As convention season is upon me – starting with TotalCon 37 this weekend – I wanted to make a quick post on some jungle bases I have sculpted for my new Maya scenario. I bought some inexpensive palm trees on Amazon – the one on the left was for cake decorating and the other on the right marketed for use on railroad dioramas. I had 30 trees in total – and they looked pretty shiny as one would expect of plastic. And shiny is not what I wanted.
The basic preparation of the trees involved removing mold lines (lots), washing them, and making a plan for their use. I needed some single trees for use on a beach (sandy bases) and some larger more muddy looking bases for the jungle around a Maya village. These are for the Battle of CentlaFeudal PatrolTM games I’ll be running in upcoming conventions. In addition to removing the mold lines, I lightly sanded and filed the plastic which gave the bark a more friable look.
After cleaning up bad mold lines – wash time……and drying time
I then mounted the trees into poster tack on specimen jars and used three different washes on the foliage (all the paints and materials that I used are listed at the end of this post for those interested).
Mounted for applying washes to the plastic foliage to make them look more realistic.
Next, I needed a more detailed plan – I wanted to make the bases such that the 30 trees were varied across all of the bases and spaced far enough apart for good gaming with miniatures. I decided to make one 5-tree base, one 4-tree base, two 3-tree bases, three 2-tree bases, and 5 single bases. The single ones would be beach bases and the others jungle bases.
The plan – with a shot of my game map as a planning guide.
For sculpting, I went with Apoxie Sculpt, a 2-piece resin that is very workable but hardens like a rock. I needed to have some support for the trees – otherwise they would have just drooped excessively while the Apoxie Sculpt cured and hardened overnight. To solve this, I removed the little tabs on the tree bottoms, and glued the trees to steel washers. I gave a few a little bend as well.
For the 2-tree and 3-tree bases, the washers were easy to sculpt around and provided support – and I added some popsicle stick supports connecting the washers that I encased with Apoxie Sculpt and sculpted over. For the two bigger bases, I made supporting bases out of several popsicle sticks, then glued the washers with the affixed trees to them. I sculpted over the bases. More or less, these actions provided structural support and allowed me to make the bases strong. I needed to make sure that I used a putty knife to lift them from time to time off of plastic plates and cutting mats else they would cure permanently to them.
Apoxie SculptThe larger bases gleed and setting up.Washer-mounted treesTrees on washers now glues to a 5-tree base.
After curing to tremendous rock-hardness, the next steps for them were to get painted and flocked. For the single-tree beach bases, I used chinchilla dust over PVA (thanks again TIM!) that I have used in the past. For the jungle bases, I used a texture paint, pigments, and different flocking materials.
Bases curing – a couple of jungle paths are in front. These I got from Buck Surdu and I muddied them up with a couple of inks.Early flocking drying – pigments still wet.Close up of beach bases with chinchilla dust and glue drying.
After the texture paint dried, I played around and added multiple (3) pigments, and let them dry.
5-tree base with pigments drying.Pigments after drying.
At this point, I wanted to add some tufts, debris, and low-lying foliage. I had some old 4-Ground leaves, and a Ziterdes “butterbur” laser-cut foliage that had been hanging around for years with no home. I mixed those with some tufts to create a hybrid jungle-looking plant. I learned butterbur is not native to the Americas, but with the tufts it looked fine.
The completed bases – showing the debris and low-lying plants.A close up shot of the base with a Maya warrior for scale comparison.
I have also acquired some more bases from Dave Stone’s workshop that I will eventually work into the game. These are very nice and I will also flock them similarly to match mine. Unfortunately, the UK cyber attack delayed them getting here in Massachusetts until today so they won’t get done until later – not Dave’s fault!
I hope that this was interesting – certainly it was a diversion from my recent Ozz stuff. I’m still going to run Mesoamerican games – and will be adding Ozz games too. I certainly have room for both!
Thanks for taking a look – let me know what you think!
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide” – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE PALM TREES AND BASES:
When I was at Historicon in November 2021, I ran my “Cortes’ Causeway Escape Attempt” scenario for a Feudal Patrol™ game for the Spanish Conquest in Mesoamerica (Aztecs vs. Conquistadores) using my supplement Civilizations Collide. One of the issues with my terrain with which I was not fully pleased was the Temple of Yopico model I was using. As readers of this blog may recall (the relevant post is here), I was using a relatively small pyramid that had been given to me that I had converted for the cityscape. Unfortunately, you could not put figures on it for gaming, and I had a template made for gaming with it – certainly this was not an ideal solution for a model of the Temple of Yopico.
My converted temple from last year.
As fortune would have it, in very early February, I discovered that Stonehouse Miniatures sells a pretty good looking Aztec Pyramid made out of foam and resin pieces that looked to me like it would work for 28mm. They also had several other cool items like a skull wall temple courtyard and a moon goddess plaque in resin. I have usually found that most commercially Aztec terrain is made to look like ruins – more suitable for an Indiana Jones scenario or Ghost Archipelago than for Tenochtitlan in 1520. Happily, these new finds were not models of ruins! Yay! I ordered them and they arrived on Valentine’s Day. As 10 days later TotalCon 36 would begin, I needed to get moving forthwith!
The Stonehouse stuff that I ordered.
The temple was painted black, and the other resin was totally unpainted of course (as one would expect). My cityscape is more of an oxidized-limestone hue – so I had my work cut out for me. The three main pieces of the temple that were made of foam – not a material with which I had a lot of experience (but not zero). The rest were made of resin. However, with TotalCon 36 coming up rapidly February 24-27, I was a bit under the gun to get them done, along with some other stuff I made for my France 1940 What a Tanker game (about which I’ll share in details in a future post).
The new building on my tiles. Definitely, the pyramid color needs adjustment!
Given the timing constraints that I was under, I first proceeded to work on the temple, then on how to safely transport it, and finally onto finishing the other resin pieces – so I’ll describe that process here. With this approach, I could at least get the pyramid done, and if I could get to the other pieces before the convention, that would be great.
