# First time custom snake build - picture heavy



## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

I posted this on the snake boards but I realise not everyone reads there and this also fits here so. 


First time I've attempted to do any Viv customizing /crafting really so go easy on me :blush:

I don't have a snake yet so this is me in the process of setting up a home for one. I'll be looking at getting a Caulker Cay Boa so if there's any feedback/suggestions with what I'm doing then great.

I'm only at the point of crafting everything from polystyrene currently.

It's a 4x2x2 from BLR

Empty Viv just put together (My bearded dragon below )










I started making a hide before anything else for no particular reason










It won't be fixed in the viv and roof detaches so that I can clean it easily










Started marking out the walls 










Then carving them










Left wall in 










Both walls in 










Center Door/Wall + pillars










Carved up the pillars




















Will add more as I progress I guess but doubt it'll be quick as I'm at work all week :banghead:

Also unsure what to do with the last 2 panels; continue with the brick all round or add something like windows/symbols on them =/ 

There will be a raised platform/balcony I'll make for the right hand side.

Plus there's plants/branches and stuff I've got on order which I'll be trying to incorporate into the balcony/platform (which I'll be trying to turn into a raised hide)


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Small update, don't get much done mid-week heh

Working on the back right panel 

Decided I would go with the wall theme around the whole thing although break away a section to view a forest behind.


Started by making some small brick type enclosures to circle the vent holes - I think they're a little better of a finish










I then marked out the wall along with the "hole" I'd be putting in it










Hole itself 










Panel fitted back in 










Close up of the hole with an image I'm toying with using.

I can and probably will expand the hole a bit, the image is A4 so there's room for either a bigger hole or possibly adding a smaller one just below. Will see 










To break up the brick theme that continues around the whole Viv I have alot of fake hanging plants which I figure I'll drape down the back to cover up some of the brickwork and something different 

This is only me holding it, just toying with what it would look like.










Hopefully get the back left done tomorrow but we'll see


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## tomcannon (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks good mate. Really like the hole with the image behind. Have you considered any fake windows with the same principle?


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

tomcannon said:


> Looks good mate. Really like the hole with the image behind. Have you considered any fake windows with the same principle?


Ye I was toying with that idea

Originally I was going to try find some pre-made windows on ebay or something but couldn't find anything I liked

I tried my hand at modelling my own which were ok I guess.

I still have the left side to do and I was thinking of using the same principle I did on the right but with an image of a werewolf or something similar and breaking the wall in 3 strips to look like a claw mark. I hope that makes sense lol


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## tomcannon (Jan 2, 2008)

Yeah it does, although the fact it's supposed to be brick would ruin it for me as obviously it would be hard to tear brick! What about a section knocked out similar to the other side with wood barricading it, then you could have eyes or similar between the slots in the wood. Could even light them up with some LED's. maybe going a step far but it would look awesome.


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

tomcannon said:


> Yeah it does, although the fact it's supposed to be brick would ruin it for me as obviously it would be hard to tear brick! What about a section knocked out similar to the other side with wood barricading it, then you could have eyes or similar between the slots in the wood. Could even light them up with some LED's. maybe going a step far but it would look awesome.


Ye I like your line of thinking

Werewolf only came about cause of it's claws, originally I was thinking more of a demon sort of thing - no idea what though lol.

I'll have a look tonight and see how/if I can do the wooden boards over a hole instead. I like that idea


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## Shauolin (Oct 4, 2013)

Looks really good mate, once you get into it and find your feet its easy 
Only thing I would say, the bricks look great but dont try and get into detail at this stage, once you start to grout over them you will loose a lot of the effort you have made sculpting them. I like the theme though, very cool. The hide is always the best bit lol.


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## Chance (Jun 14, 2008)

Looking good. 

Will be great to see it finished. :2thumb:


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Small update for this evening

Pretty much the same as yesterday so I didn't bother with another photo of marked out brickwork 

I've used a bigger hole this time round 










And the entire thing so far...










After Tomcannon's suggestion of a "barricade" over the second hole I've ended up here 

May tweak this slightly, not sure yet 










If it's not clear in the pictures that's a charging werewolf on the left 

Will be making a balcony of sorts for the right side next, possibly as a high level hide. 

Hopefully get to work on that this weekend : victory:


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## tomcannon (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking good. I personally like the wooden boards but I would say that!


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

tomcannon said:


> Looking good. I personally like the wooden boards but I would say that!


Aye I was just thinkin of moving them slightly etc cause of blocking too much of the image but they seem ok now

Will look better once painted too I guess

Just gotta decide what I wanna do with the balcony idea on the right now :banghead:


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Evening update

Working on the balcony frame this evenin (still not quite finished)

Not quite sure it's even a balcony but meh 

Started out cuttin the side/top/bottom panels to size










Mark and cutting out "entrance" to the top platform










The general idea 










Marking out the side patterns (with about 3 or 4 diff ideas made it rather confusing)










Final side shapes & top/bottom










All put together (cocktail sticks are just for holding in place while it glues)










And where it'll be in the Viv










That's just the frame for now, will be changing the top/bottom edges a bit to make it look a little less square and I'm thinking of building up the top platform a bit for some cover. 

