WesternOutlaw Posted February 18, 2009 Shadow Chapel, Parish of the Good Pastor Grimstone: Shadow Chapel was a re-design of a very early Ghost Town Creation. Redesigned a bit smaller with a different color palette, the new creation would have a much more sinister look and a back-story to go with it. Here is the 1st version of the chapel in one of the most earliest Ghost Town Pictures. About the Story: The story of the Shadow Chapel centers around a new villain in Grave Stone known as Pastor Grimstone. He wears the black clothing of the clergy, and bears a friendly smile that hides a much more sinister motive. He uses the Parish of the Shadow Chapel to recruit new parishioners to do his bidding. While the story does not reveal how he came to Grave Stone nor his real identity - I intended to share more of his story in later creations that would prove that the Good Pastor is nothing more than a Boxcar Hobo that moves from one town to another after he is discovered as a charlatan. The white hankerchief was intended to serve two purposes; 1) a disguise as a "man of the cloth", and 2) the hankerchief that a train hopper might wear. The story also brings Jeb Snotworth of Sutter's Mill and Harold Axewood into his congregation while hinting as to how Tex Grimwell met his demise. Inspiration: I based some of this story on Stephen King's novel, Needful Things, a story that involves a new town resident, Mr. Leland Gaunt, who comes to town to open a special gift shop. His items are the wishes of people, and once received, they must do "little favors" in return. Pastor Grimstone operates under a similar premise in which he grants Grave Stone sinners salvation and membership into the Church in return for their loyalty, no matter how dark. The Story: On top of Hang Man's Hill rests a quiet little church known as Shadow Chapel. Pastor William D. Grimstone presides over his small congregation of the sinners of Grave Stone. Pastor Grimstone appears as a mild tempered gentleman who always wears a white handkerchief and is willing to lend a hand and a dollar to those in need. The only thing that he asks is for a short visit to his chapel and a single favor to his parish, "once you get back on your feet", he always adds with a gentle grin. But Pastor Grimstone hides a dark side. Many mysteries surround Shadow Chapel especially the rumor of the night that the good pastor and his flock went after Tex Grimwell, the old miner. Supposedly, they dragged him from his bed up to Hang Man's Hill and hung him in cold blood. Tex was never seen again and some even say that his spirit haunts Grave Stone. Jeb Snotworth and Harold Axewood are the newest members of Pastor Grimstone's congregation. Some say they are quite spiritual as they visit Shadow Chapel frequently. The MOC: I should also point out that Shadow Chapel is the only brick-built (as opposed to wood) structure within the desolate town of Grave Stone (at least so far). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apache Posted February 18, 2009 Nice..glad to see the old west stuff coming back. I saw one of your posts about the playmobil stuff...I have some western PlayMO stuff but you just can't get western mocs like you can with Legos. Keep em coming! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Blackmoor Posted February 18, 2009 I like this, another great creation from Grave Stone. It looks like a tradition to put a red eyed bat in every Grave Stone MOC you make. The MOC is very well made, the bell in the church is awesome. The only thing is this MOC is less spooky then the others. The bat and the torches make a creepy look but maybe it would be better to make the church more desolate to erode it a bit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lego12 Posted February 18, 2009 I really like this one. The golden trumpets was a nice touch as well as the bell. Good idea. The cross looks real spooky in black, so it adds to the spookiness of Grave Stone. This seems to be the only building in Grave Stone that looks like it has some good in it. I like it, but I feel that the window blind(?) would be better in black. I don't think the green matches with anything, but the bush, IMHO. As for the scenery, the bush is nice, but for some reason, the fence doesn't feel like it fits there for some reason. Its the only fence that would probably go with this design, though. I enjoy reading your stories and they add a lot to the MOC, as well as the background. Your MOC's draw me closer and closer to the History forum every day. -Lego12 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WesternOutlaw Posted February 18, 2009 Nice..glad to see the old west stuff coming back. Apache! It's nice to see you coming around these parts again. -haven't seen much of you lately. I like that signature! It looks