Let’s start with the pyramid. The model kit is designated BRA-105, “Aztec Pyramid Complete”, and includes 1 single-piece foam Aztec pyramid, 2 foam base expansion pieces, 4 sets of resin stairs, a resin temple (top piece), a resin sacrificial altar, and 4 resin braziers.
BRA-105, “Aztec Pyramid Complete” kit.
First, the issue of priming came up. While using my airbrush would not melt the foam if I primed it – as opposed to a rattlecan – I decided to consider the manufacturer’s black color as the prime. The braziers, the altar, and the other pieces that I got in my order (discussed later in this post) were all unpainted resin. I washed all of them first, scrubbed them, and let them dry while I worked on the pyramid.
Wash that resin!
I had decided that a series of dry brushing applications would be my best bet to achieve the color I wanted – with details added afterwards. On the pyramid’s stairs, there were a few places that had exposed resin surfaces (where the black paint had not adhered). I would deal with those by spot-painting with black primer before I did further work on it. As for the painting process, lots of widespread dry bushing would ensue as the next steps. For the foam pieces, they were quite nice as tabletop wargaming terrain pieces go. The pieces had enough detail that even the small molding defects could be made to look like they were a result of weathering. This was especially the case around the bricks. I was concerned with the friability of the foam, so I proceeded with due caution and planning to deal with that vulnerability.
This is after the first dry brushing color was applied to the one on the left – with the untouched other half for comparison. The first two colors in sequence were Citadel “Tallarn Sand”, then Citadel “Karak Stone”.The left piece has the second dry brushing color on it – the one on right is for comparison and just has the first color.The first two dry brush applications on the pyramid are complete here.
The last color to be dry brushed was a craft paint – FolkArt “Yellow Ochre”. I liked the way it worked on the pyramid.
After the yellow oche was added.
From then on I worked on the stairs (dealing with any remaining exposed resin as well) and added colors to the pyramid’s details. The underlying manufacturer’s black served well to define the deeper details, but washes were needed too.
Here you see the painted colors on the pyramid after the dry brushing applications but before the final wash and varnishing.
I then applied Army Painter “Light Tone” with a brush and let that dry, as well as Citadel “Carroburg Crimson” on the red stairs. Finally, I brush-applied a 50% thinned coat of Vallejo Mecha Color “Matt Varnish” to seal the porous foam and to help protect the paint on all of the pieces. These foam pieces were too big for my spray booth and in any case I thought that the foam would blow around too much from an airbrush.
Drying after washing and varnishing.
By February 18th, I could say that the pyramid was done, minus the braziers.
Pyramid done – angled view.Pyramid done – side view.
I was pretty pleased with the final result, but I still needed to try to get the braziers done and a storage/transport solution built for it.
As being able to transport it and the other accouterments was imperative, I modified a 32-liter Really Useful box with hot glue and posterboard. This also allowed me to create a storage/transport solution for my hills that I use for the Battle of Otumba (of which more will be shared soon when I post about the game but you can see one of the hills in the background of my last post).
Let’s get back to the box. I measured the space that each piece would need in it and marked the box’s interior accordingly with a Sharpie. I lined the bottom of the box with thin sheets of foam from Michaels for cushioning. Then I cut the posterboard into sheets and hot glued those into the box. I left enough room at the top to build a storage box for the smaller pieces.
The storage/transport box’s main compartment as viewed from above. The two hills are shown here with the pyramid sections. The small resin temple is in the foam sheet roll as seen on the left as due to its size and heft (solid resin) it needed protection. On top of this would go the thinner storage box.
As discussed, I did have the pyramid’s braziers to do as well as the other smaller resin pieces – so I actually built the storage box for all of them before I painted them. This way at least I could get the pyramid to the convention.
For the top storage box, I cut the bottom piece of posterboard out and made the sides with posterboard and hot glue. I used wooden toothpicks as pins to secure the posterboard while the hot glue set. This was a new technique for me that I had as an idea and one that worked great – I just broke the toothpicks in half and drove them into the posterboard with an unsharpened pencil immediately after the hot glue was applied. The toothpicks disappeared into the posterboard nicely.
On the left, you can see how I tried to mock up the box by putting the pieces in first. I made some changes as you see on the right (the circular moon goddess piece would go on top of the cornfield in the end. The new home for my cornfield would free up yet another storage box for another use. I use the cornfield for my Aztec Surprise Raid on the Spanish Outpost Scenario. I also labeled in each section in the top box what goes where. This helps with putting the right pieces in the box after the game is finished.
Lastly, I made a posterboard top for the box and put it over the previously shown main compartment.
Smaller box shown on topWith lid closed, ready for safe storage and transport.Storage box complete by February 19th.
At this point it was February 19th and now I could attempt to finish the resin pieces. In addition to the braziers that came with the pyramid, I had UTW-301 “Skull Wall Temple Courtyard” and BRA-125 “Moon Goddess Plaque”. The UTW-301 contained 2 more braziers, a skull gate, 6 taller skull walls, 4 smaller skull walls, 6 corner skull wall pieces, a stellae, and yet another sacrificial altar. This kit appears to be no longer be offered on Stonehouse Miniatures website, but most of the components are there under other SKU’s. The BRA-125 was just the plaque. I decided that I could indeed try to finish these as well.
The resin kits.
I needed to find a mounting solution for painting these – so used the same combination that I had previously used for tank turrets for the braziers and the corners. I just handled the walls and plaque carefully as I went along. After drilling the braziers, wall corners, stella, and altar out and mounting them on screws and magnets and then into wooden blocks, I moved on to painting all of these on February 22nd.
I brush-primed them with Vallejo Surface Primer “German Dark Yellow”, followed by a generous wash of Secret Weapon Washes now-discontinued) “Sewer Water”. As is my custom, I will list all the paints I used at the end of this post for those interested.
Despite my scrubbing and cleaning, I found some of the resin pieces quite resistant to painting. Still, with a second application of paint or by adding a bit of primer or wash, I was able to get them done.
