needs to make use of all the space- Shem's viv is a bit high for a Beardie's needs, so having some variety of levels will be needed to get the most of the space. A climbable Dodongo skull is a must, of course. As for the rest... well, I'll keep it a suprise for now! Also to maintain flexibility it will have to be modular to be able to be removed should something happen, or if I want a changearound. Onto the craft!










Here's one of the end walls, with a platform sticking out of what will become lava. Imagine this as the 'boss door' if you will. Of course the walls need some texture as you can't bump map cardboard...










That's better! Now to merge it all together using the magnificent tool that is... grout.


















And there we go! Now for a few layers of thinned down grout on the bits I want more thinly covered. Soon it will be ready enough to paint, and to mount this beasty on... consider this Blue Peter, cause I made this earlier! 










What happens next? Well you'll have to wait and see! More will be posted as it unfolds!

If you're into Zelda, or vidjagames in general, be sure to check out my site (well, the site of which I am staff and benificiery  ) Zelda Informer - Nintendo News, Walkthroughs, Guides, Articles, Videos, and More for all the up-to-date news from the world of Nintendo.and join the forums there too! Or follow us on Facebook: ZeldaInformer | Facebook [/shameless self-promotion]


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## Freakinfreak (May 13, 2009)

Woah.
Nice one, you best have lots of good pictures and do it justice... cause if you don't :devil:


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## LadyYoruichi (Jun 26, 2010)

Wooo I can't wait to see the finished product  good luck


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## eridu (Jul 3, 2010)

*Zelda*

More..hurry we want more piccies!


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## TommyBurt (Dec 14, 2009)

lol i remember playing ocarina of time on the n64 loved that game:lol2:
looking good so far majoras mask freaked me out a bit i could never make that lol


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## River Zora (Oct 16, 2010)

Was on a roll- so here's the fully painted skull and then it pseudo-mounted onto the backdrop. Really pleased with how it's going so far. Still need to blacken the inside of the eyes, and to mount some red and orange LEDs under the jaw, along with adding teeth. This should help give the lava effect I'm looking for whilst being as unintrusive to the Beardy's wellbeing as possible!


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## eridu (Jul 3, 2010)

*Zelda Theme*

Way cool : victory:

I am teaching my 3 yr old grandson to play Pokemon on the gameboy,
Zelda is next !!!


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## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

eridu said:


> Way cool : victory:
> 
> I am teaching my 3 yr old grandson to play Pokemon on the gameboy,
> Zelda is next !!!


then after that? i suggest the original metroids


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## eridu (Jul 3, 2010)

*Zelda Theme*

Hahaha 
He is pretty good for a 3 year old, I think he will want me to buy him a PS3 or something next lol


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## River Zora (Oct 16, 2010)

Just installed the first section- the skull bit. A little question though- have used Yacht Varnish on it and waited for two days drying, but now it's inside there's a little bit of a smell still... will this fade? Will it harm the dragon? Is it fumes or just aroma by this point?

Help from people who've done this before would be great


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## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

Cant wait to see the finished product.. Very cool theme!


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## River Zora (Oct 16, 2010)

Lerb having a wander before his big brother here moves in.










This is Shem whose viv it is.










And this is it so far! work continues on the back wall.


Any responses to my varnish question on the page before?


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## LadyYoruichi (Jun 26, 2010)

River Zora said:


> Just installed the first section- the skull bit. A little question though- have used Yacht Varnish on it and waited for two days drying, but now it's inside there's a little bit of a smell still... will this fade? Will it harm the dragon? Vs it fumes or just aroma by this point?
> 
> Help from people who've done this before would be great


Hey, I think you should leave it until the smell has completely gone. Should be ok in a week. Try to keep it in a well ventilated area too. If there are still fumes when you put the dragon in, it might be toxic. I wouldn't risk it. Good luck.


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## berry1 (Sep 25, 2010)

i also would wait till the fumes has gone and amazing build by the way :flrt::flrt::flrt:


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## Becky Wheeler (Jun 15, 2006)

Agree it takes about a week for the fumes to go as the varnish does take time to harden/cure even though it might feel dry to the touch.


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## River Zora (Oct 16, 2010)

Been a while since last update, but I have good reason!...

I've been building myself a viv stack!

And each viv will have a different Zelda game theme.

This one I'm currently doing will be OoT's Dodongo's Cavern, I'll then do Dragon Roost (Wind Waker), Ikana Canyon (Majora's Mask) and North Castle (Adventure of Link).

On top of this I'll be decorating a small glass exo with the Koholint Island idea mentioned previously... I've started this one too!

