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| All your Bases Are Belong to Us. |
Work on Between the Bolter and Me’s entry into Iron Sleet’s Invitational is progressing nicely and we wanted to take some time to post another small update. This time I will be focusing on my progress on the bases of the models for the entry. While not quite as exciting as seeing actual models, this is the first time in a long while that I spent time to construct my own bases (rather than just using my favorite Tech-Deck bases from Dragon Forge) and thought people might like to see them.
To go along with my other Inq28 models that are based on Dragon Forge Tech-Deck bases, I knew that I needed to create bases that resembled the interior of a Space Hulk or an underhive. This meant steel floors with grating or some special diamond patterning, a perfect opportunity to use plasticard (sheet styrene). A trip to the local art store was in order to buy some plasticard. Thankfully, a local art store had an entire rotating display of different plasticard components, from flat sheets to tiny ladders. After buying some stand plain plasticard (0.010’’/0.33mm), I found that they also carried plasticard sheets that mimic diamond tread plating (Plastruct Diamond Plate; HO Scale / 1:100). This I decided would make the perfect foundation for the bases.
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| The early stages of the base design. And some Gorkamorka bases that I dug up. Might be a good base for a servo-skull... |
Using the diamond tread plasticard, I cut out 25, 32, and 40mm circles (a sharp scissors works well on thin plasticard) and glued them to the tops of the individual bases. To this I layered on another sheet of plain plasticard only partially obscuring the diamond tread patterning (and taking care to align the patterning the same way on the bases). As a final level of detail, I added a thin plasticard trim to the edge of the flat plasticard panelling and etched brass Imperial Aquilas from Forge World. With the plasticard layers in place and the extra details added, I smoothed out the transition with the rest of the base with greenstuff.
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| A step by step progression of the creation of the bases that I am going to use for the Invitational. |
One element that I wanted to emphasize with the bases is that I designed them to be part of the same scene. The paneling of the bases align in such a way that they could be set into a display base. Whether or not I design a display base for all three models is still up in the air, but I wanted to make sure that all three of the models fit together both visually and thematically.
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| The WIP inquisitor next to the bases for scale. |
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| Two of the completed bases, ready to accept paint. |
I hope you enjoyed reading about my thoughts going into designing these bases. Now back to working on the models to use them!
- Adam Wier
Looking great. Smart idea to make your own bases. I love Jeff's bases, but they will doc you points for using a resin base vs making your own in the competitions! (Though someone pointed out, if you use the resin as a base, and build onto it, that usually passes)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words! I have had a great time making these bases and will certainly make more in the future.
DeleteThe bases Jeff makes over at Dragon Forge are fantastic. I will certainly be continuing to use his bases on my models. It would be fun to try and modify some of them...
Thanks for the comment! I was really surprised by all of the different plasticard components available. If not careful I could spend far too much money on the stuff... Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteAt this point I am not sure if I will add anything else to the 40mm base. At this point it does look a little plain. I have a few potential ideas.
The spike coming out of the 32mm base is a pin to attach the Inquisitor to the base when gluing him.