It has become necessary for me to create some 80 mm inserts for the base sets that I did for CoolMiniorNot a while back. That's over a dozen types of bases, but let's begin with this one. Since these are meant to be cast, I need to work a bit differently, avoiding undercuts and open 'holes', where mould material could work through.
I set up as many of the materials and tools as I thought I might need...
What I am trying to replicate is the existing 50 mm base from the set (the grey piece in the upper left). I didn't have any thick pieces of baked sculpey, so I glued a few thin layers together. I am using the white variety, which is the easiest to carve.
I start carving out my 'blast' patterns, this time using a 'v' shaped wood carving tool. You could use a variety of other tools as well.
This view really shows what it looks like. You can see the spider web like cracks...
Now I have to build up the 'tech' part of the base. I create an edge using some polystyrene tubing... in this case square!
Once the edge is set, I get my plastic deck plating. It is traced out, and cut to shape.
Deck plating in place!
I add a few bits of polystyrene tubing to simulate conduits, etc...
The rest of the process will be posted tomorrow, so stay tuned!