2020-08-26

Spire of Tradition

 The third and last spire, the Spire of Tradition, was actually the first one finished. It has the same basic principle and structure as the two previous ones, only the aesthetics and colour scheme are different; as name suggest, they draw from wonders of the past rather than the new bright present (future to us). This is seen on traditional subjects of ornamentation and more mundane colour scheme. However, the spire also serves a purpose on busy life of speeder bike race grounds, as it hosts a sushi stall. People's need for food hasn't gone anywhere, and some things last.

The idea behind this grew from one Japanese-styled lantern on a side of another spire. However, its design was very clunky and simple, and I redesigned it completely into something more elegant and bigger, well fitting to be the top of a spire. The translucent window panels are chosen placing small light (led candle, probably) inside in mind. The shape is based on wooden Törö lanterns with upwards-widening sturcture and folded roof.

The sushi stall consists of large yet simple sign and elegantly shaped table for preparing and serving food. The big sushis are recycled from an assortment I made for MOC Wars in March; this was the intention from the beginning. The sign was originally lime green, but that clashed too severely with red and was redesigned; the other spires have enough vibrant combinations, and more mundane colours here balance the whole. Ornamental fence friezes were a last-minute addition; 1x1 trans-red tiles are placed on white plates and suspended into the square holes of the fences. The little paper lantern hanging from the sign was around from the beginning but found its place only later. On the side of the spire, there is also a small attachment advertising included seaweed, wasabi and ginger strips.

The table has a free form with rounded bay for the chef. Various accessories are placed here, including bowls and bottles of ingredients. There's a dark green fish under gutting, using mermaid tail (I have few, and this is the first time I use one), and a mat for rolling the sushi. On the public side there's a little display of chopsticks and soy sauce bottles and bowls with a folding screen made of printed Ninjago glass panels, connected with lever bases. Finished pieces are also displayed here. Behind the pillar, on  the private side, there is a fridge and a small safe box for money. The fridge is decorated with magnets and postcards, as usual - also referring to more snazzy nature of the overall setting of the speeder bike contest.

On the another side there is a big attachment, featuring a red serpent-like dragon winding around the sign. Its design is based on older Chinese-inspired dragon models, Dragon Dance and Gale Serpent Arises from 2016. However, I aimed for more cheerful appearance. I finally managed to use a special flame piece from Power Miner's magma monster's back as a beard; it is connected with thin 1x3 liftarm. The dragon refers to carp seen on Spire of Zeal and Chinese myth of carps turning into dragons by leaping the Dragon Gate at the Yellow River; most recognize this tradition from evolution of Pokemon Magicarp into Gyarados.

This display also features three new character builds. The sushi chef is only male character in this series so far (subtly commenting masculine atmosphere of many real-life sports events) and an experiment of minifig hand eyes technique on a male character. Purple-haired character was just build without clear aim to populate the setting and use some colour combinations - she is not fan of any particular contestant. Finally, there is a new reporter presenting media, a fitting addition to the scene. These characters will get their own posts during the following days.

-Eero 


















Collage of all the attachments from Spires of Zeal, Fancy and Tradition.

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