Smaller remaining resin pieces mounted, primed, and washed.Close up of the walls from above.
As the braziers were higher on the priority list (with 4 being part of the pyramid), I worked on them first. By the end of February 22nd, they were all done and drying.
Braziers – done!
Then it was onto the other resin. The skull walls had some bubbles (that one would expect from any resin piece), but not many. In any case, I thought they should be dull and sallow-yellowish, reflecting the idea that these skulls had been on the racks for a long time. This also allowed me to camouflage any of the resin bubbles with dry brushing and washes. Besides, these skulls are so small that on the tabletop they would be background around my temples and buildings anyways.
Dry brushed and washed walls late on the evening of Feb 22nd.
I followed a similar dry brushing pattern as I used for the temple pyramid for the walls, with adaptations for the skulls themselves. By the end of the 22nd, all the resin was painted, varnished, and drying.
Walls and Moon Goddess Plaque done.
I played around with them on the next day (23rd) to see what configuration to use.
One possible configuration. I ended up deciding that all the skulls should face outward.
As it was the 23rd (and I would be packing my car that very day for travel the next morning for TotalCon 36), I partially mocked up the cityscape to see how all of the new pieces would look on my cellar floor. I decided to add the walls as a courtyard next to the pyramid and as eye candy on the side of another building.
Mock up on the floor – but it was time to pack!
I was successful (barely!) at getting all this done for TotalCon 36. At that convention, I ran 4 games – one each Thursday to Sunday, and each game is worth its own blog post. Therefore, I will be sharing more posts and pics of those in the coming days. I also want to catch up on others’ blog posts too, and do a catch up post on my garage+ building project (which has been taking up time too along with grandfather duties). Basically, for my blog followers, that’s why I went silent in February!
As a sneak peek, here below is what the temple looked like in action at the convention.
A preview of the action!
Thanks for taking a look and I hope this was fun for you. As stated, I’ve got more posts for you in the queue! I’ll try not to have you drink all these from a firehose – especially Roger!
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide” – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE TERRAIN PIECES:
Back in March, I launched my second “giveaway” contest. Basically, it was called Mark’s Aztec Building Challenge Contest, and I invited folks to guess as to when I would finish a bunch of terrain for my Aztec games of Feudal Patrol™ games in Mesoamerica (using my Civilizations Collide supplement).
ALL OF MY TERRAIN SO FAR!
I have chronicled my progress here in this blog and I am hopeful that you’ve enjoyed the journey. I am happy to say that on today, May 22nd, 2021, I finally finished all of my pieces that were in the contest. Not ALL of what I have to build, but I am very close to done – more in a bit.
We had 18 entrants – not bad. And here – in no particular order – are the prizes I offered:
Prize A
I won this Galaxy Trucker game at TotalCon last year. Never been opened and still in the shrink wrap.
Prize B
A three blister prize! Ral Partha 42-301 Aztec Generals, 42-305 Aztec Arrow Knights, and 42-309 Aztec Warriors w/Long Thrusting Spears (really tepoztopilli). 18 figures in total. All are unopened from the 1980’s. Works for 25mm or 28mm scale games.
Prize C
A two blister prize! Ral Partha 42-309 Aztec Warriors w/Long Thrusting Spears (really tepoztopilli) and 42-308 Aztec Warriors w/Darts & Light Spears (really atlatl) . 12 figures total. Both are unopened from the 1980’s. Works for 25mm or 28mm scale games.
Prize D
A two blister prize! Ral Partha 02-212 Savages: Bowmen (2 blisters – 12 figures total). Both are unopened from the 1990’s or early 2000’s. Works for 25mm or 28mm scale games.
Prize E
A primed and based resin African mask from Acheson Creations suitable for whatever you want to use it as!
So here are the results – please join me in congratulating the winners!
Check out any blogs you don’t know!
You can see how you ended up above – pretty interesting how as a group your average was 5/19 – just three days off!
1st Place: Buck Surdu from Buck’s Blog – just three days early! Taking the Gold for the USA!
2nd Place: Chris Palmer from the HAWKS blog! Taking the Silver for the USA!
5th Place: Pete from Pete’s S/P Blog (his second win!) One more for the UK!
Congrats to the winners! Buck gets first choice, then Chris gets second, then John third, then TIM fourth, then Pete gets what’s left.
Just confirm in the comments section which one you want, and then email me your shipping information to MarkAMorin@aol.com (I’m sure that will work fine – I have some of yours but just to be sure). That way the winners can choose from what’s left after higher winners have chosen.
Thanks to ALL of you (even if you lost) for playing and to ALL of you, more importantly, thank you for your encouragement and support!!! It really helped me and inspired me.
And check out the blogs listed – all are worth more than a look!
So what’s next for me? The following!
Going to convert this into a miniature temple for Tenochtitlan. It looks like something from a tourist shop of a DIY kit, but I’m grateful for it (thanks Ryan).Conquistador War Wagons! Four of them (think wooden APC’s). From Gringo 40’s.Cortes from Gringo 40’s
I’m also going to try to make Aztec “pavement” for Tenochtitlan. (no pic).
Until next time!
For all of my previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide” – please see this page.
This post will cover the Aztec resin terrain/structures from Acheson Creations that I have recently finished for my Feudal Patrol™ games in Mesoamerica (using my Civilizations Collide supplement). I purchased 6 structures from the company, and they were kind enough to throw in some scatter terrain that I believe will prove to be quite useful. The six buildings plus the 4 scatter pieces are all part of “Mark’s Aztec Building Challenge Contest“, as are all of the MDF I listed in the original contest post. While the buildings in this post would be probably more suited to a rural setting versus a cityscape, I think that the scatter terrain will be useful in several gaming ways.
Originally, my plan was to do finish all of the MDF structures first, and then move on to the resin ones. That concept did not pan out as I ran out of some key items for the MDF. The MDF need to match exactly so that visually the collection makes a nice panorama.
