Monday, August 24, 2015

Iron Fang Kovnik. Quick and Dirty.

I needed a quick palette cleanser today. Something I could paint quickly and do a decent job on in about 2 hours or less. I chose this model for its simplicity and frankly nice swaying cape. On the issue of capes, what's the deal with fantasy models always having them? They serve no real purpose and I would imagine that they would actually get in the way while fighting. O.K. now that my mini rant is out of the way let's get back to the painting. This one was pretty simple. I used the red ink technique on the reds. P3 - Pig Iron for the silvers and Vallejo Model Color - Gold for the well... golds. Once everything was good and dry I dipped into my last remaining bottle of GW Devlin Mud and added a big ole dose of it. And viola a model is in the display case and ready to hit the table.






Display Base for the Kodiak.

Alright folks, I have decided to enter the Khador Kodiak into the painting competition at Warmachine Weekend. In looking at past entries from this and other competitions it's clear to me that I need a display base. As I have never actually made a display base I did what we all do in times of need and headed to The Google. I found a few fantastic articles on Massive Voodoo and other sites and a few painters have offered me some great advice.

So with a bit of research in hand and a whole lot of "hold me beer while I try something" I decided it was time to get it done.

I started with the plinth. I picked up a good size piece of wood at Hobby Lobby for about $4, after which my wife suggested that I probably would have been able to get the same piece from a hardware store for free..... I then sanded it down and rounded off the edges. While at the Hobby Lobby I grabbed a package of air dry sculpting clay for the ground on the base. I am using clay for a few reasons. First it allows me to create slopes and uneven terrain, Second it gives me something to ancore the "trees" and "rocks". Last but by no means least its a heck of a lot cheaper than using Green Stuff.

For the trees and rocks I sent my kids outside to look for sticks and bark. In 28mm scale twigs look a lot like a tree. I've let them dry in the basement for a few weeks to get any moister out.

On to assembly. I started with getting my fingers a bit wet to work with the clay. Once it was in place and I was happy with the slopes and stuff. I basically stuck the trees into place. Then added the bark that will simulate rocks. Now its time to let the clay dry for a few days and then it will be time for the paint, bushes, snow etc.






As a last thought. The more I look at the base, the more I am thinking of removing the front piece of bark and going with maybe some run off water from melting snow.