Here are some pics-


































Finally, a little accessory I've been making for the Dodongo viv


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## ginna (Jun 2, 2009)

question: how the hell did you manage to balance that egg on there :gasp:


it looks great otherwise , i like the skull you have done , looks wiked :no1::no1:


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## River Zora (Oct 16, 2010)

Balanced by getting it just right on the hole I made in the bottom to blow the yolk out 

It will be painted white and pink eventually and then glued on.

And thanks


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## River Zora (Oct 16, 2010)

And shem munching on a cauliflower leaf


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## River Zora (Oct 16, 2010)




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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

amazing set up


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## ch4dg (Jul 24, 2008)

VERY COOL:2thumb:


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## River Zora (Oct 16, 2010)

A little step-by-step of the painting here...






































And here's a step-by-step of what I've built so far being placed...
























As you can see, I haven't _quite _matched the greys properly, but a little bit of foliage over the join will fix that. Once the varnish on this is totally dry I can move onto the next bit of this viv (something anyone who played OoT will remember being awesome...) but in the mean time I started on the babies' viv... Dragon Roost Cavern from The Wind Waker-


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## River Zora (Oct 16, 2010)

Here's the newest construct... anybody recognise it yet? 



















How about if I told you my next step was a mass purchase of ping pong balls?...

How about now....


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## Herp_boi (May 12, 2008)

I love the game! and i love the viv! :no1:


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## River Zora (Oct 16, 2010)

Hey look guys, it's an update:

Armos:










Bomb flower room mid-grouting:










And now painted:










And here's some of it all together so far, including Shem enjoying his new Skull.


















Still need to finish the bomb flowers, and add some foliage, but it's all going very nicely. Meanwhile Dragon Roost looks like this:


















And they're all together in this DIY'd stack:










And finally, here is my newest arrival enjoying the Koholint viv- shklee spent some time sitting atop the egg but I didn't get to the camera in time! Oh well!


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## hard rocka (Feb 11, 2009)

THAT..IS...AWESOME :notworthy:


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## manda88 (Nov 27, 2009)

I LOVE it!! Zelda just has to be one of the best games ever invented. These vivs are wicked!! You just need Ganondorf plotting in the corner now :lol2:


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## dinostore (Feb 23, 2011)

that is SUPER-MEGA-AMAZING :gasp::gasp::gasp::gasp::gasp:.............and thats an understatement

welldone:2thumb:


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## ch4dg (Jul 24, 2008)

:mf_dribble::mf_dribble::mf_dribble:.................that is superb:no1:


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## Chewie (Apr 18, 2009)

This is bloody amazing!


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## s3kcy (Dec 4, 2010)

how do you find the time !!!


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## River Zora (Oct 16, 2010)

So I got an order through today from Surrey Pet Supplies who continue being the cheapest but best quality online suppliers I have used, and as such have 99% completed Dodongo's Cavern!

First I had to see if my Bomb flower plan would work... and it worked amazingly!


















I've got to sort out the flame/stalk/crowny bit to go on top, but that's literally the last thing left to do. Meanwhile I've foliaged up the rest of the lair...


























Ta da! Only got to wait for my new T5 starter units to get here now. I've got the tubes, but I got the ballasts from an eBay supplier as I needed twin ones, and it's been weeks now and still nothing! Been in good contact, insisting it's Royal Mail's fault and they've sent another order out, and from their 100% feedback I believe them, but it's getting silly now! I don't want to risk my li'l guys and gals getting calcium deficient!


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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

amazing !!!


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## Gentoo (Jul 6, 2010)

Looks amazing, so imaginative.


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## novas (Aug 2, 2010)

Genuinely inspirational, amazing job.:2thumb:


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## bumbleyjoe (Feb 5, 2010)

:mf_dribble: Amazing! :mf_dribble:


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## PESKY (May 25, 2010)

Im not into Zelda at all although i did used to watch it a bit but that viv is really good alota work gone in and its paid off nice work!


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## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

This is fantastic! It just goes to show what can be made if you put your mind to it. 

Well done :no1:


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## Swain86 (Jan 23, 2011)

Zombie viv next ? :whistling2:


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## lil_noodle (Jul 4, 2007)

Truly amazing. The Gorons special crop look fantastic!


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## JR.Exotics (Mar 24, 2011)

omg i loved this game when i was a kidd!!! lol all you need now mate is a little ipod docking station playing the theme music!  
truely inspired mat well blooming done!! :]


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## starfox (Nov 21, 2010)

This is super awesome! I actually love it sooo so much!

I'm super... serial.


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## Kyukaji (Feb 23, 2009)

Pretty awsome looking so far, id like to see more updated picks of it if its finished =D


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