So, those shortages moved me onto the resin, which I had luckily prepped for priming back in March. I thought Acheson had made the recommendation to prime with Rustoleum “Painters Touch Ultra Cover Flat Black” – a rattlecan – something I usually avoid. (Now that I looked back at his website, that recommendation is not there?) Anyways, I got another delay in priming as the Massachusetts weather also did not play nice (it’s been cold and we even got 6″ of snow on April 16th).
I thought it prudent – prior to priming them – to give all a thorough scrubbing and washing. I also saw a need to install 1/8″ neodymium magnets for the resin structures with roofs – to make them more stable (and stay on the buildings during games). This would be useful on the tabletop and yet keep them easy enough to open up for gaming. I used different patterns for the magnets as you will see below – so the roofs won’t end up on the wrong buildings in error.
Subsequent to washing, I based these pieces back in March on 1.5mm sanded styrene card – so as to appear more flush with the tabletop. When the weather finally cooperated (one day), I primed them all with that flat black and then sprayed a coat of Army Painter “Leather Brown” over the pieces that would be lighter or brown. This group of pieces all needed different paints – I am listing what I used by type at the end of this post (this helps me remember for future consideration and projects but you may find it useful too). As I started them all before April began, these will be 10 more entries in the April painting challenge from Ann’s Immaterium called Ann’s “Paint the Crap You Already Own” challenge.
The pieces washed and with neodymium magnets installed. I would also have to figure out how to paint and finish the inside of the roofs so that I could mount them for the roofs’ exterior painting. I would mount all of these on styrene card.
The pieces mounted on styrene card and primed.
One major difference here with these pieces versus how I have painted previously is my use of Army Painter “Soft Tone” (the “dip”) applied with a brush. This is an oil-based product, which I do not employ usually, mainly as I hate the need for cleanup with paint thinner. However, I thought that it would be a good use for the stuff that I bought back in 2017 – especially on the thatched roofs as it would both shade and provide a varnish-like protection. I could then dry brush over them with abandon and dull the dip’s shine with a final matte varnish.
I would need to finish the roofs’ interiors prior to the outside – and I basically treated them as separate pieces to be worked on.
Below, you will see I broke each of the pieces out so you can get an idea of the transformation. I must give a shout out to TIM of The Imperfect Modeler who graciously gave me some excellent advice for these pieces.
Cuezcomatl Granary Structure
The term cuezcomatl refers to a granary storage structure that was used in Mesoamerica before the arrival of the Spanish and even up to today in some rural areas (see reference here). The model was interesting to paint, and working on it also helped me to prepare for the other thatched roofs. In the end, I decided to use Army Painter Soft Tone (the “dip”) with a brush. This allowed me to both get some good detail shading as well as to protect the model. I can see this model being useful as a terrain piece, as well as an objective marker. The Aztecs were quite avid practitioners of raiding their neighbors for food as well as captives (or anything else that they wanted to take), as were all Mesoamerican peoples of the era. The Aztecs were just more adept at the practice.
Unprimed and on its card base
Primed
Added texture to the base
I base coated the piece, then used the dip as a shade, then later I did a lot of dry brushing
The finished terrain piece
Progress on the Cuezcomatl
Cuezcomatl Granary Structure (door side)
Cuezcomatl Granary Structure (back side)
Jaguar Warriors seize an enemy cuezcomatl
Maize Storage Structure
This piece had a few areas that I worked to improve upon. One was to fill an open storage well with “maize” – or at least something that could approximate it. Another was to convert the dowel-like smooth front pillars into a more convincing-looking pair of period wooden supports. The pillars did have a slight wood grain, but I wanted to make them more rustic. Lastly, I did need to do some drilling and magnet installation so as to allow the piece to stay together. As with all of the other pieces here with separate roofs, I needed to finish the inside of the roof (including up to varnishing) before I finished the outside.
Similar to the cuezcomatl piece, this one can serve as both terrain and an objective marker due to the food storage bounty.
The base of the Maize Storage Structure primed. Note the altered sculpted posts.
After adding the Vallejo texture.
The underside and inside of the roof – I needed to drill carefully for the magnets.
Made a template out of card for a base for the maize.
I wanted the base to fit.
Used shaved and cut toothpicks as maize. This is a test to see how many I would need.
Used a piece of birch wood to support the card.
I made a paper form to hold the toothpick shards and PVA glue to make a “maize mass”.
The maize well and the maize mass drying.
The finished piece with roof off.
The maize building process I used broken out.Structure completed.
With roof off showing maize
Back of piece
Left side
Right side
Aztec Veterans defend the maize.
Aztec Peasant/Farmer’s House
I had three peasant houses – this is the first one.
The piece with magnets installed and on the styrene base awaiting priming weather
Primed with black and then brown.
Main painting completed prior to final shading.
Completed and united with its roof.
Progress on the Aztec Peasant/Farmer’s House
Right side
Back side
Left side
Front – showing pathway of chinchilla dust.
Novice warriors defend a peasant’s house – maybe not even theirs at the beginning of the day!
Huaxtec House
The Huaxtec were a people who lived near the east coast of Mexico. They were related to the Maya and were conquered by the Aztecs. I found this structure to be quite striking visually and I have to imagine that it was somewhat common. In any case, it was different than the others, so I thought it worth adding. The only issue that this piece presented was that the roof size did not line up as easily for the magnets – but enough to make a couple work enough to keep the roof on.
You can see the two magnetic positions that I could drill.
Primed.
Added Vallejo texture to the base.
Finished bottom.
Finished with the roof.
Huaxtec House progress
Finished front view of Huaxtec house.
Back view.
The Aztecs pillage the Huaxtec House.
Aztec Stone House
The third type of house is an Aztec Stone House. This is one of the two stone houses in the group. I decided that I would go for more of a sandstone or light limestone look for these.
An example of how I created a template to make sure that the roof and building magnets lined up.
On styrene base showing magnets installed
Primed in black
Added Vallejo earth texture
After pigments and early base dry brushing
Aztec Stone House progress
Right side
Back side
Left side
Front of Aztec Stone House
Aztec Veteran and Novice Warriors deploy from the stone house
Aztec Noble’s House
The Aztec Noble’s house had an interesting roof and a bit of opportunity for some color.
