The forest for the trees, part one

After using the much smaller trees that I created for Warhammer and such with our Wild West Exodus games, it had become clear that I would need something entirely different.

To this point, most of the terrain had been either buildings or mesas, so that was not a big issue.  We used the trees more as decoration or atmosphere than cover.

However, there are a number of scenarios that we want to do in the future that will require a more 'rustic' setting, and that means trees!

After a week of very high winds, there were plenty of nice big branches sitting there on the sidewalk for collecting!  After I had a nice bundle in my collection, I set down to work.

The branches were cut and glued to some plastic dvd protector disks, and then a little Vallejo Water effects gel was applied to create some tree roots.  I used blue, so that I could actually see where I was putting it!

Next, the Mica flakes and Lava paste were mixed together to create a heavy texture,  mix of dried mud and leaves.  This would also serve to strengthen the attachment of the branch to the plastic disk.

A little Elmer's glue was also added to this, so that any gravel or ballast would stick more efficiently.

You can see how this material was built up in places, especially where there were big gaps around the fallen log, etc.  The whole idea behind this is to give 20-32mm figures something they can hide behind, so these branches are almost an inch thick in places.

I added some thick cork here to cover the hole in the center of the disk.

As usual, the three types of ballast.

Ballast added.  Not too much though, as I want these to be as flat as possible.  I am trying to avoid the effect created by the GW tree stands, where half of your figures would tend to fall over.

Looking good!  I was not sure how many smaller tree branches (like the ones I typically use on my bases) that I wanted to add.  For the moment, I only added one or two smaller branches.

Stay tuned for the finale of The Forest For the Trees!!

Yay for the red team!

Well... one of the red teams at least.

C-Red Nation has to wait another game, but at least the Blackhawks are advancing!  The series could certainly gone the other way, but I am very glad to have the possibility of coming home from Reapercon to the final stages of that series.

It won't be too easy to keep tabs on it out in Texas, but I will do what I can!

In the meantime, the final Thallax before a set of Three Amigoes shots.

A touch of makeup on the dead...

As the final wall got it's demon wallpaper, it was time to think about the exterior walls.

I brought out a few weathering powders... some earth tones and a black.  Most of these were from Secret Weapon miniatures, which has a fantastic range to choose between.

Along the front entrance and the lower parts of the walls, I focused on a darker brown earth color, with a more sandy tone mixed in.

I "scumbled" those colors together right on the wall, mixing them together with the bristles of the filbert brush.

In this image, you can see that the roof was hit with a mixture of the black and reddish brown.

I continued that color mix in the form of streaks from the roof.

A new trick I discovered was to use a can of compressed air (normally for cleaning computers of dust) to sculpt the powders.  I found that I could move them around a bit, and remove excess where needed.

Wearing a mask of some kind when you do this would be a good idea.

Since the proprietor of this establishment is a very prominent politician, you see his portrait on the wall.  You will hear much more about him in future episodes, especially when my Union posse hits the field.

The posters on the outside walls definitely need their weathering effects.

I thought I would put a rug on the floor.  In the future, a casket set up and some flowers will go inside to complete the building's interior space.

A few exterior shots after posters and powders were applied.

I will do a set of completed images of this building that has some miniatures around it and inside!

So, there you have the Undertaker's building from Burn In Designs!!!

And that makes seven

Seven of ten Thralls.  Not long to go before some group shots!

As you can see, I have been incorporating lots of green with these guys, especially in the metals.

I mixed that in with the colors on the artificial leg, and on the helmet, etc.

It's getting spooky in Wappelville

So self respecting town can do without an Undertaker's establishment, especially one that experiences bloodbaths on such a routine basis!

So, the Burn In Designs version will fulfill that requirement nicely.

The building was painted before it got some special treatment...

I will be putting wallpaper on a few of my buildings, including this one.  To make sure that no light color exposed wood would show through possible gaps, I filled in the corners and edges with black.

I found some incredible papers and textures, including a very creepy wallpaper!  It looks like that 1880's style, but the design is actually made of demon faces!  Excellent!

I also created a sign with some layers of wood texture, and some faded letters.

Here's the printed version.

I was glad to see that I had measured the sign correctly!

Now to apply the wallpaper.  I used some glue sticks, starting with the easy wall.

The window walls would be more involved, but everything seemed to line up just right.

Once all the walls were complete, I broke out the weathering powders to finish things off.  Stay tuned for the next episode!!

"Tiny" red guys...

Another Thallax for you.

You could call them Mini Castellax, or Micro Thanatars :-)

It is truly unusual to see anything that's on a 40mm base not manage to stand knee high to a miniature that has a very similar shape!

A little help for the Nation.

I finally have me own version of the Flowing River Mercenary from Wild West Exodus.

Her glowing blue weapons are a true indicator that she will be teaming up with Geronio and friends of the Warrior Nation.

It seemed very appropriate from a story standpoint, and she also fits with the direction I wanted that posse to go.

So, the Nation continues to grow!!  Stay tuned for more. :-)