Monday, August 9, 2010

My GW Watchtower, Part 2 WIP and Finish

     Well, I finally got around to finishing my Watchtower. Let me start this off by telling you that I really enjoy making terrain. I should stress the making part. Painting, not so much. I also tend to get to a point on large models where I am basically sick and tired of looking at it, and I either put it down and walk away (normally for weeks or months), fight the urge to throw it against a wall, or figure out a way to fight through it and just get it done. I have walked away from many, luckily never thrown any against the wall, and the last normally affects the end result.

     The case with this Watchtower was I buckled down and just got it done. There are a few things I am not super happy about, but in general I am pleased. My borderline O.C.D. can be a bitch sometimes though and I simply have to tell my self, "It's done, it looks good, now leave it alone and do something else."

     So, in the pics above you can see the colors are all blocked out and ready for further work. Most of these colors were sprayed on using my airbrush. That is probably the thing that made this piece take the amount of time that it did. I really do not use my airbrush enough to become proficient with it, so there is always a period when I get it out that I have to re-learn how to use it. As I was saying, most of the colors were sprayed on using the airbrush. The metallic colors along with some of the gray, especially the areas around the windows and the thin portions between the top, middle, and bottom sections were painted on using a brush. I also painted the base with a brown color.

     I am not giving the names to any of the colors I use. It really does not matter all that much. For my terrain I typically do not use my normal paints. I have a pile of Anita's craft paints that I use. I just can't bring my self to empty a entire pot of GW or Valleyo paint on some terrain. This is also another area where you just have to get a feel for what you like and use it.
 
     After the base coats where applied, I took some GW wash and washed the metal areas. In addition I took a lighter brown and dry brushed the base to give it some depth. I also dry brushed the gray as well to give it a little extra definition. You might notice a few marks (there is one large one next to the door) were the wash either ran or accidentally was slopped onto places it did not go. I may go back and clean them up later, but at this point it is not really that important.

     After the wash and dry brushed areas were dry, I spread out some glue and applied flock to the base. Be sure when you do this step to let the flock sit on the base for 30-40 seconds so the glue has time to soak in. This will help with better coverage.

     My next project will most likely be a painting one. This one tower as well as the other things I was doing to pass the time have about killed the terrain bug I had. I will definitely do some more later, and I promise I will give you guys some pics and info when I do. Here are some finished pics for you to take a look at. I hope you like it
Finished Front
Finished Back

5 comments:

Carlos said...

I think the piece looks great. Have you given any thought onto weathering it? I have been trolling around and really like the look of it. I have seen it on vehicles mostly but that building could benefit from a little dirt and grime. It doesn't need it, but it would make it POP that much more.

Master Manipulator (every store needs one) said...

Yeah, I too have seen some great weathering out there. I just have not had the right motivation to strike out and try it. Might be something I look into for my next piece.

Thanks for the comments.

Brent said...

It's really beautiful work - I look forward to seeing it in person.

BTW, did you know Carlos created a blog? I linked to it on SA, but there's actually nothing to read there yet.

Brent

Carlos said...

Yes I did start one, or rather updated the one I had to start for school. I am putting together a few things at the same time so that I can have some content on there. I am also not married to the name either. I will send you an e-mail when I have it running the way I want it.

Thanks for the net stalking though, I won't tell Jawaballs, it’ll be our dirty little secret.

Carlos

Farseer Tim said...

did someone say stalking