Getting back on track

Let's return to the main event!

The painting of the arena is basically done, so there are some details that need to be taken care of.

Such as the pillars!  A nice big batch of pillars.  There were a few colors laid on on the palette... a light a middle tone and a dark.  Working quickly, I rotated the pillar in one hand as the brush moved across it with the other.  I was able to keep the paint wet enough that I could blend the colors together right on the surface.

The track is now fully painted, and the Emperor's platform is now in place.  There is a metal sheet on there, for structural stability and strong magnetic hold.

There was one other element that platform was supposed to hold (and hide), and that was one of my under-cabinet lights.  This would get some light on the inside of the arena in the darkness of the tournament room.

Ironically, the room would be even darker as day turned into night with the extreme storms.

You can also see the finishing post in place for the first time.  The wolf statue and the column were both magnetized.

Just about ready to get the columns glued in place.

Before the upper levels could be glued in, I had to do some freehand work.

And here it is.  You can see the mosaic and the patterns drawn out on a few of the surfaces.  Look familiar? It is on as many of the bases as I could replicate, particularly the troops and bikes, etc.  

I used a permanent marker to create it, which was perfect.  It would have been extremely difficult to work out with a brush, given all the walls that would make the angle very awkward.  Time was also very short, and this took no time at all!

With the freehand complete, the upper level could finally be put in place!!

There was more freehand that I would have liked to try, but nobody would have seen it.  I sort of learned that lesson on the Tomb Kings board.

Check it out!!  The painting is done.  I added some flock to this to get a hint of colors that were not present on the board.  It also gave a bit of texture.  I will try and get some images of the army on the board for you.

My plan is to put the army on here again, and take some video.  A little practice using the microphone for voice overs.  I don't expect to do that very much for the painting videos, but I want to be ready just in case. :-)

A brief interlude...

I am going to step away from the painting the the Basilica Canus for the moment.  I was able to dig up all the images I could from the WFB tournament and process them.

There are not as many as I would have liked, but let's just say that some of the rounds were finished in a prompt fashion.  In a game where 1st or 2nd turn wipeouts are common, things like this can happen.

Here are a few shots of the army on the board right after I walked into the room...

This is the only shot I have of game one.  The Heirophant died on the first shot of the first turn, the skull catapult blew itself up on my first turn, and it was all downhill from there.  There is some kind of magic banner for the orcs that negates ALL magic items, which lead to the King getting wiped out easily in one turn.  That was the clincher.

The next game was the only one of the tournament to go more than 4 turns.  It was also the only victory for the Tainted Pharaoh.  This one was vs Ogres, as you can see.

There were some pretty dramatic instances of catastrophic rolls for the Ogres, which ultimately lead to their downfall.  Lots of whiffs on critical charges, leadership tests, and so on.  The biggest early moment was the casket taking out the mounted cannon of the ogres, which allowed the Heirotitan to survive.  You will see how important that was later...

The card in the middle of the table behind the chariot unit was the other big game changer.  I was able to get the Speed of Light spell on various units all game long.  This was vital in keeping them around.  Before this set of games, the secondary priest was always a Death Mage.  Of course, one has to be fortunate enough to roll that spell, and so on, even at level 4.

An example of Speed of Light in action.  You will also notice the Titan on the left engaging the big monster near the casket.  That purse fight would continue for at least 3 turns.

Sneaky snakes vs some fat guys...

King of the hill!

This view shows very few ogres.  Where the casket (and several other units and monsters) used to be is a big void.  That's what can happen when the casket blows up, as it did.  Everything in a 12 inch radius gets nailed with D6 S6 hits, no armor saves of any kind.  That blast took out the Titan, a bunch of ogres, and the Stonetusk!

This win put the TK at table 30, against lizards.  Unfortunately, there was not much that TK can do against them, given the leadership characteristics of the scaley folk.  They failed very few checks, while the TK failed lots of LD 10 restraint rolls, and so on.  I believe I failed 3 in a row at one point on a single turn.

This lead to the Tomb Kings being in very bad spots, and thus losing the game.

This was an interesting item which a loyal Wappellian brought up to me when the day was done.  Some of you might recognize this as the skirmisher base for my chameleon skinks.

However, this was not made by me!  This was created by a blog follower using one of the step by step tutorials!  How cool is that?

Into the Arena again...