like a tradition to put a red eyed bat in every Grave Stone MOC you make. Yes - just something fun to photo edit in. The MOC is very well made, the bell in the church is awesome. I'm glad you commented about the bell. I had no idea how to create one with a small bag of limited bricks. A yellow bell would have probably been better, but I just picked up a few pieces that I had at the time, and it came out pretty good. The only thing is this MOC is less spooky then the others. The bat and the torches make a creepy look but maybe it would be better to make the church more desolate to erode it a bit. Yes. Good point. I was never looking to create a very spooky church with this MOC. In retrospect, some erosion would have helped spook it up a bit. I think it was Batbrick who once mentioned the difficulty in making a new MOC look old (with his Post-Apoc creations). If I ever attempt another stone structure like this one (for Grave Stone), I would try to destroy it a bit. I really like this one. The golden trumpets was a nice touch as well as the bell. Good idea. I sometimes think of angels when I think of trumpets. Plus the use of some shiny pieces seems to help convey the grandeur of a church (even if this one is sinister). The cross looks real spooky in black, so it adds to the spookiness of Grave Stone. Yes, I've photo-edited the cross out of other pictures, but with the background, the cross seems to be hidden in the shadows. This seems to be the only building in Grave Stone that looks like it has some good in it. I like it, but I feel that the window blind(?) would be better in black. I don't think the green matches with anything, but the bush, IMHO. Don't ask me why I used the green shutters? I think at the time, all my grey ones were being used in other buildings. I don't believe I have any black. As for the scenery, the bush is nice, but for some reason, the fence doesn't feel like it fits there for some reason. Its the only fence that would probably go with this design, though. It's the bright white color. I actually tried with grey, but I liked the picked white fence for a chapel. I enjoy reading your stories and they add a lot to the MOC, as well as the background. Your MOC's draw me closer and closer to the History forum every day. Thank you Lego12. I enjoy reading your comments and critique. It's great to hear that these creations spark your interest in the History & Adventure Forum. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lego12 Posted February 18, 2009 ....................I sometimes think of angels when I think of trumpets. Plus the use of some shiny pieces seems to help convey the grandeur of a church (even if this one is sinister). Yes, I've photo-edited the cross out of other pictures, but with the background, the cross seems to be hidden in the shadows. Don't ask me why I used the green shutters? I think at the time, all my grey ones were being used in other buildings. I don't believe I have any black. It's the bright white color. I actually tried with grey, but I liked the picked white fence for a chapel. Thank you Lego12. I enjoy reading your comments and critique. It's great to hear that these creations spark your interest in the History & Adventure Forum. The trumpets do add a lot to the chapel. I'm glad you included them. The cross does seems hidden and the first time I looked at the photo's I didn't notice it. I just don't think that the green shutters matched and were out of place. You could order some more shutter's off of BL. Ahhh, the bright white color, that's it. Everything else is just a dark color, but then there's this bright color. The white picked fence for the chapel is a good idea, but since its sinister, I thought it should be something like grey. Oh, your welcome Brickster. Yeah, they really do. I want to make a History MOC, but can't figure out what to build. -Lego12 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Klaus-Dieter Posted February 19, 2009 Again a great WW MOC, TheBrickster! The story behind it is very good - but for me a bit, well, too bloody. I really that chapel! The size and architecture is perfect, the white fence and the black roof fits perfectly! I'd perhaps change the fence posts into brown or white color - but that's surely matter of opinion. The minifig looks very realistic in order to represent a pastor - good choice! Very well done! Klaus-Dieter Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apache Posted February 23, 2009 Brickster- I've been into the Castle of late and have been over on CC more than here for some reason. I still love my Western..but it's so much easier to build Castle up right now. We need some new sets. I bet my sig looks familar ;) Again, glad to see your still into the Western theme. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
