Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Fruit of my Labor Day Weekend

Monday was Labor Day here in the US, you know the holiday where we celebrate the struggle of the worker by grilling dead animal flesh and drinking beer. ;) Aside from the fact that it's how we celebrate all holidays here.

Anyhow I actually put in some concerted hobby time and got all of the forces washed up and glued to washers. I finished the clay layer on the bases as well, still need to add goop and sand. I will do some more priming today and hopefully start applying the first wash to help pick out detail.

The whole lot.

Egyptians (Stygustan)

Romans (Tropilium)
I'll have to get the gooping on these done later today or tonight. I have not been at all productive today. One thing I need to remember is that the air drying modelling clay has one draw back. If you let it dry it cracks very easily with handling. It comes out much better if you apply the texture gel to the clay while it is still wet. You can "glue the shards of clay together with the texture gel, but it is obviously a pain.

Although I still have a lot of work to do I am feeling good about this project, thus far. I'm not sure why the flash didn't seem to go off, I rushed these pics to get this post out.

Also note that the Swiss pikemen by MiniArt, the silver guys behind the gray Zvezda roman auxiliaries were modified in that I snipped off the pike stub and drilled out their forward hand to make a socket for the rest of the pike. The little piece included to join pike handle to pike shaft was clunky and crappy. I only had one drill slip where it looks like it os coming out of his wrist instead of his hand. Not too bad.
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19 comments:

  1. MathyooSeptember 3, 2013 at 3:33 PM

    That seems like a lot of work done for the future painting!

    As for cracking, try mixing some PVA in.

    And I feel obliged to let you know May 1st is the only true worker's day off (but the grill part still stands :P)!

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    1. SeanSeptember 3, 2013 at 3:49 PM

      Thanks Mathyoo. I'm trying to use the paste over the top instead of PVA as it has some grit in it to add texture. I'm then throwing some green aquarium sand on top of that while it's wet.

      And yes May Day is the true workers day but we don't celebrate it here in the US. So Labor day is it for us.

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    2. SeanSeptember 3, 2013 at 4:01 PM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. MathyooSeptember 4, 2013 at 1:52 AM

      I know what you mean, but I meant you might want to try mixing PVA in the clay...I've never tried it myself but heard people were doing that. You could (and should!) still use the paste over if for texture.

      What I do with mine is just ordinary sand glued in one or two layers :)

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    4. SeanSeptember 4, 2013 at 6:17 AM

      Thanks Mathyoo, it never occurred to me to try that. I'm not sure how easy it would be to mix in the glue. One thing I'm trying to avoid is the effect where I can still see the integral cast base showing, it just bugs me. I do have to be careful that the figures don't look like they're ankle deep in mud though.

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  2. Ray RousellSeptember 3, 2013 at 8:09 PM

    Someone's been busy!!

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    1. SeanSeptember 4, 2013 at 6:08 AM

      Yes Ray, although busy for a weekend for me is a lunch break for you.

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  3. Justin PenwithSeptember 3, 2013 at 9:40 PM

    I often use DAS clay and have not had issues with it cracking. I do use it rather wet, though, and spread it with a knife or small trowel. Instead of clay, you can use painter's caulk and then use pva and and over that to get the texture.

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    1. SeanSeptember 4, 2013 at 6:11 AM

      Thanks Justin. I'm using plastic sculpting tools for application. I could perhaps wet it more. There are no issues if I cover it in some kind of PVA/ Texture Gel/ what have you immediately. I also got a pretty thin layer on some of these which made them even more brittle.

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  4. Jonas MSeptember 3, 2013 at 11:22 PM

    Good work! Looking forward to seeing them all painted up.

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    1. SeanSeptember 4, 2013 at 6:11 AM

      Thank you Jonas, I'm really trying not to disappoint.

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  5. Colgar6September 4, 2013 at 2:08 AM

    As Jonas said. Great effort so far, keep going to the end :-) !

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    1. SeanSeptember 4, 2013 at 6:13 AM

      Thanks Colgar, the main thrust of this project will be finishing it. I'm not going to focus on whether or not I am approaching my ultimate aesthetic. A goal which may be unrealistic anyway given my current skill level.

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  6. RodgerSeptember 4, 2013 at 2:55 AM

    Nice bit of work Sean!

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  7. Chris StoesenSeptember 4, 2013 at 3:39 AM

    Great start.

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    1. SeanSeptember 4, 2013 at 6:14 AM

      Thank you Chris. I'm great at starting, it's the finishing that I'm having trouble with.

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  8. cedricSeptember 4, 2013 at 10:48 PM

    that's a very good update. lots of stuff done. Don't feel overwhelmed. It will diminish as soon as painting starts. I have tons of started project and the finishing can be faster than expected once I really need them painted for scenario

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    1. SeanSeptember 5, 2013 at 6:50 AM

      Thanks Cedric, I made some more progress yesterday and hope to get cracking today.

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