[SR-FB] Refining the Devil's Gold

[Corweena]

Isla de Barro stands apart from any other island of the New Haven seas, due it its unique soil composition. Just below the topsoil sits a foul-smelling yellow loam, which as it erodes, stains the beaches of the island yellow. The natives of Isla de Barro have developed used for the soil over the years, namely as a bug repellent, by mixing it into mud and smearing it over their bodies. Even the hungriest of mosquitoes wouldn't dare attempt to bite though the soil. 

In his travels though the islands, Neville Robertson, an avid Chemist and Alchemist, had long hoped to land on Isla de Barro, and study the unique makeup of its soil, and its potential uses. Now, after much experimentation, he had presented his findings to the Black Wolf Company, and received a grant to establish a refining factory. Why? For in his experiments, Neville had found the primary ingredient in the soil (and that which gave off the foul smell) was indeed the Devil's Gold, more commonly known as sulfur. Which, being one of the 3 primary ingredients in gunpowder, made it a precious and valuable commodity. The interior of the island was home to vast mudpits of the foil earth, which made harvesting it exceptionally easy. As these pits were on the claimed land of the natives, the BWC struck an agreement paying the natives to dig and transport the mud to the refining factory. 

 

The soil, when delivered to the factory, was first dumped into the holding pit, where any larger clumps were broken up into much smaller pieces. It was then shoveled into barrels. 

 

The barrels of soil were then carried up to the refining vat. They were dumped in the vat, and stirred until any impurities (dirt, sand, plants) were burned off, leaving pure refined sulfur. You can see Neville Robertson here with an oar, standing on the edge of the vat, mixing the soil thoroughly to avoid burning and ensure an even mixing. 

 

Once refined, the sulfur was poured into the cooling molds, where it was allowed to cool and dry completely. As it dried, the sulfur was smoothed and packed down into dense "cakes". 

 

Once cool, the cakes of sulfur were cut down to more manageable sizes, noted in the production log, and prepared to be sold off at the BWC Warehouse. 

 

To be licensed as a medium Factory in New Nassau.

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Here are a few more full shots for anyone interested 

Spoiler

The fire. I tried to make it as realistic as possible, even though it wouldn't be directly seen. Logs, gray bits for burnt wood ash, and trans red bits for glowing embers. 

Its been a minute since I've sat down and planned out a proper build. I've had this one in mind since I started settling New Nassau, (I took inspiration from the South American jungle drug labs you always see in movies lol), and adapted it to fit how I needed. Finding photos of period correct sulfur processing practices proved to be a challenge, so I kind of just made up my own version of the process based on some descriptions I found. Even though its fairly simple, I prototyped each component of the build a few times before I settled on the ones seen. 

Edited September 19, 2020 by Corweena

[Kwatchi]

I like it.  It’s well thought out and constructed.

Two bits of constructive criticism/unasked for advice for your next build:

1. Your buildings are all square to each other and the land is perfectly flat/homogenous.  It makes things look a bit artificial.  Some variance would give your MOC a sense of ‘realism’.

2. I have become a convert to borders on non-ship MOCs.  It really gives them a polish.

[Count Vroskri]

Great ideas, even greater execution! 

[Bodi]

Neat build, I've the impression that it's an official set of the first pirate wave, and I like it.

[blackdeathgr]

Nice one! Sometimes it's the research journey towards a moc that gives us half the joy of the process of mocing.

[Corweena]

On 9/18/2020 at 7:03 PM, Kwatchi said:

I like it.  It’s well thought out and constructed.

Two bits of constructive criticism/unasked for advice for your next build:

1. Your buildings are all square to each other and the land is perfectly flat/homogenous.  It makes things look a bit artificial.  Some variance would give your MOC a sense of ‘realism’.

2. I have become a convert to borders on non-ship MOCs.  It really gives them a polish.

Thanks! And I definitely feel you on number 1. I actually had my first version of the hut at an angle compared to the rest of the buildings. When i made the final version I must have just forgotten, and slapped it in the corner. Also, I seem to have misplaced my bag of green plates that I use for terrain in builds. Gonna have to look for it lol. And as far as #2, I actually just began experimenting with it myself, and used it on my sandcastle builds. Its definitely growing on me, I will just need to order some bricks so i can construct bases for larger properties such as this. 

21 hours ago, Count Vroskri said:

Great ideas, even greater execution! 

Thanks!

15 hours ago, Bodi said:

Neat build, I've the impression that it's an official set of the first pirate wave, and I like it.

Thanks, minus the main parts of the build, it is a bit simplistic, which I feel lends to the classic feel. Had I a bit more time (and found my blasted green plates), I could probably step it up a bit in terms of overall quality.

10 hours ago, blackdeathgr said:

Nice one! Sometimes it's the research journey towards a moc that gives us half the joy of the process of mocing.

This was definitely the most rewarding part of the build, the research and then translating the images in my head into something I could build. 

[Mesabi]

I like the idea for the build, and All of the buildings look fine. It just needs more to break it up.

[Fraunces]

Nice and smooth build, in your own amicable style! Good to see such creativity to come up with this idea: fits perfectly on the island I reckon. Nice one!