WIP: Two display bases

[yani]

Hey folks.

 

I'm posting my WIP because I've had some really really bad luck trying to do bases beyond some sand & flock. I've got two lovely pieces nearly completed in their painting for GenCon, and now that I am home from my internship in Irvine, I have little time to make mistakes Let's see if the WIP makes me more cautious and crowdsourcing increases my competence :)

 

So, the first base. I painted up Sister Evangeline from Anima Tactics. The way she's standing evoked a sense of loneliness, but I also wanted something church-based. I settled on a set of steps. Here are the (badly drawn) concept art:

 

 

Essentially, she standing on the top of three steps. A small, delicate iron fence surrounds the stairs, and it'll be in late fall, so lots of dead leaves and bushes, etc.

 

I did some frantic ordering on Amazon last week so that it was available when I arrived home yesterday (yay! Prime), so here is the collection of things I think I may be needing for this base:

 

 

Yes, the cup of tea is an essential part of the build :)

 

First thing: the steps. I had ordered a set of various-sized circles from Amazon, and chose the 4cm rounds (I use metric) to use. It gives Evangeline some area for her wind-blown clothes, but its not overwhelming the miniature.

 

I needed to size the first step. I found the center point, drew crosshairs, and set the lip of the top step to be 1cm from the edge. Since I didn't have a protractor handy, I decided to try and get as much structure within the lip design so that both sides are relatively equal.

 

Using the hobby saw, I did a rough cut around the outline I had drawn; then subsequently used the X-Acto knife and a 150-grit sandpaper stick to smooth the edges:

 

The second step followed a similar structure to the first step, except that I pulled the lip to be 0.5cm from the edge. Designing the curve around was also a little tricky, so I used the first step a little as guidance. Again, saw then X-Acto/sandpaper stick to smooth the edges

 

Putting them together, I get a good idea of roughly how it looks. I trimmed a touch from the corners of the top step, then proceeded to glue them together:

 

While waiting for that to dry, I'm going to tackle the low fence!

[yani]

I began by cutting 4.5cm-sized pieces of brass, after testing with one that that was a reasonable size.

 

I began to make the simple two-sided curl, and made a few of them!

 

I think I had enough, but I needed to check. I took a length of brass rod, circled it around the steps, and cut it off at the point where I needed it at.

 

With delicacy and superglue, I stuck the tops of the curls to the brass rod. I'm not concerned about the bottom being even since I can disguise that with bushes. I left a little end for the banister to attach. Just got to wait for the glue to dry (since it's taking a while for some reason!)

[Lastman]

Nice idea! I think the two on the ends are facing the wrong way if the goal is to make them follow the pattern.

 

I am eager to see the finished product.

[yani]

I forgot to post this, but I covered the steps with greenstuff and left it a little messy, to indicate rough rock. I left it to cure overnight

 

OK, so while waiting for that to cure, I turned my sights onto the second base. I had a lot of troubles with this base, as I painted up Alis Testarossa for a second entry, and her pose, while dynamic, is really awkward to think of a suitable "story" for her. Finally, I found this picture and got inspired by the pedastels that the angels were standing on.

 

So I drew out the concept art and the"technical" piece for the size of the wood I need to cut out:

 

 

I drew the final piece out on a slab of wood and cut it out. Here it is:

 

I wanted it to fit around a Charles Schwab cork, since the cork had a nice texture.

 

I proceeded to cut out another, identical piece, and a smaller one

 

With a sanding stick, I rounded off the edges a little, and gave the sides and top a good sanding with a 240 then 600-grit sandpaper. I want as smooth a surface as possible since I want a marble-like paintjob. (the 600 had pewter shavings on it, which is why the piece is grey)

 

I stuck them together using glue and now waiting for it to dry!

[jbarron2006]

My friend is picking up three mini's from anima tactics from gencon for me I hope to figure out what base to put them on. Your ideas are great insperations.

[Kay]

So how's the process going?? You've got me hooked!