I Samuel 5:2. “Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon.”

Another addition to my 15mm Biblical town, this time inspired by the above Bible verse.

The temple is based on the Philistine temple excavated at Tell Quasile, near Tel Aviv.

 

As always built on a Sarissa Precision Terrain Tile, this time 300mm square.

 

Built from MDF, with assorted bits of dowel and pine strip. Textured with chinchilla sand and painted with Mylands Marble Matt emulsion paint. Window frames are dice frames from Pendraken/Minibits, doors from Cedar of Lebanon. (Of course!)

 

As always, the dirt and sand on the base is from Israel.

Inside we have the Ark and Dagon himself. Details of the Ark below, the Dagon idol is scratchbuilt from green stuff on a brass wire armature.

 

Next a Forged in Battle priest offering a Baueda boar as a sacrifice.

 

The kitchen, also Baueda with a Donnington cook preparing the last sacrifice for the congregation. Note the Blue Rock Thrush in the pomegranate tree. He is a 3d resin print from Infernal Prints on eBay. The tree is scratchbuilt.

 

The neighbouring shrine of Ishtar. Crom’s Anvil firebowl either as a beacon, or to allow me to take the roof off!

 

Priestess from Mick Yarrow Miniatures, idol scratchbuilt like her consort.

 

Finally, the somewhat obsessive bit: the Ark of the Covenant. Made, as instructed, from Shittim wood. (It has taken me over twenty years to find some!) Cherubim are N gauge model rail cats with cigarette paper wings. All gold leafed, with a bit of paint to fill the missed bits and tone it down a little.

 

And, of course, the contents of the Ark. The Tablets of the Law, made according to tradition from lapis lazuli, and rectangular rather than round-topped. A jar of manna from the time the tribes were wandering in the desert (Essex Miniatures) and Aaron’s rod, made, as it should be, from Almond wood. (Courtesy of a guitar plectrum.)

1 Kings 2:10. "Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David."

 

Here we have the latest additions to my Biblical town, the burial caves. Based (with artistic license) on sites at St. Étienne’s Monastery and Ketef Hinnom in Jerusalem.

As always built on Sarissa tiles, using MDF in various thicknesses, greyboard and expanded polystyrene (aka Styrofoam).

First a panorama of the whole thing.

From left to right, the path to the top.

The entrance to the royal tombs. The pillars are styrene tube with resin capitals, the doors are Bethlehem olivewood.

The entrance to the common tombs, and ‘high place’ above. Rock faces are resin, from gamelink2012 and cih008 on eBay. Look out for the Pharoah eagle owl...

 The hill at the end.

Inside the ‘common’ cave…

…and a close-up of the largest chamber showing the benches where the bodies were laid. Bodies are made from Green Stuff, from press moulds made from Crom's Anvil slaves ‘shrouded’ with cigarette papers and PVA.

The King’s funeral. The king is a converted Chariot/Magister Militum figure intended to stand in a chariot. The others are a mixture of Xyston and Donnington and Essex, and perhaps some others. I’ve long since lost track of where stuff came from! Firebowls from Crom’s Anvil/Cp Models on sections of Fenris brick columns.

The Royal Tombs from above…

…and a close-up of one of the bone repositories, filled with whole skeletons, chopped up skeletons, skulls from Alternative Armies and/or Crom’s Anvil, wood shavings (6mm dowel and pencil sharpener!) and bits of bent wire.

The High Place, with Donnington priestess and Crom’s Anvil brazier…

…and with fire, in case I want to bury King Asa of Judah,

“Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his ancestors. They buried him in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes, and they made a huge fire in his honour.”

(2 Chronicles 16:13–14).

 

(One of) King Solomon’s Mines

The latest bit of my 15mm Biblical settlement. Not so interesting as the last one - but completed more quickly!

Inspired by a History Channel documentary, and the eBay discovery of a souvenir bottle of coloured sand from Timna in the south of Israel. This now covers the area, along with some model railway coal as slag.

Timna has many ancient copper mines and the remains of smelting camps. Here is my attempt to replicate a small part of the area. Copper mining also took place in Sudan, so some of my miners and smelters may have come from there…

The mine area:

The onagers (which may actually be mules in disguise) I have had for so long that I have no memory of where they are from.

Other figures are from Xyston, Essex, Chariot and Forged in Battle.

The smelting area:

There are two smelters, one operated by bellows…

…and the other by blowpipes.

The bellows and pipes are all worked by Blue Moon African villagers, some of whom have had head transplants. The wineskin carrying lady is an Irregular African villager. Other figures as before

Animal pens were found in the area, showing evidence of occupation by goats and onagers.

