A place in the sun - Part 2.

As you will remember, our erstwhile hero, fresh from other adventures, had completed the construction of the single storey Moghul building. Here is a scene from our last episode:

With the Tamiya "Grit" applied to the roof, it is time to cover the cardboard base with gravel, then spray the piece and set it aside. I usually leave it overnight, but if there's a rush even I am willing to take a risk and give the piece a couple of hours before drybrushing. If I am working on only one of these pieces, I try to have other projects going at the same time, so there is no downtime waiting for paint to dry. For example with this piece I also worked on Dwarf shields, Dutch East India Company flags, and prepared other figures for painting.

Watching paint dry . . . I shudder at the thought.

 I used Tamiya "Dark Yellow" as the base colour for the superstructure, and Tamiya "Nato Brown" for the graveled  base.

I have built and painted several buildings for David over the past few years, and I fluctuate between "Dark Yellow", "Light Sand" and "Tan (USAF)" for the base colours. I generally like to use "Nato Brown" for the flocked areas on a base, as it gives a richer contrast to the earthy tones of the building. It doesn't really matter if some of the spray extends up the wall, this helps to give a grimy feel to the lower section of the wall. The knowledge of this comes from a deep familiarity with rising damp.

The wall colour is drybrushed. I use Humbrol colours, a mixture of Tan, Brick Red, Trainer Yellow and White. Sometimes I use one of several khakis, if I am looking for a different feel for the building. But generally I am after a washed-out, aged look, wind and sun blasted. Sometimes the final drybrushed colour is almost pure white.

The upper part of the wall is masked and painted a mixture of Tan and Black. Again, drybrushing distresses the colour to a faded, worn look, in keeping with the feeling of an impoverished lifestyle. Again, something with which I am intimately familiar.

The mask is lightly laid on to avoid lifting paint. Any spills or undersoaks can easily be fixed with the brush. And you are left with a reasonably straight line.

From there on it is a matter of detailing. The doors are painted, as are the window grills and roof trapdoors. The exposed brickwork is treated with Brick Red and drybrushed to distress again. A spike is added to the dome, painted bronze and given a stippled verdigris effect, showing wear and tear.

Finally the base is drybrushed and a mixture of Noch and Stiflor grass tufts are added. Where were we before the invention of grass tufts? The whole is sprayed with Testors Flat varnish to seal.

The painting section is actually the quickest part of the procedure. I hope you agree that the final effect is quite satisfying. For other pics check out David's blog:

 http://golcondarising.blogspot.com/2010/12/for-furt.html

This link goes directly to a post on one of his buildings. Check out the rest of the blog, some great stuff there, even if I do say so myself.

I will do more of these landscape posts. The next big one is a Moghul gate section based on a variety of Moghul fortresses. The following pics give an idea of what I am facing.

It will be a sight to see.

Remember to make your cheques out to the Society for the Prevention of Poverty to the Wind-swept and Interesting.

This has been a public service announcement for no-one in particular. We now return you to the regularly scheduled broadcast.

Cheers
PC