Cave Drake - Finished 25/03

Rognarr · **Posted:** Fri Feb 22, 2013 2:31 pm

Maybe go for a scene like in the movie: ash-y, dark ground and Isildur and Elendil trappped between Sauron and rocks? I hope it's not too boring ^^

theavenger001 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:31 pm

If you could incorporate a small lava flow that would be cool. (and a great opportunity for osl)

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:09 pm

The rock face was an idea I was thinking of, great minds think alike. I will see how it all fits to see if I can pinch some lava.

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Mon Feb 25, 2013 11:32 am

I've finished Isildur and just the cloak left on Elendil. That will be all three finished and just the base to work through. The light source is from the left as you look at the main photo.
I just get the feeling something isn't quiet right and I need to work on something. I haven't sealed it yet so i can work on any alterations. Can anybody help please ?

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2013 3:22 pm

I've managed to fit a couple of rocks in. The sand etc has been glued in and the next step is to paint it all up once the glue has dried.
I just hope I have enough room for the figures ! I've tested them out and they seem to fit so I hope I wasn't wrong.
Unfortunately it seemed just a bit too cramped to fit the lava in.
I'm hoping to make this as realistic as possible. If I can get near to Celevue work then I will be mighty happy.

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:31 pm

The base is now painted but before I put the figures in place I want to know if everything looks ok.
I've put a green wash on the rocks to resemble moss, have I overdone it ?
What else can I do to add some realism ! Bearing in mind that this is meant to look like we are in Gorgoroth.

SidTheSloth · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:36 pm

If I were you I would perhaps repaint the green wash on the rocks... Mordor doesn't really strike me as a 'mossy' place (but it's entirely up to you of course)

Perhaps some dead or burnt grass (or a mixture of both) in the crook of the rocks?

theavenger001 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:49 pm

The moss does look overdone to me. Maybe just have a couple of spots in the shadows/crevices? I really like the ground colour you have, the natural variation is excellent. It's not straight black -> grey, nor dark brown -> light brown, great job on it!

John Wayne · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:13 pm

I realy like the green wash mate. The more fiddling with it the more mistakes could be made. There is not much more you can add for the scenery to be honest. Scatter a few mini rocks once the models are in place. :yay:

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:11 pm

I thought the last effort was too green and thank you all for your advice.
I've repainted the rocks and I'm happier with these but can I please ask again if you think they are ok.
I have kept a hint of green which I think works better than before.

Avenger - thanks for the comments on the ground, I was concerned about getting it right. In the end it couldn't be easier. After the glue had dried I applied a Scorched Brown wash. I drybrushed Codex Grey and highlighted lightly with Fortress Grey. Then I gave it a thinned Badab Black wash.

SidTheSloth · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:42 pm

Looks fantastic!
nice improvement I think :yay:

Crucium Giger · **Posted:** Fri Mar 01, 2013 8:54 am

The base looks spot on now

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Fri Mar 01, 2013 9:39 am

This must be me at world record pace, start to finish inside. 2 weeks. Thanks to all who have given their invaluable advice, so what do you think ?

garmenhord · **Posted:** Fri Mar 01, 2013 9:47 am

looks great :-)

SidTheSloth · **Posted:** Fri Mar 01, 2013 9:54 am

Fantabulous diorama! Really well finished! :yay:

I especially like the colours... Souron's dark, 'conquering' overlord apearance in contrast to Isildur's proud but battered red clothes. Very cool!

theavenger001 · **Posted:** Fri Mar 01, 2013 3:53 pm

Wow, way to finish this quickly! :-D

The re-painted rocks look much better imo, good job on them. The overall diorama looks great to me. If there was one thing that I would change, it would be making the rocks on the edge taller. Because Sauron is so tall, and on the edge of the diorama, it looks a little bit unbalanced.

However, you really do want to get that sense of Sauron looming over Isildur/Elendil, so you wouldn't want the rocks behind them to be so tall that they draw the focus away from Sauron.

Over all though, superb job. :yay:

Crucifer · **Joined:** Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:31 pm **Posts:** 128

That diorama looks really good! And the time that you did it in, just a few weeks I'm impressed I usually manage to paint at the most 1 mini per week!

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Fri Mar 01, 2013 6:35 pm

Thank you all for your very kind comments.

Avenger - I did consider higher rocks but the issue was the size of the base. If I'd have gone taller, then I risked losing the figures in the middle of two towers - Sauron and the rocks. So I decided to go for the smaller option, also I handily had some spare bits from a Woodland Scenic kit that I was able to use.

Crucifer - I must admit I'm surprised how quick I did it, inside two weeks. I'm usually very slow at painting but Sauron was surprisingly quick to do and the base didn't take more than a couple of hours, aside the drying time and that included repainting the rocks. So all in all I think it's one of those that looks like it has taken longer than it actually did.

Rognarr · **Posted:** Fri Mar 01, 2013 11:11 pm

Wow, another FANTASTIC diorama you did there Gandlaf! Perfect!

Ukfreddybear · **Posted:** Sat Mar 02, 2013 11:26 am

A lovely diorama. I'm most impressed with your Isildur. Very clean painting.

Cave Drake - Finished 25/03

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