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When I was about 11 I was looking through a toy catalog and I saw this castle listed. I was so entranced by the style and detail and the price alone said that this was a high quality playset compared to most others I was seeing. I had to get it. It was the first thing I bought with my own money and my mom helped me assemble it in the living room. It was one of my favorite sets to play with since it was the right size for many small figurines I collected.

As I grew older I played with it less and less, but because it was still in excellent shape and I liked the outline in general I didn't want to give it away or scrap it, so it went to storage for years. It sat on a shelf and as I developed as an artist I thought to myself, "One day, I'll make that over. I'll repaint it and make it into a display."

Life got in the way, as it often does, so that thought was neglected. Then (the Fire Nation attacked) everyone was sent to quarantine mid March 2020. My student teaching finished early and I went full throttle into job searching. While I waited between corresponding with potential teaching opportunities, I was going a little insane from being cooped up with nothing else to do. Hey, wait, didn't I have a project in mind? Yes, I did. My castle sitting in storage. The world felt like it was losing control and there wasn't much I could do aside from staying home and staying safe. The only thing that kept me grounded was to focus on what I CAN control, my art. While there was chaos going on outside, I found peace by leaning on the most reliable coping mechanism that has always been there when I needed it, my creativity.

Anyway, TL;DR: I turned this old playset I've had since I was a kid into an epic castle diorama that can also be used as a DnD map. I'll be posting several detail images and a video that showcases the stained glass windows so look out for those links below:

Castle Solitude Final: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Library: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Corridor: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Foyer: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Bed Chambers: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Wizard's Nook: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Dice Tower: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Stained Glass Showcase Video: www.facebook.com/TumiaArtStudi…

Description
Listen...

When I was about 11 I was looking through a toy catalog and I saw this castle listed. I was so entranced by the style and detail and the price alone said that this was a high quality playset compared to most others I was seeing. I had to get it. It was the first thing I bought with my own money and my mom helped me assemble it in the living room. It was one of my favorite sets to play with since it was the right size for many small figurines I collected.

As I grew older I played with it less and less, but because it was still in excellent shape and I liked the outline in general I didn't want to give it away or scrap it, so it went to storage for years. It sat on a shelf and as I developed as an artist I thought to myself, "One day, I'll make that over. I'll repaint it and make it into a display."

Life got in the way, as it often does, so that thought was neglected. Then (the Fire Nation attacked) everyone was sent to quarantine mid March 2020. My student teaching finished early and I went full throttle into job searching. While I waited between corresponding with potential teaching opportunities, I was going a little insane from being cooped up with nothing else to do. Hey, wait, didn't I have a project in mind? Yes, I did. My castle sitting in storage. The world felt like it was losing control and there wasn't much I could do aside from staying home and staying safe. The only thing that kept me grounded was to focus on what I CAN control, my art. While there was chaos going on outside, I found peace by leaning on the most reliable coping mechanism that has always been there when I needed it, my creativity.

Anyway, TL;DR: I turned this old playset I've had since I was a kid into an epic castle diorama that can also be used as a DnD map. I'll be posting several detail images and a video that showcases the stained glass windows so look out for those links below:

Castle Solitude Final: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Library: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Corridor: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Foyer: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Bed Chambers: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Wizard's Nook: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Dice Tower: www.deviantart.com/tumiaartstu…
Stained Glass Showcase Video: www.facebook.com/TumiaArtStudi…