Using a template with thumbtacks to align the roof and magnets
Magnets installed and structure based
Primed
Added Vallejo texture to the base
After adding some talus, chinchilla dust, I dry brushed
Aztec Noble House progress
Left side
Back
right side
Front of Aztec Noble’s House
The Aztec Snake Woman (General) and a Noble Captain depart for battle.
Miscellaneous Scatter Terrain
It was a nice surprise to get this scatter terrain. I used all of it except one – which was an African mask. I based it and primed it but did not paint it. As I will not likely use it, it will be another (5th!) prize in “Mark’s Aztec Building Challenge Contest“.
These will be nice treasure markers for the games. I played with some shiny (and tiny) beads (from Japan) and Swarovski glittery crystals from Michaels to make the treasure and fill the pots over some steel BB’s. I also had a chance to do some minimal Aztec freehand work on the pots.
Cleaned and based freebies – the mask on the right is another prize in the contest now.
Primed and based textured.
The leafy pot that I added the freehand to – loosely based on a design I saw online.
This marker had bones, skulls, a treasure chest, and more.
Some larger gold and silver items.
A barrel – I was going to make it a water barrel but made it full of treasure instead.
Tiny little beads – gold (2 sizes), silver, and turquoise.
Treasure!
Scatter Terrain progressThe Leafy Pot treasure. Why is it on leaves? You got me – I don’t know!
The “Bones” treasure marker, replete with two skulls, a partial skeleton, a barrel, a pot, a treasure chest and an old sack. The gold staff treasure – with a treasure chest, a silver carafe, a gold vase, and a large gold staff of some type.Top view of the treasuresElite Warriors – Cuachiqueh (“Shorn Ones”) – protect Montezuma’s gold.
That rounds out my pieces for April. I now have just two more pieces of MDF left for the contest – though I do have more planned terrain and structures – keep following!
Coming up next – these last two MDF.
I’d love to hear any feedback on these – and I did use a different photo set up as well – so let me know on that too if you want. Getting my last “jab” this weekend, as well as trying to play in two golf tournaments – so when will I get done and end the contest…who knows?
As far as Acheson, I must give them a very positive review on these resin pieces. Check out their stuff here. Their offerings and ranges are quite extensive across many periods. The sculpting is good and the details are nice, and the extras they threw in were very cool too. And other than the freebies that they threw in, I have not been paid by them in any way.
Thanks for looking and please let me know what you think in the comments section!
For all of my previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide” – please see this page.
The next sections are references on the paints I used – mainly for me – so skip the rest if you are so inclined. Thanks for looking and I hope that you’ll let me know what you think about these models.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE STRUCTURES AND PIECES:
In this post I will share my latest MDF kit build for Feudal Patrol™ games in Mesoamerica (using my Civilizations Collide supplement). I was able to finish off another Aztec-inspired MDF kit. This one also came from from Things From the Basement via 4Ground via Badger Games (see it here). It is called Temple Sentinel Tower and is scaled for 28mm figures – and is just what it is described as being – a Temple Sentinel Tower which would be a nice piece of high ground for some missile troops.
It was an enjoyable kit to build. This one had a few challenges for the build as I needed to make sure that I could paint the inside of the tower as well as dust it up with chinchilla dust as I have been doing. I want all these cityscape Temple structures to match in character – and in color and texture. Basically, as you will see, I broke the kit into two parts until final assembly.
The kit after wiping down with a moist microfiber cloth. The instructions were good.First day of assembly and setting up with PVA, rubber bands, and clamps.The lower tower section is on the left – and the top here has been left to work on separately with paint and chinchilla dust as I have previously described (see this page). Having steel washers around held as weights with PVA gluing.The tower sections awaiting base coating after dusting up with the chinchilla dust and watered down PVA slurry.The sections after the base coat was applied and the dry brushing of the textures. The red, black, and yellow colors were painted after the dry brushing.
The finished Temple Sentinel Tower next to my previous MDF builds. I put a few missile troops up in the tower as examples.Different angle view.An Aztec veteran with an atlatl peers out while a macuahuitl-armed comrade guards the ladder access. A sling-armed novice is at the top of the ladder.A close up of a bowman (front) and another slinger (left) in the tower.
I think this came out well – what do you think?
For the other pieces in the building contest, I was also able to airbrush a decent base coat on my remaining resin structures, as well as to start on the ground cover on their styrene bases.
The remaining resin structures – I have a good start on them.
This now leaves me with two more MDF builds – the Temple High Throne and the Sacrificial Altar – in addition to the resin. These are going to take a back seat to finishing the resin pieces. This is because as I have more paint on order to properly finish them similarly to my previous MDF kits. I have found that I’m going though a good amount of paints and washes (chinchilla dust and MDF can be thirsty).
My remaining MDF kits!
I have also tried to show you, dear readers, the progress in my challenge in a non-award-winning video on IGTV and Instagram (well it hasn’t won yet, so there’s hope…).
My main communications channel is THIS BLOG! But, I’m just trying to keep up with the young ‘uns like IRO. It’s a bit of an unscripted thing – so enjoy! Without any further ado – here is the video link live from my cellar (that I cannot put on WordPress without paying more $$).
So as for the contest – I have a shot below that shows the range of guesses:
We’ve got American, Aussie, and Brit entries (what’s up with the rest of the world?). Thanks to all for entering and best of luck – and follow my progress (and your chances) here! The average is May 19th, with Azazel the earliest on 4/24/2021 and Ann the latest on 6/30/2021. Hell, your guesses are as good as mine at this point for sure.
A couple of small side notes. I was quite surprised and happy to see that 4Ground featured my work on their Facebook page – here is that Facebook link – and much thanks to our pal Kuribo who let me know on the blog that he saw it. Also, this marks my 30th post on this subject – and while I’m happy about the progress I’ve made – the listing of all the posts is getting to be a bit much (never mind approving all the WordPress pingbacks that this generates).
