Are you measuring the top or the bottom of the base?

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Studio gaarew; Gaming armies, by gamers, for gamers.

Top of the base is 50mm, bottom 53mm, and it stands only 2mm high. Its not as high as the normal cavalry bases

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The Southern Fiefdoms: http://www.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21928

It's not a GW base is it?

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Studio gaarew; Gaming armies, by gamers, for gamers.

it certainly doesn't *sound* like a games workshop base...

Hey everyone!

Back to recording some of my current projects. The One Ring Awards are taking up a large chunk of my time, and as I'm leaving for Uni on thursday, I'll find it incredibly difficult to work on this hobby let alone update the thread. So here's a little update.


Ruin of Arnor WIP

I bought an Ent the other day and comparing the base with the one my Wild Warg Cheiftain sits on, have come to the logical decision that indeed it was not a GW base (see earlier discussion)

Currently painting 32 Orcs, using a very simple method, but not particularly good for capturing detail.

1) I base coated all of them black to begin with.
2) Drybrushed the armour
3) Painted the cloth using Graveyard Earth, Bubonic Brown, Fortress Grey etc
4) First wash of Bestial Brown to add a little depth

I've yet to apply a black wash/glaze to specific areas such as the grey or dark brown areas. I want them looking pretty dull apart from their faces which is why I'm leaving them till last. The skin sections will be done at the same time as the faces.

<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=MEMO0001-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/MEMO0001-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=MEMO0002.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/MEMO0002.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=MEMO0003.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/MEMO0003.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

The grey areas have yet to have any highlights or washes however the 'brown shades' have. I will darken the colours with the next wash. Ooh and the armour has yet to be highlighted. Fear not! I will rescue them!


Hobbit Hole WIP

I've also recently started painting up a Hobbit Hole that may look familiar to most of you. Natarn Ulka very kindly sent me two of the casts of his Hobbit Holes and as promised I'm taking step-by-step pics for an article, here's a sneak peak of the progess so far.

<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000082.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000082.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000081.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000081.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000075.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000075.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

The first two pics show the current colour, no flash, just natural light. The third is actually the same stage but I think a dark cloud may have gone past as I was taking the photo.

The resin casts are very elegant, I almost felt rude attacking them with my paintbrush but alas their sweet aroma of honey (yes it actually does smell of honey) could not deter the inevitable. The casts are of a very fine quality, and the paint sticks wonderfully to them. Painting them has so far been a delight and I highly recommend everyone to buying a set, you will have great fun!

Thankyou Mr Natarn Ulka!

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The Southern Fiefdoms: http://www.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21928

Looking good!

Love the hobbit hole.

Nice, I like the stones of the Hobbit hole

The orcs look already nice and with a black wash your army is finished. Great work!

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Eclipse Painting - Let Miniatures Shine - Commissions

No worries, Jack! I hope you had a great birthday!

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Painting again...

Thanks for the kind words guys. The hobbit hole work has halted while as I'm looking into ways to make realistic windows. Thanks Natarn, I had a nice birthday

I've done a little more work on the orcs. I added a highlight to some of the cloth areas before giving all the orcs a black wash. I'm pleased with their appearance now, as they blend well and look more menacing.

<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000116.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000116.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000118.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000118.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000125.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000125.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000126.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000126.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000128.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000128.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000133.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000133.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000137.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000137.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I've yet to touch their skin, belts or straps. Any ideas on how to make their faces look particularly grotesque? I was thinking greens and dirty peach colours with scars and stitches and maybe bruises or spots or something.

The faces will hopefully be neater as I want to highlight up rather than use washes although glazes can leave nice finishes, oh decisions

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The Southern Fiefdoms: http://www.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21928

The mixing and matching of heads and weapons fits perfectly for the orcs and makes them look more like the disorganized rabble they are.

Firstly, a glaze and a wash are completely different things, plus, glazing the face is only going to differentiate the fleshtone a little bit. I use glazes all the time as they are a much, much thinner consistency than washes - for my most recent project I'm using yellow glazes to brighten up Legolas' jerkin. A wash is what you applied (heavily) to your orcs. Actually, I think you've went a little overboard with a few of them, as there are some really big splotches which have been left over.

In terms of the flesh tones - go crazy and use all the colours! Don't limit yourself to a few, diversity is the key, especially with orcs, who are actually a rather colourful bunch.

Otherwise, proprs for the batch painting - can't bring myself to EVER do that

keep on at it mate!

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Available for commission painting, PM me if you're interested.

I find the brown tunics looking strange.

About Orcs, they have brown and green faces mostly, so go wild within that range.

Well, in the movies, Orcs had skin colours that ranged from pale to dark flesh tones, but at no time did they have green skin. I might be mistaken of course.

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Dagster

No, there were quite a few orcs with green skin. e.g. one of Gothmog's captains at Minas Tirith, though the moria goblins were a lot 'greener'. Any dirty greens, reds, browns and flesh tones would look well IMO.

I always think that when one has questions , it's better to go to the source. It always gives me an excuse to see the movies again.

Nice job on those orcs Mate. I think some of the armour looks great , especially on the or in the middle of the 4th picture. Only complaint is that due to the wash, some of the mold lines are showing up, and I don't think that a black wash really helps the colour you are using.

