Word of Blake Shadow Division
I have two more ‘Mechs to add to this unit before they are completely done but thought I should share what I have so far. This particular Shadow Division uses a black to gray fade with gold highlights on the arms.
The Seraph is the miniature I entered for the GenCon 2009 painting competition. I was sure blown out of the water in that competition. The CamoSpecs crew are a hard bunch to beat when it comes to slapping paint around.
The lava base was inspired somewhat by the last battle in the Wolf and Blake starterbook. I wanted to add more color to the models besides the simple green jeweling and cockpits. While the technique I used is not as precise it is fast and effective.
Easy Lava
I started by tearing apart a cork and gluing the jagged looking pieces to my hex base. I filled in the gaps with medium ballast from Woodland Scenics.
After allowing the glue time to completely dry I laid down a thick layer of bright yellow paint. From there I simply dry brushed up with orange then red, and finally black. Each dry brush is successively smaller in scope with the exception of the black which was brushed heavy enough to cover the tops of the cork where the ‘Mechs are supposed to stand.
Each ‘Mech had to be trimmed down at the feet and attached to the cork via 5-minute epoxy. Simple as that you have a very nice looking lava base. I think it is a little over the top but there is nothing saying you couldn’t cover a smaller area and have a more appropriately scaled lava.
Posted under Minis
I think that these miniatures are very well painted wargaming standard mechs. Let’s be honest and admit that we really wouldn’t want to be handling, on a regular basis, some of the creations that we see on Camo Specs. Let alone allowing other people get their grubby paws on them.
Now don’t take this the wrong way, but I do wish that CGL, or whoever, when they were thinking up the WoB scheme had thought to reverse it from the current specification, because it would make a lot more sense to fade from dark down to light, if you want some sort of disruption of the shape through the tonal qualities of the camouflage.
Cork makes for some wonderful craggy rock. Nice work on the mechs. Did you paint the transition or use an airbrush/spray for it? It’s nice and smooth. Some of the highlights are a bit rough, but at this scale it’s rather hard to get them ‘just’ right, and battle damage being as persistent as it is on the battlefield, it would make sense for a bit rougher of a look to a mech.
I have had people suggest pinning the models to the base into the foot for a bit more security when using cork for basing, might save you some time in waiting for the epoxy to dry. Only issue being here is that you can’t use the L pin and would have to use a straight pin into the metal of the base. But it’s a thought for added security!
Great blog btw!
@ grey_death, yes the transition is painted on. No airbrush for me yet, although it’s been something I’ve wanted to try out eventually.
You are very right on the pinning. Thinking about it now, that cork is the weakest link in my ‘Mechs structure. Not much of a worry with the Redshift and possibly the BlackKnight, but the Seraph and the Legacy might have trouble down the line. Good news is that they would be relatively easy to repair if the cork gave way.
Glad to hear you like the blog, thanks for stopping by!