Goats are from Pendraken/Minibits and Irregular, Onagers from Museum Miniatures, straw is 6mm static grass. Stable and gates are scratchbuilt from various oddments of wood, hurdle fence from Crom's Anvil. Thatch is model railway reeds.

Biblical Royal Palace – Finished!

 

Well, at last the king’s palace has been completed. Built from 2mm and 3mm mdf, on a base from Sarissa.

Based on archaeology from several places in the Near East, along with Biblical descriptions of David’s and Solomon’s palaces, and a light sprinkling of Hollywood.

Window frames modified from those by ks_creation on eBay.

Skylight window frames are dice frames from Minibits.

Water jar on roof from Crom’s Anvil, but it’s really there as a handle to lift the roof.

The main entrance is based on archaeology at Hazor; capitals cast in resin from a scratchbuilt master on pillars from square styrene tube.

Palace guards are Chariot/Magister Militum. The terrible picture was taken with an endoscope – a less than successful attempt to go inside buildings.

The throne hall has a public gallery. ‘Stone’ foundations of wooden columns are cut from Fenris 28mm ‘brick’ columns.

Shields from Chariot/Magister Militum.

Lions on steps (1 Kings 10:20) are Donnington boar standards, with filed snouts and fuse wire tails.

The king’s dais is removeable, so it can be used elsewhere, and so the building can become Assyrian or Minoan if required.

The king is a Xyston ‘Antigonas’ with a head transplant, and a crown grafted onto that. Both donor parts from Chariot/Magister Militum.

Ahilud the recorder and Seraiah the Secretary from Museum.

Firebowls from Crom’s Anvil on bell cap stands.

The palace is built around an open courtyard.

The accommodation is perhaps rather less decorated than it should be, again for versatility. (Definitely not laziness or lack of ability…)

Doors are cherry on ribbon hinges, except for those into the throne room, which are from Bethlehem olivewood. (I must include something properly Biblical!)

Of course, next to the king’s throne room is his throne room. Archaeological precedent from Lachish.

Kings had many wives, mostly for political purposes, so they need accommodation too.

Harem dividers and bed canopies are 28mm scale mdf door frames from Empires at War, which turned out to be the perfect height for my ceilings, and width for my ribbon!

Harem eunuchs are Irregular ‘African chubby male civilians’ with Peter Pig eunuch heads.

Furniture scratchbuilt in maple, cherry and walnut from W. Hobby and Cornwall Model Boats.

Individual jars, pots, baskets and tableware mostly 3d printed from Crom’s Anvil, with a couple of Essex bits.

Stairs are Plastruct.

The kitchen and servants quarters are on one side of the courtyard, the kitchen and storerooms  at ground level…

…and accommodation above.

Ladders are model rail signal ladders in etched brass, from C R Signals, bent, twisted, and straightened to (hopefully) look more like wood.

Stacks of supplies and cooking fire are Baueda.

Other people are classical, Celtic, or generic ancient civilians from Baueda, Blue Moon, Chariot, Essex, Forged in Battle, Irregular and Xyston. Perhaps some from other places have sneaked in.

Thanks for looking. I’m thinking either a harbour or ‘King Solomon’s Mines’ next…

Biblical Royal Palace – Work in Progress…

 

Admit it - you were expecting a part-built model, not a building site!

 

The King needs a new palace, so has employed workmen to build it.

Scratchbuilt from all kinds of odds and sods, I mean from the finest Cedars of Lebanon and Jerusalem Stone, as usual on a Sarissa base.

Clay bricks from Pendraken/Minibits.

Brickmakers are a converted Essex Arab civilian and a Blue Moon African villager with a Peter Pig Viking head.

Timber from my garden.

Carpenter is a converted Xyston Athenian rower.

Masons’ lodge from split bamboo kebab skewers.

Stone waste pile from Salisbury Cathedral workshop via a rockery I used to have.

Proto-Ionic capitals are cast in resin from a master I made from styrene and brass rod.

The mason is another converted Xyston Athenian rower.

Remaining figures from Essex and Xyston.

All Along the Watchtower

Another Biblical building, this time a watchtower. Used for looking out over fields, olive groves and vineyards, to ensure the security of the crop and the enthusiasm of the workforce.

Built from thick greyboard with blocks made from thinner card plastered with PVA and sand.

Roofed with model railway ‘reeds’ on a bamboo kebab skewer frame.

The lookout is an Arabic civilian from Essex and the Hoopoe is a OO scale woodpecker with a cigarette paper crest.

Bushes are from Tajima1 Miniatures.