So, I’ve added a new selection on my main menu (“Gaming & Hobby Areas of Interest”), and under that will be individual genre selections. I’ve started with a page with a list of and links to all of my Mesoamerican posts called “Aztec, Conquistador, and Mesoamerican Hobby Projects Posts” – and I will (over time) be augmenting it with other stuff, such as retro sci-fi, France 1940, Normandy, etc. But I won’t get to that for a while – I’ll be focusing here on the Aztec stuff! I’ll still add the paints and materials section as before, mostly for my own references.
Thanks for looking and I hope that you can check out the video link and no matter what – let me know what you think of the tower – or my accent – or my graying hair – or whatever.
For all of my previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide” – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE PIECES:
These projects are my February submissions for Azazel’s February Community Painting Challenge, which he supplemented to include terrain. This week I also started a new job! So, I wanted to wrap up these projects this weekend.
Panzer IVD Wreck
I decided to base the wreck on an old CD that was surfaced with play sand and Elmer’s (PVA) glue. To cover the hole, I affixed some leftover polystyrene bits. Then, I used sandpaper to lightly scratch the CD, then applied the glue, then the sand, and let it harden overnight. I removed the front and rear sprockets from one of the tracks and cut away some road wheels, so as to be able to flip them on the CD and make them available for the right side of the wreck in the correct locations as debris. I carefully cut away the road wheels and part of the track and some fender, and washed everything to prep for painting.
All the pieces I would use
Sand and PVA glue on the CD hardening
Ready to assemble
After all the pieces had dried, I then I assembled the model to look “messed up”. I put the gun and mantlet on slightly crooked. The turret and bustle rack were put on a bit akimbo as well.
I took a 1/8″ drill bit and drilled a hole into the hull between the missing road wheels to simulate the impact of a hard shot into the weaker flank of the tank. In my portrayal, that shot hit ammunition, causing an explosion. I scattered the resultant debris on one side of the tank to simulate that, affixing everything with E6000 epoxy. I then mounted the CD onto a disposable plastic plate using poster tack for ease of painting. I applied a coat of Citadel “Imperium Primer” as the E6000 was a bit rubbery and smooth – and I was worried that it would not hold paint well. To double up on priming, I then airbrushed on another primer coat – Vallejo “Surface Primer – Black”.
My initial basing and priming
My next thought was to do a bit of the original Panzer IVD paint on the wreck before I changed it into a wreck, as perhaps some of it would survive (I don’t think much eventually did, but I thought, better safe than sorry). This consisted of the same basic pattern I followed on my previous German tanks.
First some grey…
…and then some more DAK colors.
My concept at this point was to portray the Panzer IVD as having been hit, having caught fire, then after being abandoned, rusting away. The fire would have destroyed all or most of the original paint on the hull. Any metal debris would have rusted afterwards in my opinion, so I decided that decals would be a waste here.
Here, I worked on rusting things up with several different rusting products (all listed at the end of the post).
The sand and PVA glue texture was insufficiently granular for the base, so I used Citadel “Armageddon Dunes” to roughen up the landscape. It also allowed me to make the doomed German tank’s last tracks in the desert at the rear of the vehicle. I darkened them up with Citadel “Agrax Earthshade”.
After using the Armageddon Dunes texture paint to gain a better surface on the base.
Then I went into using various Vallejo weathering pigments to create soot, smoke, and dust on and around the model. I especially like the soot!
Impact side, after weathering but before varnishing.
Opposite side of the tank before varnishing.
Top of the tank before varnishing.
For varnishing, I used two coats. First, I applied a Vallejo “Satin” varnish with my airbrush. After that had dried, I applied a light coat of Vallejo Mecha Color “Matt Varnish”. I did not want to overly dull the tank, but I definitely did not want it too glossy.
After first coat of varnish.
I am reasonably happy with the final results. Here are some eye-candy shots on my desert game mat – you be the judge!
Completed Panzer IVD wreck model, impact side.
Completed Panzer IVD wreck model, rear side, showing the track marks in the sand before its final moments.
Completed Panzer IVD wreck model, left side.
One of my favorite views.
An intact Panzer IVD crew drives by the wreck, thinking it could have been them!
Let’s be careful Heinz! We don’t want to end up crispy like that one!
A little different angle – plus my hands for scale.
Nice view of the top – some of the original paint can be seen here I think.
Smoke/Blast Markers
The next project was making some more (and better) to put on the tabletop when tanks meet their demise – or for any explosions in general. I took tea lights, and hot glued thin strips of pillow batting to them in a “closed lily” type of shape.
After building the markers, but before painting them.
Lit up with the lights down.
I then painted them black and grey, trying to make them less dark thank my previous attempts.
Completed and lit in the light.
Look much better in less light!
Thanks for looking at these – and I hope that perhaps these give you some ideas. In any case, I hope you enjoyed seeing them and my processes. Please share any feedback you have in the comments section!
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE PANZER IVD WRECK:
Play sand
Used CD
Elmer’s Glue
Battlefront model #GE040
E6000 epoxy
Gorilla Glue
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Citadel “Imperium Primer”
Polystyrene bits
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Vallejo “Surface Primer – Black”
Vallejo Model Air “Base Grey”
Vallejo Model Air “German Green Brown”
Vallejo Model Air “Light”
Vallejo Model Air “German Green Brown”
Vallejo Model Air “Hull Red”
Vallejo Model Air “First Light”
Vallejo Model Air “Brown”
Citadel “Armageddon Dunes” (Texture)
Battlefront “Monty Shade” (shade)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Light Rust Wash” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Dark Rust Wash” (wash)
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (wash)
Vallejo “Dark Sand”
Battlefront “Dry Dust”
Vallejo “Titanium White” (pigment)
Vallejo “Carbon Black” (pigment)
Vallejo “Pigment Binder”
Citadel “Typhus Corrosion”
Citadel “Ryza Rust”
Vallejo “Desert Dust” (pigment)
Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Light Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo Model Air “Satin Varnish”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE SMOKE/BLAST MARKERS:
Some of the items on the activity list below could be fairly called double-counting, but hey, no blood no foul! I tend to count projects in terms of their distinctive nature, ie the building/assembling/creating processes to me are different than painting, as is converting figures. I did not cast anything this year or make any molds as I still have plenty of figures to paint, and my hope is to knock out more of them in 2019, as I will not need to make as many game pieces/game aids.
