Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Iron Sleet Invitational: Bases WIP

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.

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.

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.

The WIP inquisitor next to the bases for scale.

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

4 comments:

  1. The plasticard stands in arts and crafts stores are fantastic - I remember spending far too much at my local one, coming away with sheets and strip packs of various thicknesses and textures, as well as miscellaneous shapes like I and H beams, C channels, piping etc. It is really useful stuff to have in the bottom drawer to add that little bit extra to terrain and basing projects.

    Are you going to add anything extra to the large one (a manhole/trap door cover for example) or leave it as the bare tread plate?

    Also, whats the spike coming up next the aquila on the mid sized one?

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    1. 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.

      At 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.

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  2. 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)

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    1. Thanks for the kind words! I have had a great time making these bases and will certainly make more in the future.

      The 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...

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