Prowling Marthrangul

[GodOfCheese]

I loved this sculpt from the moment I saw it. I absolutely could not wait to paint it. But I was intimidated by it for a variety of reasons. I didn't like most of the color schemes I initially chose, and repainted him several times. I wanted a decent base for him (I greatly regret not rebasing Cthulhu, for example), etc. etc.  

 

But then things just kind of came together and I painted the beastie a little bit at a time over the past few days... and I'm really happy with the outcome!

 

C&C appreciated -- this guy was unexpectedly challenging for me, so there's probably oppo for improvement here. :-)

 

 

[Darcstaar]

very nice!  I like the colorful horns.  Good looking base as well.

[Glitterwolf]

Wonderful!

[SirLancelittle]

I'm very impressed by the base. How did you manage such a thick base with such great texture?

[GodOfCheese]

On 3/26/2020 at 7:05 PM, SirLancelittle said:

I'm very impressed by the base. How did you manage such a thick base with such great texture?

 

Thank you!

The terrain part of the base is 3/4" pink insulation foam leftover from a remodel long ago.  The wooden base is a circle cut from scrap oak, stained and sealed.  I never throw away junk like that. :-)

1. I scratched it more or less randomly with a box cutter for about twenty minutes at different angles so that it took lots of notches out-- especially from the edges.
2. Once I was reasonably satisfied with the scratching, I cut out holes for the dragon's feet and test-fit it as tightly as I could.
3. Coated the upper surface with white glue, then poured sand onto it.  I did this a couple of times to get it to pile a bit.  I also put some glue into the deep spots and pushed sand into those.  When done, I poured the sand off and knocked away anything loose.
4. Glued aquarium rocks to strategic locations
5. Glued some sand to the aquarium rocks to serve as lichens
6. When utterly dry, spray painted it black. Because canned spray paint propellant can melt the foam, I used my HVLP spray gun on lowest pressure to deliver craft acrylic paint.  Even still, the gun tries to blast the foam away, so this little task was more adventurous than strictly required...
7. Once dry, sprayed with polyurethane sealant.  The foam is easily dented, which ruins the paint even if it deforms back into shape... it's not as resilient as bones. :-)

The foam terrain base, the wood base, and the sculpt are mated with white glue.
I love making terrain.  I just wish I had reasons to do so more often :-)

[SirLancelittle]

Thanks for the instructions! I would not have guessed foam; it has so much great rocky texture. I've always been a little afraid to try foam (because of the durability issue), but with those kind of results I may have to risk it.

[GodOfCheese]

Oh, even with heavy polyurethaning, the foam is still fragile. I'm just hoping that the wooden base will be enough to keep the mini safe if it's ever used in a game.  

 

Until then, it'll be safely tucked away in a look-but-don't-touch location.  :-)