BloodFather's Axis of Chaos

Zab

New member
You know what would hid that seam nicely without the need for putty and repainting? A line of moss or lichen all the way around and partially under the big rock. Some dork did a bunch of tests in his WIP a while back ;)
 
I think Jarhead has an arrow tutorial at Massive Voodoo Linky - http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/tutorial-creating-realistic-arrows.html. And I think Digganob means you need to use some GS, Milliputt or the like to blend together the layers of cork that make up your top section of rock. The horizontal seam lines between them are throwing off what is otherwise a great job of basing and it will draw the eye away from the mini.

First, Stew, where you been all my life? Long time no read from you. I thought to myself the other day, that Stewsayer used to be very helpful, what ever happened to him :)

The rock. I studied what I could of hills and cliffs and rocks and natural landscaping in general in preparation for future basing. Most rock of the sedimentary variety will have horizontal lines of varying depth and thickness throughout. This is a result of erosion, of course. They also have vertical lines, though these are much smaller in width, but more random and jagged in their journey across the rock face. Also, I wanted the rock to look shale-like, which would make it appear to be flat layers of stone of various sizes stacked upon each other. It works for me,but if there is a general consensus that it needs to be welded together with epoxy, I will comply :)
 
You know what would hid that seam nicely without the need for putty and repainting? A line of moss or lichen all the way around and partially under the big rock. Some dork did a bunch of tests in his WIP a while back ;)

That may be a great idea, as I have a bunch of moss I collected that should fit the bill. Thx, I may do this.

...tried the moss effect and really wasn't partial to it. Call me crazy but I like the rocky plate effects.
 
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Canny

Active member
Fantastic work! Blue's look great, steel nmm you have done great, gold is good. The cracks came up awesome too. Neat base also.
 
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Sorry I should be specific here. It's not done, there is still some things that need to happen to him and the base. I guess I was just very excited because the conditions were very good outside for taking a picture, so I blue tacced him together, set him on the base and took the shot. I was impressed by how it came out so I had to run online and show it to all my friends!! Look guys, look-it what I did!!!! :)
 
Now I'm scared I'll ruin it and almost want to just leave it as is....I know that's not in sync with my plans for a snow base and cracked armor everywhere, but I think this guy might
be ready for the gallery after a couple touch ups. Mainly finishing his axe arm and doing white highlights on his blue armor.

I am completely torn on how to proceed....
 

Demihuman

Active member
Dude,

#1 Try to do the frost arrows. That sounds badass. Do some tests first. If its too hard, just do regular arrows. I think that would add some unique interest to your guy.

#2 Experiment with gloss varnish. You can make the dirt look wet, like run-off from the snow

#3 add your spear and some skulls and bones and stuff to your base. Pick axe in a rock sounds cool. Maybe some more arrows.

#4 add snow. You can break up the lines with the snow and different levels of shadow and no one will see them. Like a snow leopard!

Snow is pretty easy and usually looks great. Of course, test it out on something first to see how it goes but I think it is going to add a lot to your base and really settle your blue colors.
 

Stewsayer

New member
Hey BFoK,

I got a little burned out with painting after finishing the Blood Thirster. Tried to get going on a couple of old and new projects but couldn't find the passion. That and its been summer/autumn over here in Aus and a good one at that so I have been racking up the kilometers on my push bike (just shy of 5000km so far this year). I've been reading here regularly and admiring the work of you guys trying to find a reason to get going again.

Your painting is leaping up really quick. This guy looks excellent so far. I'm with Demi test out the ideas you have about adding to the base before committing to them. The snow is definitely going to tie the base and the mini together. I know what you are getting at with the shale/slate kind of look. But those kind of layers vary a lot in their thickness, layers of cork are a little too uniform. Also the change in angles coming to the layer join (both layers angle away from the join, sheared shale /slate wouldn't do that) kinda throws that look off as well. The lower two layers work well but the top one pulls at the eye (IMHO anyway). However maybe its something to forget about on this base but bear in mind for the future. A way around it for future efforts is to glue your layers together first and then cut out your rock shape rather than build it layer by layer.

On the painting the shield and axe are really impressive. top job. The gold on the helm might benefit from a few dots of really light yellow or white as glints to really sell the nmm illusion. Keep rocking.

Oh and I am getting back into it. Working on a Trollblood Impaler from the PP line and sculpting some arms and legs for the guy who I did the Thirster for.
 
Dude!