This list, which is a separate page on my blog, helped me to stay focused. The adding of the hyperlinks that you see on the items below helps me to review past projects as prologue for future ones.
Thanks for checking this out – and good luck to all in 2019! Hope I keep you amused and entertained!
2018 Total Projects: 2,036
244 figures painted
0 figures cast
47 figures assembled
33 terrain pieces made or assembled
28 terrain pieces painted
10 figure conversions
867 creations or components sculpted or scratch-built
0 molds made
807 game pieces/game aids made and/or painted
January: 91 projects
Creations/components sculpted or scratch-built (91):
2 A9 Cruiser Mark I tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR020)
1 A10 Cruiser Mark IIA (Desert) tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR023)
1 A13 Cruiser Mark IVA (Desert) tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR026)
1 Valentine III tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR061)
1 Crusader II tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR032)
1 Crusader III tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR034)
1 M3 Grant tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR100)
1 Churchill II tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR070)
5 M3 Stuart “Honey” tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR006) – Brits will get two, I am saving one for future Soviet Lend-Lease, one for future captured German use in North Africa, and one as an American M3 for future captured Japanese use in Burma or the Philippines.
For August, I decided that my efforts needed to be directed towards a few new areas that would be challenging for me. I wanted to get more terrain for my games, specifically some that would be useful in making my Combat Patrol™ games more visually appealing to the players. I also wanted to try to use some new techniques and incorporate new materials into my hobby kit bag.
This would involve working on things and using multiple materials with which I am less than fully experienced. My goal was to stretch my horizons as it were, and this goal also dovetailed nicely with the monthly painting challenge run by our Australian friend Azazel. The theme for August was “Technical August”, which was a wide-open challenge to try or improve upon techniques that we had little to no experience in doing previously. With that said, I decided that assembling, building, and painting some Armorcast terrain would be a good way to do that. Mainly my goal was to focus on using the five 4-pigment bottle sets of Vallejo Pigments that I have not really used (Dust & Dirt, Mud & Sand, Rust & Corrosion, Soot & Ashes, and Stone & Cement). I did use the Soot & Ashes set on some cheap 3D printed buildings, but otherwise not much.
I acquired three types of Armorcast resin terrain (all suitable for 28mm scale) for the August challenge – craters, ruined buildings, and sci-fi ruined walls:
1 ACCR001 3-crater set (includes 3 differently-sized impact craters – 6″, 4″, and 3″ – and the set is the subject of this post)
5 ruined building corners (subjects of a future post)
As for my technical goals, my list of “challenge” skills, materials, and techniques include:
Assembling, building, and basing terrain
Use of materials to create weathering and rusting effects, to include:
Vallejo Pigments, to include application and fixing (covered in this blog post)
Vallejo Mecha Color weathering products
Weathering and rusting/oxidizing effect products, to incude:
Citadel Technical paints:
Typhus Corrosion
Ryza Rust
Nihilakh Oxide
Vallejo and Vallejo Mecha Color rusting and weathering products
Vallejo Pigments (various)
Vallejo Game Air rusts (71.069 and 71.080)
Vallejo Mecha Color Weathering products
Oil Stains (gloss)
Rust Wash
Rust Texture (Matt)
Create a new storage system for my terrain pieces
The ones above in bold font are ones I worked on for the 3-crater project. Others will be used for the remaining projects, even if that lasts into September (which is likely).
I had previously worked on some Armorcast sci-fi pieces and grenade blasts. I like their products, but wanted to get better at getting them on the tabletop.
My collection of resin awaiting work
I got good advice from Armorcast (Gin Fritter) and Buck Surdu about preparing the resin for painting. I ended up using a few Exacto knives to remove flash, and then used Scotch-Brite pads to lightly (imperceptibly in fact) give the pieces a rubdown to achieve a “bite” for airbrush priming. Additionally, I used a 180 grit sandpaper sheet to scuff up the craters’ bottoms so that they would glue better to their planned bases. I then washed the pieces thoroughly with dish washing soap in the sink and let them dry.
Cleaning the resin craters – one was gray, the other two were not. You can see the sandpaper, pads, and removed resin.
For basing, I chose to incorporate a few different materials. First, I cut irregular shapes from Evergreen Scale Models #9020 polystyrene sheets – which is quite thin (.020″/0.5 mm). I mounted the crater pieces to the cut shapes with Gorilla Glue. Then, I also used a number of differently sized thin steel bases from Wargames Accessories to mount under the shapes for both strength and to be able to later store and transport securely in magnetically lined storage boxes (which is another project in and of itself that I have planned). Here, I also used Gorilla Glue.
The polystyrene sheets that I used for bases
My craters and a ruined building on my polystyrene sheet bases
From my minimal experience with using pigments, I knew they had the potential for a huge mess. I learned that using a cafeteria-type tray would make using them easier. I hit my local Salvation Army and found four trays for this use. Interestingly, three of them were from a former Digital (DEC) facility (there were a lot of them in Massachusetts before Compaq and later Hewlett Packard consumed them in 1998). I removed what appeared to be ancient chili from them, and put them into use. I also got a small palette from Michael’s craft store to use just for pigments. I put that palette into a deep plastic Rubbermaid salad container, and I thereby effectively limited the migration of pigments from my work space. You definitely do not want to have a fan or strong air circulation going while using pigments!
Trays for using pigments. Oh DEC, your cafeteria trays soldier on…
I then used PVA glue (good old Elmer’s) to affix some play sand and some Woodland Scenics stones to the bases, and let them harden.