Now we are getting into the shading quite a bit more.  As I have mentioned, the craft paints, in combination with the pink foam, mean that the paint stays wetter for a bit longer, allowing for wet blending on the surface.

To take more advantage of this, I tried to work in smaller sections.

I would create that three color mix of the black , brown, and some of the ivory, adding a bit more of the ivory each time.  You might also notice how the lighter colors were kept toward the bottom of the walls.

This shows that a little better.  By having the lighter colors towards the lower part of the walls, I could show off some staining and weathering more easily.  It would also make the pock marks in the walls more prominent.

Getting lighter still...

Doing this on the towers was a little more complex, due to their height, but working quickly kept the paint malleable.

I have this area at max shading.

Same for the front...

And the other side...

And the interior.

This task is repeated on all the unassembled sections such as the upper walls and roofs

The tops of the towers were also shaded.

It was definitely a relief to see it at this stage, since time was counting down fast!!!!  Stay tuned for the next episode!

Painting the Basilica Canus... the beginning

Let's paint!  With the final weathering complete, it is now time to get some color on this monstrosity wich is not pink!

In previous army boards, such as the Tomb kings and LOTR Fortress Falls, you have seen me use Magnetic Primer.  This stuff is pretty amazing, as it is strong enough to hold lighter plastic miniatures.  It takes 3-5 coats, but it is very handy!

I purchased this at Home Depot.  It is very heavy for its size, since there are metal particles mixed in.  It is also an oil based paint.  Nowadays I just buy disposable brushes when I am going to apply this primer.

For this project, I was going to experiment with craft paints.  Not only are these less expensive, but they are not shiny like house paints or Liquitex acrylics, as I had always used before.  Painting on the pink foam would also be much easier than the very absorbent foam core.

All of the individual parts were ready to go.  I will focus the Metallic primer on the surfaces that will be holding miniatures, which means just about every horizontal surface.  This is going to be very helpful later on, when it comes time to play games on this terrain piece.  All of my figures will stick to it, since they are all magnetized!

This photo shows both the black craft paint and metallic primer being applied quite rapidly everywhere.  The craft paint flows quite nicely, and required no additional water, like those other types of paint that I mentioned.  I had hoped for this result.

All of the priming is now complete, and it is time to mix in some colors.

I began to mix in the brown with the black craft paint, and work my way around the structure...

I used more of the brown on the track, of course!

You can see the brown color starting to build on the track on some of the areas with more rubble...

A view of the palette. You can see the initial mixture of the brown and black, with subsequent layers of the off white mixed in.  The paint stayed wet on the palette for a nice period of time, which actually allowed me to wet blend on the building itself!  I was using a 1 inch watercolor flat sable brush for all of this.

The big sable brush let me work very quickly.  This view gives you a hint of the emerging color temp difference between the cooler walls and the track.

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode!!

Playing in the dirt...

One final stage remains to complete the construction of the Basilica Canus.  I have to complete the battle damage and glue all the rocks and gravel!

This view focuses on the broken corner where the Raider will go.  You can see that I put a few sheets of metal there, held in place with oxide paste.  I also placed a few pieces of broken vehicle in that location.  I had saved these pieces when I made all the Grotesque bases and the Raider, so that there would be a sense of similarity.

If you look closely, you can see that I took the window cut outs and used that foam to make the broken stones...

As we expand outward, you can see the oxide paste is being used to cover the big sheets of metal on the track...

Expand even further, and you see the whole track now secured with the oxide paste.  The rocks and gravel have been added to the interior.

More oxide paste, more rocks and gravel.  I used the oxide paste to cover any major gaps that might appear on the decorative elements and to secure the metal sheets to the tops of the towers.

Remember the modular construction of the walls?  I did the rocks and gravel on those pieces at this time.  When it came time to paint this, I was incredibly glad I chose that approach!!!!

Another look at the structure as I let everything dry and set.  I thought it was a better idea to let that all settle before I did the final weathering.

Now we have some shots just before the painting would begin.  I took my very sharp exacto knife and made all sorts of blast effects.  If you look at the ruined cathedral posts and the 40k fortress, you will get a good idea of how those pockmarks were made.

It took a while to work my way all around the Basilica. :-)  I also chipped away at corners, attempting to create a pattern where some of the damage was more concentrated than others.

You can see some of the chipping on the front side of the structure in this image.  At long last, it's time to get out those paint brushes!!!!!!!!!!  Stay tuned...