Additions & Adornments

Additions & Adornments

Icicles

Stage 1

Cut strips from transparent plastic (acetate or blister pack) leaving a sawtooth edge.

Stage 2

Attach in place with clear epoxy resin adhesive.

Stage 3

Cover with more epoxy to build 3D icicles.

*Graves* (Click thumbnails for larger images)
Materials: Cavalry Bases Plaster A&K Studios Gravestones Skullcrafts Static Grass PVA / White Glue Superglue	Stage 1 Use superglue to stick the gravestones to on end of a cavalry base. You can see that I cut a hole in one of the bases to represent an unfinished grave. I then stuck this on top of a piece of thin plastic.	Stage 2 Paint the base with PVA, and let it dry. Mix up some plaster, and pour this on top of the graves. Build up the sides of the open grave, and make a heap of plaster at the opposite end from the gravestone.
Stage 3 Second thoughts - I decided the dwarf grave should look a bit different. I glued the ribs that I cut from the open grave to form an enclosure, and then used PVA to stick sand inside it.	Stage 4 Once the plaster on the open grave had set well, I soaked it with water, and sprinkled fresh dry plaster on the top using a teaspoon. This gives a rough, earth-like texture. Let it dry well, before continuing.	Stage 5 Next, undercoat the models: I did two in white, and three in black. Base coat the earth brown, and drybrush the loose earth of the open grave. Paint different marble and granite textures on the stones.
Stage 6 Apply static grass to any appropriate areas of the models, using watered-down PVA.	Close-up of the dark stones For the red granite I used the same colours as the red marble. The right-hand stone was painted by streaking different greys using a splayed (ruined) soft brush.	Close-up of the light stones This shows the earth mounded up around the open grave, and the enclosure on the dwarf grave. I kept this shorter than the base, for obvious reasons.

Removable Signs (Click thumbnails for larger images)

Materials:

Blister Pack Plastic

Card / Basswood

(Printer)

(Spray Glue)

Superglue

Stage 1

Decide how big your sign will be and draw the shape onto some thick card or thin basswood. Carefully cut the outline with a sharp craft knife.

Stage 2

You can paint the design onto the sign if you like. I made a design on the computer, printed it, and stuck it onto the basswood using spray glue. This prevents the paper wrinkling up.

Stage 3

Cut a piece of clear plastic from a blister pack. This should be just less than the width of the sign. Score a line with the back of the knife, and bend the plastic into an L-shape.

Stage 4

Fix the plastic bracket to the back of the sign with superglue, and trim any excess length with the craft knife. The sign should now sit on the lower wall of a building with separate storeys.

Stage 5

The finished sign in position over the door of my alchemist's shop. The sign can now be removed for transportation or storage, or replaced with a different sign to represent a different shop.

Spiders' Webs (Click thumbnails for larger images)

Materials:

Iron-on Hemming Tape

PVA / White Glue

Stage 1

This is a close-up of the iron-on hemming tape. The strip is 20mm (¾inch) wide

Stage 2

Mark a piece to fit into a corner of the model. It is easiest to cut this material with a sharp pair of scissors.

Stage 3

Place three or more small spots of PVA glue in appropriate positions on the model. Using a pair of tweezers, carefully place the hemming tape in position.

Stage 4

Here is a picture of the finished dungeon wall section, with three pieces of web.

Stage 5

To make this example, I tore the edges of the tape, rather than cutting it with scissors.

Tapestries (Click thumbnails for larger images)
Materials: Inkjet Printer Art Canvas Paper (shown front and back) Cocktail Stick 3mm Metal Crimp Beads PVA (White Glue)	Stage 1 Find or create suitable images for your tapestries. Import them into a layout program like Corel Draw, or MS Word. I printed a complete row at a time to avoid wasting the paper, which isn't cheap.	Stage 2 Cut the images out with a sharp craft knife or scissors.
Stage 3 The cut edges will be white, which looks odd if the image has a dark edge. I used a permanent black pen to cover these.	Stage 4 The pole is made from a cocktail stick and 2 of the crimp beads. Push a bead as far as it will go onto one end of the stick, and trim to length.	Stage 5 Cut the other end so it overhangs, and sand down the end until the bead fits snugly. Fix the beads with a small dab of PVA, and paint or stain the stick.
Stage 6 Using PVA, glue the pole to the top edge of the tapestry, and it is ready to be fixed onto the wall.	Stage 7 As an alternative, I cut a thin strip of coloured paper, and made tabs to attach this tapestry to the pole.	Stage 8 The second tapestry complete with tabs.

Stargate Kawoosh (Click thumbnails for larger images)

Materials:

Suitable former

Acetate

Cling film

Clear adhesive tape

Clear epoxy adhesive

Gloss varnish & blue ink

Stage 1

Wrap a strip of acetate around a cylindrical former with a rounded top. Secure the acetate with clear tape. This is a small vacuum flask, but a standard aerosol cap could be modified with the addition of a dome made from modelling clay or foam.

Stage 2

Wrap a couple of layers of cling film over the top of the former and covering the acetate.

Stage 3

Smear clear epoxy adhesive over the cling film, working your way down from the top. Once you get close to the base, remove the piece from the former.

Stage 4

Attach the piece to the base with more clear epoxy, and finish off any areas which were not covered before.

Stage 5

Paint the whole surface with a mixture of gloss varnish with a little blue ink added to tint it.

Contact me with suggestions, comments or questions.