Dwarfs + Gobbos + Elfs

dazza36

Member
Been getting the urge to paint some of my dwarfs but wasn't really that keen on a big painting slog to finish off one of the many big units I need to paint. So after much thought I came up with a great idea for a little diorama and have spent the last week slowly working on the parts I'd need to create my vision. So on to the plan, I have always loved the idea of dwarf cavalry and have had a soft spot for the very old ME15 Gimli on pony model. So using that as the starting point I've tried to convert him into a more cavalry type model. So here's the mock up, nothing glued but all the converting is complete.



The hardest part was removing the inner part of the shield as I want a flat area where I can hopefully paint a nice design. Using a very sharp scalpel I was able to hack out the area and then using watered down Liquid green I was able to slowly fill in the area and create an area I can work on. Apart from that it was just a case of repositioning the hand, removing the axe and green stuff the areas where that axe had been. So hope you like.
 

dazza36

Member
Painted up the rider, now moving on to the pony. Sadly the GW boar transfer was slightly to big for the shield so I ended up trying to freehand it, its not perfect but I'm happy with it. Anyway hope you like.



A little close up to try and show the shading on flag.
 

Subedai

Member
Very nice, that dwarf has a beautiful earthy feel to it. Also a big fan of your elven cavalry. I don't like painting cavalry, so this is a big inspiration for how to do it with great looking results.
 

Protist

Member
I love the elf cavalry and not just because I think they're the greatest horses ever scultped in 28mm - you're paintwork's done 'em proud, really proud!

With the clump foliage how did you glue it down? I can never get good adhesion with the stuff without saturating it in pva/superglue and it looks, well, shiny. Your clumps don't look shiny - I must find the answer :o

Gimli is a great model and I love the detailing on his shield, The boar looks the part - I wouldn't worry about any deviation from the transfer. The shading on the banner is tight, particularly with yellow and green - that's a tough colour combo to get right but you've nailed it. All in all I must say I think he's coming along brilliantly.
 

dazza36

Member
@Subedai: The earthy colour scheme comes from using a lot of Coat d'arms WW2 paints ! Also I'm glad you like the horses I wasn't too sure at the beginning but I ended up really enjoying the whole thing.

@Protist: Firstly I had a look at your blog and WOW those dark elves are AMAZING. I'm afraid I've no secret to gluing that clump foliage it was just watered down PVA glue. One thing I did do was build it up over several layers.

Now on to my progress. I've basically finished the painting of the models and now need to work on the base/diorama. I'm torn between 2 firstly a simple stone path with grass verge and maybe a small fence. Secondly I would love to do a bridge or at least the start of one including the river. Sadly unless I find a step by step guide I'm leaning towards the first.

So on to the photos




I will add a strap between Gimli and the pack mule.
 

Protist

Member
dazza36":3fkoxynw said:
@Protist: Firstly I had a look at your blog and WOW those dark elves are AMAZING. I'm afraid I've no secret to gluing that clump foliage it was just watered down PVA glue. One thing I did do was build it up over several layers.
It sounds so simple when you put it like that, but I guess I never thought of watering down and building up - I was hoping, when I bought some clump/scatter mixes, for instant bushes. I ought to know by now that there are few good, quick solutions in the world of minis :oops:

I've seen a few step-by-steps for doing rivers, but its a rather slow process using two part resins. This is a great article by Terragenesis that I want to try though, and looks pretty sweet.
 

dazza36

Member
Having spent some £££ on supplies I've spent the weekend working on the final little diorama. The plan is to use blue foam to create the basic shapes and then with milliput and filler actually create the final look. So far I've worked out the position of everything and have glues together the foam to make the stone base. When its dry I will give it a thin coat of milliput and then scratch out a stone design into it. I'm still working on the water I've got my hands on some Vallejo Still Water but its a slow process as you can only pour a layer 1 - 2 mm thick and it takes 24hrs to dry. One thing I have decided is that instead of a clear look I want it to be muddy, so I've started to experiment with adding paint to the mix.