Hopefully get that done tomorrow and then I can move onto grouting


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Ok so as I mentioned over on the snake boards, I'm not too happy with that "platform" thing

Not only appearance but it didn't feel too stable to me cause of the height etc.

I've changed up what I'd like to do, this is a bit more simple and looks good imo.

The new platform will be held up with "stone pillars" and so I marked out the circles I'd require for these and also the top platform











Then carved out the circles themselves (boring and slow lol)










These then became











And together was the general platform shape 











Then the idea is to have a broken pillar leading up to the platform itself










I'm now debating if I should build up the top of the platform a bit or if I should just drape the hanging plants from the top of the viv which in themselves will create somewhat of a shelter for both the top and bottom of the platform 

Will hopefully get a bit more done later 

: victory:


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

very quick update for the evenin cause I doubt I'll be doing anymore tonight

Carved the edges of the platform a bit to remove that "square" feel and give it a bit more of a rock shape ( I guess )



















I've thought more about finishing the top of the platform and I think if I were to add anything in the way of ledges or small walls it would become a bit too overcrowded and lose the space.

I think I'm going to hang artificial plants from the roof which will drape over the entire thing - Enough to provide some cover for the top/bottom of it but also not too much that I can still see through.

Something like this



















These are only hanging over the sides but on completion I would aim to hang these from the roof an inch or two in from the wall so they would drape a little better over the whole thing. 

Also I'd try to avoid any large gaps or plastic "stems" showing where I can :whistling2: Hopefully the dark background I have planned will help eliminate some of that


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Not much of an update I'm afraid, don't think I will get time to touch this much until next week although I only need to grout/paint everything now. I don't think I'll be adding anything in terms of polystyrene crafting.

I did put in the decor I have at the moment to get an idea of space etc and this is the result.

I'm still waiting on a 2.5ft branch to arrive which will run from the floor up the mid left wall (radiator will be on left side roof)










The vine/plants will be attached to the roof once it's on so will look a little better I hope.


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

So again only a small update I'm afraid but grouting is taking some time:banghead:


So I've sealed Lino flooring into the base to (in theory) help prolong the life of the base given it'll have moist bark on it. 










Then began the grouting 

Left is 1 coat, Right is 2 coat - The grey is simply a dash of black into my grout because painting white on white makes it rather hard to see which areas you've covered 










Corner platform smoothing out a bit with 2 coats on it 










Decided I would grout everything outside of the viv and leave the background as panels so that if ever I should need to change a particular section it wouldn't be too difficult (in particular I'm thinking ahead that the picture may need replacing in the future if the humidity kills them lol)










Pleasently surprised that I haven't lost that much detail in the brickwork from the grout. I might only do 3 coats for these panels although I'll have to see once that's done as to how they look in case they need a fourth but I shouldn't think so (least I hope not heh)


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## StevenM31 (Jun 14, 2012)

Really liking this, want to do something like this for my royal, would be cool


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## Dracoth (Dec 20, 2010)

*A few questions*

Hi there i have watched this thread with some intrest. I have a few questions I would like to ask as i want to attempt something like this my self.

Firstly you said you are putting 2-3 layers of grout on the polastyrine, how thick is each layer?

Secondly is that polastyrine spheres compacted in to a sheet?

Finally if the above is yes how dd you stop them breaking up when you carved into it to form the bricks and the cut different sections?

I have tried to make something like this before but the polastyrine really broke up when i was carving lines in and cutting it up.

PS. PC case box looks like a good work surface


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Dracoth said:


> Hi there i have watched this thread with some intrest. I have a few questions I would like to ask as i want to attempt something like this my self.
> 
> Firstly you said you are putting 2-3 layers of grout on the polastyrine, how thick is each layer?
> 
> ...



Glad you're enjoying it

1 - The thickness is sort of made up as I go along.

What I've been doing is starting out mixing up a fair amount of grout with a bit of water until it's fairly runny but still has some thickness. I use this on my structures - i.e the platform/hide.

Once I'm done with those I water down the remainder mix for the walls - this is more for it to spread easier as the walls have quite fine detail.

You could just do 2 thick coats over the walls I guess but I imagine it would take alot longer to get the grout into all the nooks and crannies.

2 - Yes it is just poly spheres compacted into sheet form - I had ordered 1cm thick 60 x 40cm square sheets which is what I've used for the walls. Can get these off ebay pretty cheap.

The thicker stuff is actually just alot of the packaging from the Viv itself which I've recycled, quite handy really.