What do I see there?! A mordor troll chieftain with WINGS?

Hey everyone!

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I've been busy lately with coursework most of which is yet to be done, however on a brighter note I managed to do some more work on my Ruin of Arnor project. Firstly to respond to a few messages.

The washes I had done originally did come out looking rather 'heavy' in areas. Since then I have bought the £12 Citadel Wash set and the brown pot has helped enormously. I'll get pics up as soon as I complete some more areas, I haven't the time to record each stage.

After suggestions and research I am going to go for a number of colours to represent Orc skin. No reds! But rather a selection of browns, murky greens (although I'm going to use this mainly for my Morannon Orcs), rotten flesh, dirty greys and a few lighter grey complexions. I'll see how it goes.



Now there's an idea...

Just to clarify, I'm not that crazy! It's a Gulavhar model cleverly positioned behind a Troll Cheiftain.


So here's an update of were I'm at. When I was last home I finally plucked up the courage to try working with modelling putty. The overall experience was a fun one and it was quite relaxing as well, rolling the putty in your hand into a ball. However when I came to sculpting I found that the Milliput was rather 'rough' and 'dry'. Does anyone know why that is? It didn't prevent me from sculpting bark impressions on however, the finished effect looks more like a moss-infested stump than a dead tree stump. Looks cool to me though. In order to help it dry I coated it with water using my brush as I remember reading somewhere that saliva can help it to stick better.

<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000259.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000259.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000258.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000258.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000256.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000256.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

If anyone can remember back to a previous post, I did state that I would sculpt on top of the dead twigs I found on my beach and ta da! I'm quite pleased with the level of detail and will certainly transfering what I've learnt into more tree details. The other branches I stuck to the terrain won't see quite as much attention, rather the roots and areas around the lower parts of the trunks.

This has definitely been an interesting experiment, but I'm still curious as to why my Milliput was so dry. I used an equal amount of each putty type and mixed them thoroughly. Was it a lack of saliva/water before sculpting which prevented me from getting a smooth finish?

I also worked on a piece of terrain that was originally going to sit as a Sci Fi piece however I saw potential in it to be one of Osgiliath's or Harad's many ruins. I piled polyfilla in areas to suggest debris and poured sand and stones in areas. I'm contemplating different ideas on how to make it a Harad or Gondor ruin, both are completely different for example, Harad style ruins might have more Middle-Eastern looking features while Gondorian style buildings would have more columns and arches perhaps.

Any ideas on how to convert this ruin into either more of Harad or Gondor based piece?

<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000265.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000265.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000266.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000266.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

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The Southern Fiefdoms: http://www.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21928

Just a small update. I've decided on basing the ruins as Osgiliath ones, for a few reasons.

1) Harad themed buildings in the sourcebook look cool and I would like to try and make a set of them one day
2) There are plenty of Osgiliath references in the films
3) I have left out brick details which is not so important as it may have been repaired by orcs at some time

<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000268.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000268.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000269.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000269.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I've added two doors, one to the front entrance and the other to the side door. The doors differ in that one appears to have been knocked off its hinges while the other has been hacked by axes or a Troll's fist!

<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000275.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000275.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/?action=view¤t=P1000278.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z261/lorderkenbrand/P1000278.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

There are also a set of steps now connecting the lower quarter to the raised quarters. These have been polyfilled to retain the overall effect. I'm in the process of undercoating it right now but also open to advice on how to make it look more like a ruin of Osgiliath. Orc constructions made from wood and rags may look cool, or perhaps stray weapons propped up against walls or left lying might add some more realism.

I'll be producing a few of these, each with a different layout and unique details.

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The Southern Fiefdoms: http://www.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21928

If your milliput is rough and dry, there are a couple of things that will help.

Sometimes when mixing it, it feels hard, a bit like plastercine. If it is like this, you need to warm it up with your hands through kneeding and rolling.
This should make the putty more stretchy and supple.

Now, you realise that it is totally different in character to green stuff, as milliput can be 'crumbly' and not as rubbery as gs.

To smooth it, try adding a little water. Not too much as it dilutes the putty.


I like the texture that you've created for the bark of the tree. It does look convincing.

Now, get on with some coursework... and then do a bit of painting or modelling as a reward!

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Painting again...

A reply!



I'll be careful next time, thanks for the tip



I never got round to using that stuff yet, I'm saving it for when my sculpting skills improve a little/lot more.



Very pleased to hear it. I was a little worried about the size of the pics once I posted them. Its about 2 or 3 times the size of it in reality so the bark details are really quite small. Painting them should be fun though no doubt.

Does anyone add a layer of PVA to seal the putty or is that a bad idea?

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The Southern Fiefdoms: http://www.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21928

I've only worked with milliput once and I really didn't like it. Hearing you talk about it reminded me why! It was way too crumbly for my taste (is crumbly a word?!?).

Having said that, I think the tree looks pretty cool. I wonder if you could put a mini there next to it for scale?

As far as the Ruins go. I'm not sure what to do to make it more gondorian in nature. Maybe something as subtle as some old gondorian shields lying in the rubble?

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There and Blog Again ...