This picture shows how the bridge will look when complete. Note this is not the final bridge its just one I made as a test but ideal for this.
 

dazza36

Member
Finished of the modelling part of the diorama next step is to begin painting. I've not glued the bridge as I want to paint it separately from the base. As for the base all I need to do is get some sand/gravel glued onto the banks and then I can crack on with the paint.




I'm hoping to paint the wood to look old/distressed/faded so if anyone has any good ideas/links please let me have them.
 

ardyer

Member
P3 Bastion Grey is an excellent base for faded, old wood. It's grey, but has definite brown tones in it.
 

Protist

Member
Awesome looking bridge. Love the broken rail and detailing of the straps (jointing pieces) etc.

I agree that a decent grey/brown is the way to start with older, well worn timber. I would probably pull out my VMC Olive Drab, highlight up by adding paler neutral colours (old GW Komando Khahki or equivalent works really well) and build up depth with a variety of brown, black and even blue washes.Being by a river you could work green, algal growth in as well using ink + gloss medium.
 

dazza36

Member
So after much experiment I've decided to replace the balsa wood with a plasticard alternative. This is mainly due to the porous nature of the wood which has really screwed up my attempts to paint it. So while waiting for more supplies I got on with painting the base. My normal approach to stone is grey with some drybrushing and then a few washes of black/grey and maybe a wash or two of brown/green. With this I spent extra time painting each stone a mixture of grey and either a yellow/green/brown colour just to break up the overall area. I'm planning on adding the water so it just reaches below where the tufts have been placed.

 

Fimm McCool

Member
Lovely stones! Have you tried giving the wooden bridge a varnish spray to seal it and then working on top of that? A matt is best.
 

Protist

Member
For painting onto balsa you need to seal the surface first. The stuff I use, Perkins Hi-Grade Sanding Sealer, (UK example) is marketed for model makers, but if you pick some sanding sealer up at a hardware shop make sure it doesn't contain wax - those are for providing a polish-able finish and won't hold paint!

Also, being cellulose based it dries fast and doesn't raise the grain to the same extent that water based products would - I've tried using cheap WHSmith's acrylics before and it gets a little soggy and messy.
 

dazza36

Member
Thanks for the balsa wood suggestions but I ended up going for plasticard as I knew what I could do with that.

So I had actually painted up the wood pillars and began to pour the Still Water but sadly it ended in disaster. Not only did I pour too much in causing it to crack but it also seeped into the sand and filler base turning it in to a gloopy mess. So I've had to scrape away the water and some of the base and re-do it !!! So its now second time lucky. I've redone all the work and thought I'd post some pictures before I try the pour again.

A quick thanks to 'ardyer' for the suggestion of paint for wood very helpful.




Close-up


Obviously I still need to paint up the top of bridge but its ready for the water. This time I've decided to try woodlandscenics E-Z water as it can be poured in one go compared to the Still Water which can only be done in 2mm depths.
 

dazza36

Member
So I tried E-Z water next but I was concerned with the fact you had to heat it to turn it into a liquid, I was worried it might melt my plastic. Also you could only colour it with dry fabric dye so not ideal for me. After more searching I found a product called Deluxe Materials Solid Water which is a 2 part resin. Its more expensive and I only got 90ml which was just enough for my needs, but I was able to add paint to create a nice green/brown water. On to the results.




You can see in the second picture lots of small air bubbles in the resin I think this was down to me mixing it too roughly so I would definitely do this differently next time around. Another area is along the top where I ended you having to remove a lip of the resin, I don't think this was down to shrinking but to the fact that after I poured in the resin it started to slowly leak in several places, which resulted in the overall level dropping slightly coursing the lip. Next time I would not only try to do a better job of stopping any leaks but I would also cut the barrier to the height I wanted the resin to be that way I could pour right to the top and hopefully that would stop this happening.
 
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