My sand and rocks for the bases
Next, in order that I could handle and work with the craters, I affixed their bases with poster tack to upside-down plastic plates before priming. I marked each plate with a brown ink line for reference, and proceeded to airbrush prime the set with Vallejo “Surface Primer – Gray”.
Primed craters
I then worked on the three craters sequentially, going from smallest to largest. For the smallest one, I dry brushed with multiple shades of brown (there is a list of materials that I used at the end of this blog). I was not sure that I needed to or if the pigments would be enough. Primarily, I used the four pigments from the Vallejo “Mud and Sand” set (“Light Yellow Ochre”, “Natural Umber”, “Light Sienna”, and “Light Slate Grey”) plus the Vallejo “Faded Olive Green”. I looked at the Vallejo YouTube video on pigments, and used some of the different techniques to apply and fix the pigments.
The smallest crater after heavy dry brushing.
The first crater after applying multiple pigments in a dry fashion. I then fixed them with Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner” with a capillary action technique, leading to this mucky wet look.
After this, I moved on to the next larger crater, and also dry brushed it and used the same method of fixing the pigments. One downside that I discovered was that the airbrush thinner tended to dissolve the PVA holding the rocks in place (but not the sand). I replaced the displaced rocks on the bases after the airbrush thinner dried.
The middle-sized crater before fixing the pigments – I also added more colors before fixing them here – this is a lot of “Natural Umber”.
Lastly, I worked on the largest crater. Here, I passed on doing any dry brushing. For this one, I employed Vallejo “Pigment Binder” instead of the airbrush thinner to fix the pigments – and to prevent the dissolving issue under the added rocks. I also needed to use Secret Weapons Washes “Sewer Water” to give better shading. While the pigment binder worked, it did lead to a thicker application of pigment as you see below. I thought it blended too much – and I believe that one should use that product selectively. I subsequently added more pigments to make the crater less of a solid olive green, fixing them with airbrush thinner. It worked.
The largest painted crater before varnish
Lastly, I decided to airbrush varnish the craters. Did I need to? I wanted to protect the paint work, so I did. I do think I needed to thin the varnish more, as I had some crazing to deal with, something I had not seen previously with its use on miniatures. To help with color variety, I applied Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” and “Athonian Camoshade” washes, mixed with a little varnish and applied with a brush to the affected areas. I then applied Army Painter “Wasteland Tufts” and some 12 mm grasses from Shadow’s Edge Miniatures.
As an aside – I can say without a doubt that the Shadow’s Edge Miniatures products are far superior to Army Painter’s – they need no additional gluing, and they are visually stunning. I plan on using their products, especially the flowers, on future unit bases to help with tabletop differentiation.
The three craters on the tabletop. The thin bases made them quite flush with the tabletop.
The bottom of the craters showing the use of the Wargames Accessories steel bases.
Close up of the large crater as finished.
Close up of the middle-sized crater. I liked this sculpt the best of the three.
The smallest crater. I like the way the pigments made the bottom look realistically muddy.
Some Star Ducks defend the craters. I decided that the craters would be more useful looking as if they were from an older battle. I was thinking of those I have seen at Verdun, though there are no historical records of ray gun armed ducks at Verdun…
…or Martians…SFC Mallard defends the small crater against a Martian assault.
The Martians assault the middle-sized crater defended by Duck Wader and SFC Mallard.
The Space Dwarves’ large crater is assaulted by the Star Ducks.
My lessons and thoughts from the project:
The cleaning and scrubbing of the resin helped with the priming. The Scotch-Brite pads work well for this use.
For terrain pieces that will be totally covered in pigments, dry brushing with paint is not needed. When I get to doing vehicles, such as tanks, it will be interesting to see how that works.
Fixing pigments with airbrush thinner is easier than with pigment binder. However, add any additional large features, such as extra rocks later, or use pigment binder on the rocks.
Having trays and palette wells (such as the one I put my palette in) while working with pigments cuts down on the mess considerably. Be ready to use multiple brushes, both wet and dry. The mess vacuumed up or washed off easily from my palettes and trays.
Always ensure your pigment bottles are shut tight. I see how they could spill over easily (and I was lucky enough not to have this problem).
PVA glue and play sand are an inexpensive winner.
The combination of thin steel and thin polystyrene yields a model base with little to any “rise” from the tabletop at its edge, and is strong.
Thin your varnish to prevent the crazing! (Speaking with Buck today, he uses varnish to fix his pigments, so that needs to be considered). I also want to see how well airbrushing the thinner fixes pigments in future projects, like my ruined buildings.
Washes help in the end for touch ups.
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures tufts are fantastic – need no extra glue and dry clearly.
Now the three craters are now ready to join my other terrain. Hopefully I can get more done this month.
Thanks for reading and if you have feedback, especially on my results or suggestions from your experiences, please, share them in the comments section. I do so much appreciate them!
PAINTS, PIGMENTS, INKS, GLUES, GLAZES, WASHES, AND FLOCKING USED:
Vallejo “Surface Primer – Gray”
Generic play sand
Elmer’s “Glue-All”
SceneARama “Rocks”
Evergreen Scale Models #9020 0.5 mm plain polystyrene sheets
Gorilla Glue
Wargames Accessories steel bases (various)
Americana “Raw Umber”
Citadel “XV-88”
American “Burnt Sienna”
Citadel “Skrag Brown”
Citadel “Balor Brown”
Vallejo “Natural Umber” (pigment)
Vallejo “Light Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Light Slate Grey” (pigment)
Vallejo “Light Sienna” (pigment)
Vallejo “Faded Olive Green” (pigment)
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Vallejo “Pigment Binder”
Vallejo “Airbrush Flow Improver”
Secret Weapons Washes “Sewer Water” (wash/shade)
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade”
Citadel “Athonian Camoshade”
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
Army Painter “Wasteland Tufts”
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “12 mm tufts”
Thanks again – I hope this helps you or please feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments section. After all, I am no expert in these – and I am just sharing my lessons learned – and I KNOW there are many other ways to accomplish what I did (I just don’t know them all!!).
Mark A. Morin 