Project diary: 1177 B.C. - 04

Hey all,

welcome to the fourth page of my project diary. If you're wondering what this is, please check the announcement post, in which I explain the motivation and general goals of the diary. At the bottom of that post, you will find a link to all parts of this series (constantly updated as soon as new articles are published).

Today's post will be about building the base - step 1. I say "step 1", because the base for our sea raider will be built in two steps: one before painting the mini and one after. In the first step, I will build the foundation for the base, that is:

1. preparing the plinth


2. creating the beach


3. integrating the mini

So, first I prepared the plinth. As noted before, for my single 1/72 miniatures, I typically use a 2x2x4cm plinth of simple beechwood, which I buy in bulk from the hardware store. To ensure a smooth finish and remove imperfections, I give the plinth a quick sanding with fine-grit sandpaper. Since I wanted the beachfloor to have a small decline where I can add some "deeper" water, I then attempted to cut away a little of one corner of the plinth. First I tried my luck with my trusted cheap-Dremel-like-tool, but I did not have my sawblades handy and the drill bit I used was no great help. So, I just ground the corner down with some coarse sandpaper, which worked really well.

After the slight decline was achieved, I created the "sand". For my 1/72 projects, I almost exclusively rely on a trusted technique for creating a relatively realistic sand: rolling out some Milliput and then stippling it with a stiff-bristled brush. In this case, I used an old toothbrush. This creates a nice and slightly irregular, fine-grained surface.

Once the beach was laid out but the Milliput was still workable, I carefully placed the figure on the sand and slightly pressed the feet into the Milliput to make sure that they give the impression of slightly soft beach sand. And that's the reason I did not yet put the pins into the mini's feet in the previous step ;-).

The next day, when the Milliput was cured, I realized that something was missing - I had the raider's feet nicely planted in the sand - but I forgot to put another footstep into the deeper sand, which I thought would look nice and make the whole scene more plausible. So, I shaved off some of the cured Milliput on the declining part of the beach, and created a new "sandy layer" of Milliput, in which I pressed one of the warrior's feet. And with that, I was satisfied with the base for now!

After the Milliput repair had cured, I gave the sides of the plinth another round of tender-loving-care with some fine-grit sand paper to ensure a smooth finish. Then, it was time to marry miniature and base. Remember those nice little holes I made into the soles of the figure's feet? Those I marked with a drop of dark paint, applied with the tip of a toothpick, and placed the feet into their positions on the Milliput-sand. In these marks, I drilled holes. Then I super-glued acupuncture needles into the mini's feet to work as pins, and glued the feet to the base. And done. For now.

Thanks for reading. The next entry to the project diary will include a bit more than two toothpick-tips worth of paint!

As always, let me know in the comments if you have questions. See you in a bit!

Best, D.