#1- I think you're right about the arrows. Unfortunately, the DIY I read calls for acupuncture needles. As far as I can tell these have to be ordered and shipped, and I don't think I have the patience for this. But who knows, maybe as a late add-on. Unless some has a more available resource than the needles that fits the scale? Roman used joint rolling papers for the fetching. But everyone knows Bible paper serves can serve the same purpose :)

#2-I'll be using gloss varnish with baking soda for the snow, so I'll be sure to liberally smear some on the dirt, especially on the decline area. More specifically, I'll use 'Ardcoat from Citadel.

#3- Yeah regardless of what I went with, I planned on adding these items of interest. The spear is actually done and will add a lot to the base. Just need to rust it up proper. I'll also have a shield, or maybe another item. Point is I want to do it so that it's almost all verdigris. This will help incorporate the mini with the base, since his cape is very close to verdigris. Not sold on the pick axe yet. I think if I plant it in a rock it will steal interest. Maybe.

#4- yeah I just got to do the snow, huh? A few things. I've tested it out, and the gloss with baking soda looks good. I also have some a scene-a-Rama kit with snow powder to add a dusting. It also came with ice effects, which will allow me to not only do the icicles, but create little frozen pools here and there. My fears with the snow though are that I'll cover up too much of the ground work detail that came out so good. I don't want to do this, so this called for a light dusting. How do I get the snow powdery substance to stick to the base? Will Matt medium work? Or Ardcoat? I'm talking the dusty stuff I'm sprinkling on top. And yes I can use the mix to cover up the cracks in the rock that others are finding distracting. Ultimately, I want the snow to have a blue tint. Fantasy snow.

Thanks for remarks and I suppose I'll keep after it!
 
Stew,

Great to have you back!! You were a great help to me months ago when learning to freehand these cracks. Since then I put down this mini, painted two others to near completion before returning to this guy. But your DP of Khorne gave me the courage to try new things.

I went to Australia a couple years ago with the Army. Worked alongside some of your SAS fellas in Operation Talisman Sabre. Anyway, I asked one of them what he'd be doing if he wasn't in the Bush with us right now, and he responded, "Probebly ohff rooten' a packah." I spelled that like it sounded. Probably off rooting a packer. Do you know what this means? :)

Also, I still have nightmares of the Drop Bear.

I get get your meaning on the rock. As Demi intimated, I will just hide the rough edges with some snow. But, just so you know, I DID glue it all together and then cut it. It probably just shifted a bit from handling, but if you look at the backside it is much cleaner. I actually went with the rough side to the front because I thought the distinct layers added interest. But the consensus appears to agree with you, so I'll hide it. Thank god for good input!

I grew a lot as a painter with this guy. Hoping for good scores as I think it'd be cool if my premier mini in the gallery did fairly well. We shall see.

Don't lose interest Stew. Keep at it!!
 

Stewsayer

New member
Hey man,

Glad I was of some assistance and inspiration. On the needles thing. Maybe very fine sewing pins/needles with the blunt ends/eyes removed would be a good substitute for the acupuncture needles Roman used.

I haven't heard that phrase before. But coming from an Aussie a soldier I'd be guessing it refers to a lady involved in the oldest profession (trying to keep it clean here). Other wise it would have been 'tha missus' or 'some sheela'.
 
Packers are the European or American girls that come in droves to Australia to backpack across the country. Seeking freedom and spiritual journeys and all that. Now I'm sure you can connect the dots on what rooting is :)
 

KruleBear

Active member
Fyi a few references on snow i have found handy:

Shakes, a few articles i referenced for snow on bases. I never saw anything regarding snow on the clothing. I would think using your reference minis and the different snow effects from these artiles you should be able to get it.

http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2010/01/details-8-ways-to-base-with-snow.html

http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/guides/modellingsnow.html

http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=6

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/266770.page


Also i like the stratified rock, as it is a different feel than most rock work.
 
Applied snow. Not sure I like the result. It did what I feared which was cover up a lot of the good detail I had on the base. It's not so much that it looks bad, but that I just feel that it looked BETTER before. I used gloss medium, bKing soda and a scenic snow powder. I think I may have put too much on in places, but when Id try to fix it, there still remained a layer of packed snow that I can't get off. Anyway, what do you think? Any way to fix???
 

ten ball

Active member
Looks a tad powdery to me, needs more gloss adding. As for taking the snow away don't think that's really possible with redoing the entire base :(
 
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