WHEN IT ALL COMES CRUMBLING DOWN

 I have made a little progress on my Mall project, and want to show the steps I've taken, in the hopes it can help and inspire others with their own projects. First I built the basic structure out of dense foam, and glued and pinned it together with cocktail sticks, I also used cocktail sticks to strengthen the pillars.

Next I added a smooth tile effect with 0.5 mm plasticard ( not greenstuff again John ! LOL), I did this as the reference picture showed smooth texture to this section.

As you can see above I've left the plasticard off where the brick wall needs to be attached, and that is where this project is going to have to stay at for this challenge, as I will be away from the computer for a few weeks, also I will be unable to comment on here or your fine blogs until I return. When I do return I will make sure to get the Apocalypse Me roundup done as quick as possible, and catch up on your blogs, so until then stay safe and have fun !

Cheers Dave

ANY PORT IN A STORM

 Not that I would advocate using a tent in any form of apocalypse, but I have finished my new open tent. Colour wise I've gone for yellow, but any colour would work, internally I went for off white, like you see in a real tent.

Above you can also see it next to the closed version, out of the two I probably like the open version more, that's all for this post, so until next time stay safe, and have fun !

Cheers Dave

JUST ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

 Moving onto the next apocalypse piece, I 've decided to do it in sections, as it will end up being a fairly big project, and I can then reveal it a section at a time, but for this first one, I wanted to show how I approached the painting of the bricks.

STEP 1

After I created the brick pattern in the foam, I added the base layer to each brick separately, and didn't load up the brush for each brick, this meant that I got a variance in base tone over the whole wall, this also allowed the base colour of the foam to show through more on some of the bricks. I used Vallejo Terracota for the base layer

STEP 2

Next I gave a drybrush of GW Zandri Dust all over some areas I worked it heavier than others, just to add more variance again

STEP 3

Using GW Apothecary White Contrast paint I added some small areas of this to random bricks, start with a minimum number to begin with, as it's easier to add more, than to try and get back to the previous stage.

STEP 4 

Next I wanted to add some green moss growth to the bottom of the wall, the first layer was done with an old GW glaze, as this would be more subtle.

STEP 5

Next I went in with GW green wash, and stippled it other the previous layer, making sure to leave a gap between the top edge of the previous layer and this new one.

STEP 6

Next I stippled in some GW black wash in a smaller area than last time, I also added some black wash to some of the bricks higher up as well, below is the end result.

So what is this for you may ask, currently I have nowhere to photograph my zombie models   and thought it would be cool to have a mall as the backdrop, below is what I'[m planning to do.

Some of you may recognise it from a famous zombie movie, which is where I got my inspiration from.

In other news my good friends over at Minaturemen have got a new kickstarter going for their new ogre releases, I am doing the casting for this and also sculpted the female ogre for the campaign.

Kickstarter Ogres That's all for this post, so until next time stay safe and have fun !

Cheers Dave

500 th POST

 OR CAN YOU SEE ME

I had a hard time believing that between when I was posting on another blog and all the posts on this one, I've reached the 500 th post, when I started blogging I would have thought it would be a miracle if I ever reached 100 ! LOL

Now on with todays content, do you ever wake up and have a crazy idea for one of your models, and just think what the hell, why not ? In my house we call that a Tuesday, or any other day with a Y in it ! LOL This latest crazy idea was involving my Chameleon Skinks that GW released, the first one was a special character, then they included a small unit of them in a later edition of the rule book, I've noticed that they have a couple in Age of Sigmar now as well. The one thing that didn't appeal to me was the plain green colour scheme they painted them in, as Chameleons are one of my favourite lizards I wanted to get some of the amazing colours they turn into the models (this should also help spotting them on a gaming board ! LOL) First up is the character sculpt that GW released, I've also included the reference picture I used for the colour scheme below.

The next 3 all came from a single pack of metal models, and below each one I've included the reference picture I based it on.

From above you may have noticed the frogs that adorn the 3 models these are used to add poison to the the darts for their blowpipes, I used a variety of references for the colours of the poison frogs. Lastly here is a group shot of the four of them.

Now back onto this months challenge, and try not to get distracted by the new models I've got ! LOL So until next time stay safe and have fun !

Cheers Dave

THE PRECIOUS JUICE

 One thing that is a common theme in apocalypse settings whether it be Zombie or post apocalyptic is finding fuel to keep your vehicles moving, so having a tanker is a good way of storing your fuel and keeping it mobile and with you. Now I have a large tanker which I produce as seen below.

Now I wanted a smaller version, the model started life as a Tamyia WW II airfield fuelling truck, I added plating over the back wheels to protect the tyres meshing over the windows, and a big dozer blade at the front made from plasticard, I also added some battle damage to areas to show it's been in many fights. For the painting I started again, as I had started this some 15 years ago, but actually wanted a more dilapidated colour scheme, showing it's been around a while. 

I started by doing a rust effect all over, then adding areas of paint, and freshly exposed metal, I'm really pleased with the end result, and is a great addition to my ever growing vehicle pool. That's all for this post, next time something totally different, so until then, stay safe and have fun !

Cheers Dave 

IS IT SAFE

 For my first Apocalypse Me post, I've been working on some tents, didn't I do that on a previous year, yes I did, but I sold that one as Joe, from joesavestheday ordered a painted version, and said he would like it like the pictures on the website, so I need a new one, I've gone for a green one this time, would hopefully blend into the scenery better, and less likely to draw attention.

I've also been creating a new version, this time with the tent flaps open, here is the green before casting.

To complete the piece there is an internal section as well, which I have already cast, and below is the painted version.

Hopefully I can get the tent cast this week, and be able to release it soon, that's all for this post, next time a vehicle, so until then, stay safe and have fun !

Cheers Dave

CLEAN UP

 This was originally going to be my post for Friday, but needed to set the challenge, and before I get my first post done for Apocalypse Me, it's a good idea to clear any backlog. A while back my friends at Minaturemen sent me some Star Wars figures, along with some casting I am doing for them ( more on that when it goes up). There was an assortment of miniatures including one that will fit in for Movember, but in there was two members of the Black Sun syndicate, as I didn't have any for this syndicate, this was a great start for it, they are basic troopers, and I've gone with the colour scheme from "The Clone Wars" cartoon series, I've included a reference picture below.

One of the other models in there was Luke Skywalker in Hoth fatigues, even though I'm not doing Hoth at the moment, it was a fun distraction, the only addition I did to the model was using a translucent rod for the lightsabre.

Last today is a picture that was requested by Jeff on one of my recent posts, where he asked if I could show the big scale marine next to a regular gaming one.

For anyone who might have missed it Roger has the roundup of the Ogre painting challenge up on his blog rantingsfromunderthewargamestable and if you haven't got yours posted up yet, just send Roger a link once you've posted it up, so he can include yours to.

In other news Simon over at https://www.fantoricalwargaming.com/ is running Zomtober this year, so if you want to get double recognition for your Apocalypse Me submissions, pop on over and sign up.

That's all for this post, next time some scenery, so until then, stay safe and have fun !

Cheers Dave