3- As for the breaking up part - I think this mostly comes down to your knife. When I started I used a kitchen knife which was ok but I did have some rough edges. I bought an extendable stanley knife after a few days which was brilliant, carves through the poly like butter and leaves a real smooth edge. 

As well as the knife I think alot of it comes down to taking it slowly - If you try hack your way through the poly it'll break up but if you carve through slowly you should find you get some really clean edges.

Hope that helps : victory:


Oh and ye, PC box is useful but I've found a pasting table to be more efficient and thus, dominating my room right now :whistling2:


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Again I've not got much I'm afraid

I've base coated everything now with black




















I'm hoping this weekend that I'll get all the walls painted and finished so far as they will need varnishing.

Hopefully I can update more on Sunday we will see : victory:


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Painting day 1 and I think this is the true 50 shades of grey lol










My phone is only basic so the camera isn't brilliant but this looks better in reality, you'll just have to trust me on that lol. 










Gate needs to be painted and I might add some dark red to the carving on the pillars, gonna see how it looks once things dry and I can carry on.









That's it for now : victory:


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## Shauolin (Oct 4, 2013)

Looks good mate.
Grout looks a little thin, should be ok for the walls as that's not going to have much traffic but the grout 1. Strengthens the build, the more layers the stronger the structures 2. Makes the traffic areas more hard waring. Polystyrene will flex or bow slightly under weight so the grout toughens and solidifies these areas taking the weight, not enough grout and when the polystyrene bends under the weight the thin grout will crack and spoil the look of your build.
Hopefully this won't happen for you because it looks a great build, just mindful of the thin grout in key places, so maybe not so much your walls but def the pillars and platform may need a bit more. But great work :2thumb:


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Shauolin said:


> Looks good mate.
> Grout looks a little thin, should be ok for the walls as that's not going to have much traffic but the grout 1. Strengthens the build, the more layers the stronger the structures 2. Makes the traffic areas more hard waring. Polystyrene will flex or bow slightly under weight so the grout toughens and solidifies these areas taking the weight, not enough grout and when the polystyrene bends under the weight the thin grout will crack and spoil the look of your build.
> Hopefully this won't happen for you because it looks a great build, just mindful of the thin grout in key places, so maybe not so much your walls but def the pillars and platform may need a bit more. But great work :2thumb:


Ye I'm actually doing that 

The hide had about 5 layers and I'm still doing the platform in between painting - caking it on lol :2thumb:


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Brown detailing done 










Walls are basically done now, just gotta varnish but the paint is still a bit tacky so gotta wait it out.

Still caking on the grout to the platform so that's a little way off yet


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Ok so a little time has passed with no updates but here's the final lot :2thumb:

Last time I said I was varnishing everything which was basically 2 coats, as you can't really see the difference as it's a matt varnish I haven't bothered taking photo's of that each step 

I sponged some different shades of grey on the hide/platform rather than drybush like I did the walls



















Then after everything was finally painted/varnished, fitting it in 










After the back 3 panels I then fitted the light/rad to the roof (which I don't have a photo of as... it's not interesting). 

After that was all done I screwed the branches/vines to the roof 










and finally got everything in !




























Thanks to everyone who gave me input and feedback for the setup

Off to CREAKS to pickup my new addition :2thumb:


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## Zincubus (Sep 6, 2010)

Lovin the set up and nice to see orchid bark being used !


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Picked up it's resident this morning from CREAKS show off Gaz/Gazboas

Spent over a month setting this up and it seems to prefer the light fittings lol

T+ Hyper Crawl Cay Female :2thumb:


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## creg (Jun 10, 2012)

That background is so cool :2thumb: amazing diy work


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Can see a few more pics of her here for those interested 

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/snakes/1008364-my-new-addition.html


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## Lica (Jan 8, 2013)

This is so awesome. If I could make a viv look half as good as this I would be so jealous.


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## SeanEK4 (Dec 1, 2009)

that's an excellent build! cant imagine how long the detail work on the backgrounds must of taken you!

can you give me some details on the grout and paints used? did you seal it after?

thanks

Sean


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## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

SeanEK4 said:


> that's an excellent build! cant imagine how long the detail work on the backgrounds must of taken you!
> 
> can you give me some details on the grout and paints used? did you seal it after?
> 
> ...


Thanks

Just used regular tile grout I picked up from wilkinsons mixed with water

Then just acrylic paints I got from the works (2 for £5 a tube atm)

To finish it all I used polyvine matt finish varnish

I used bathroom silicone to glue all my pieces together etc as I went and I also used it to seal in the lino on the bottom 

So overall didn't really use much in terms of materials 

: victory:


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## blabble182 (Dec 26, 2010)

you've got some decent dry brushing skills there dude, it looks great!


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## rexob (Sep 1, 2012)

WOW and Fantastic you have done a fantastic job on this build :2thumb:


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