I am working on a model for competition and want it to really stand out. One of the best (or if done poorly worst) ways to highlight your models is to put it on a truly inspiring base.
As this is a bigger model and the base size is 120mm (think the size of a DVD) it gives plenty of room for creativity.
I have always wanted to try a wooden plank road and this was the perfect opportunity.
First I gathered up the supplies.
1. 120mm Round Base (came with the model)
2. Wooden stir sticks - I went with the smaller ones as they are more in scale. I picked them up at Hobby Lobby for $2.20.
3. Air dry clay - The reason for air dry is that you can't bake the plastic base (fumes are bad.....)
5. A sharp knife
6. Bits to fill in the space.
With the supplies in hand I started by figuring out how many sticks I would need.
With that sorted out it was time to cut them down to size. To do this I took the model and measured out a few milliliters out from either side to keep it in scale.
The next step is easy but time consuming. I marked and cut all the other sticks to size.
Then it was on to dry fitting to make sure (again) that I had enough of them.
As you can see not all are exactly the same length and that is on purpose. I want the "road" to have a realistic feel to it.
Up next was breaking out the clay. I picked this stuff up at Hobby Lobby using the 40% off coupon. The really nice thing about this clay is that its nice and moist and really easy to work with. The down side to air dry clay is that it takes about 24 hours to harden and cure.
Putting the clay on the base was rather simple. I made sure to leave it pretty lumpy to simulate muddy, bad terrain that would need a road of sorts.
With that step out of the way it was time to lay out the planks.
The goal was to lay them out in a semi-organized fashion. Enough to make sure it looks like a road but not OCD to the point that it looks unrealistic.
As a last step I dipped into the bits box to add a bit of eye candy to mud. I used a gears, a shield from a model and the top of a club.
And now its time to let the whole thing dry and get ready for priming and painting.
