Wednesday 15 April 2020

Scaling It Back A Bit

Hi All!

When in doubt, add a dinosaur!

It's taken me a couple of weeks to get around to this post, what with all this Covid-19 lockdown thingummy whatsit. Rum deal, eh what!

First and foremost, I hope you are all well and that things aren't too bad for you, wherever you are!

That said, on with the blog...

A cheap, 'orrible plastic dino! What could be more Colonel O'Truth?
As you may be aware, my posts have become something of a rarity over the last couple of years, so it was with some trepidation that I approached the old dusty boxes and shelves of model making supplies and whatnot and took stock of what I had...

Not much, as it turns out! Certainly, with no way of getting hold of new materials, paints, adhesives and so on, large projects like my immense walker and other VSF/steampunk machines were going to be something of a problem! So what to do?

The answer, I decided, was to think small.

Years ago, I began collecting 10mm fantasy miniatures and even went so far as to post a bit about them on this blog, but I never really got very far with them. Now, however, seems the perfect time to get back into this subject - after all, in such a small scale creations can bloom from off-cuts and little bits and bobs, with no need for large volumes of paint, glue and so on.

Ikkle tiny orcs and bad guys! 

I have quite a lot of orcs already painted, but they're all rather predictable - warriors, archers, wolf riders, etc. Lovely models for sure, but a Colonel O'Truth army needs a touch of weirdness. And 10mm is the perfect scale for thinking big while staying small.

Obviously, I needed a goblin castle on the back of an enormous purple ankylosaurus.

White undercoat is applied, and a rough shape for the castle is tried out on the monster's back!


A brown ink wash is applied...

The whole model is dry brushed with pale beige/brown


The first thing to do was to get the cheap plastic dinosaur looking good. For this, I applied my usual ink-wash and dry-brush technique, starting from a white undercoat and brown all-over wash. And in between drying times, I would also start designing the castle...

The beginnings of the castle. The whole thing is only 40mm wide.

The finished paint job on the ankylosaurus...


The evolving castle on the back of the beast!

The castle started to take shape a bit at a time, using nothing but off cuts of plastic board and cheap card. The intention here is to get a bit ridiculous... The final model will have some rather fun details I'm keeping to myself for now.

Once the structure of the castle was ready, I started to add stonework with greenstuff. Again, I have a limited supply of this stuff, so working in very small amounts is important.

The castle structure. 

Greenstuff details are added...

While this was all going on and copious amounts of coffee were being consumed, I was also giving some thought to what kind of terrain I want for this lot. After all, fantasy is the perfect genre for getting weird, using bright colours, and having fun. So why stick to traditional hills, woods, and so on for the table top? I mean, why not make a mountain out of a plastic skull?

And so began the construction of a new modular fantasy tabletop...

Orc archers atop a skull mountain...

More on that subject later...

The goblin castle takes shape!

Anyway, I think I've made a pretty good start on this one! There's plenty still to do on the dinosaur, some pretty cool terrain taking shape which I'll share with you soon, plenty of models to paint and lots of ideas for oddball fun elements - all without the need for heaps of new materials. And rest assured, there's more steam powered madness on the drawing board!

Keep watching, folks! Stay safe, and see you soon.

Just one part of the new table top... More soon!


All the best!



14 comments:

  1. Weird - I've had no internet for weeks and sign-up to a hot-spot at stoopid-o-clock in the dark-time to find a new post on my favorite Blog . . . well one of my favorite Blogs! Brilliant, I post dinosaurs with exactly this kind of thing in mind! AND, I've just watched Peter Jackson's 'Kong again! Keep up the best work . . H

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    1. Isn't it wonderful, the things that happen at stoopid o'clock!
      Thanks for the support - I'll be posting more soon!

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  2. Inspiring terrain and model in a scale I haven’t worked in . I really look forward to seeing more.

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  3. brilliant. brilliant. BRILLIANT.

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    1. Ooh, thanks very much! Ooh, thanks very much! OOH, THANKS VERY MUCH!
      Much appreciated, old boy!

      Delete
  4. It's so, so good to have you back! Great to hear all is well and what a treat this has been, looking forward to more updates.

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    1. Good to hear from you, Michael, Old Bean! I hope all is well at Castle Awdry.

      More is coming.

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  5. Good Heavens, old chap, you don't do things by half, what? Rather splendid stuff all round. One thought. Goblins being the sort of beasties they are, would they add graffiti of various lurid kinds to the hide of their poor old riding beast, or to the walls of the castle itself?

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    1. AJ! How the devil are you?
      Happy that you like the work, but since when were you permitted to have one thought?

      For your information, my goblins are surprisingly erudite, albeit that admittedly they would rather drink all the yummy paint than use it up in acts of mindless vandalism.

      Also, they are blue. But more on that later.

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  6. Splendid little fellows sir...
    Or it may be that they are just further away....

    All the best. Aly

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    1. They are a little farther away, as a matter of fact! I tried to get close, but the spears got in me eyes!

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  7. I war Saurus sounds like just the thing! And the creature top castle should be incredibly defensible . . . until Anne Kylie O'Saurus decides she's having none of it and gives the thing a toss, that is. Might be less effective as a fortification if it lands sideways. Or collapses on impact with the ground. But hey, that's half the fun of a good romp: picking yourself up when you get tossed. Splendid stuff!

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