May be a good idea - I won't get chance to do anything until next week, so it gives me some thinking time.

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Isn't there meant to be a great jungle somewhere deep in far harad where the mumakil come from though? You'd probably find bamboo there.

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May the wind under your wings bear you to where the sun sails and the moon walks!

Baskets are often made from wicker many are made from grass. Remember Nile river reed mats and boats. Western desert yucca baskets are green so are the grass baskets from the coast of South Carolina.Wicker chairs are often painted.Grass baskets are dyed and woven in many colors. My point is you can justify painting it any color you want.

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0210200 ... d_boat.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket_weaving Note the reference to Hickory
http://www.missiondelrey.com/tainba.html
http://www.nativetech.org/basketry/coilback.html

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

Thanks Oldman Willow - some good links there. It gives me more food for thought. Hopefully I will get a bit done early next week and post a picture to show what decision I've made.
I don't envisage anything green but you never know.

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I've had half an hour to do a test on the wood. I am totally unsure if it will work or not - so I am once again asking for help. I have done just one support and you can see the comparison with the wickerwork.



So does it work or not is the question ?

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It's hard to tell from just one support but I think it is maybe just a tad too red.
The wicker looks sweet though

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Ash Nazg Durbatulûk, Ash Nazg Gimbatul,
Ash Nazg Thrakatulûk Agh Burzum-ishi Krimpatul.

It looks nice but I'm afraid in case you plan to use the usual colour-sheme, where the rags are red'ish aswell, the effect will get lost a bit in 'too much red' in the end...

I think I would go for a more khemri-brown'ish or graveyard colour or something, and lighting it with either bleached bone or skull white...

I think a lot depends on the colour of the rags you plan to do...

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Andrew Bart
Thanks for the replies.
Like I said I wasn't sure and after I posted this I went and set about changing, going more along the lines of Graveyard Earth. Only based at present so I will work on the highlights and shading and post some more pics.
The look is better already and like you say Bart, it will fit better with the red of the Howdah, which is my intention.
I did think of purple as with the Haradrim colour scheme I will adopt, but that may be a bit too much.

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Okay then, I've re-done the woodwork to something I am satisfied with and I took the opportunity to finish one side by doing the cloth to the howdah. At least it now gives a bit more of an idea of the finished look.


This one gives a good view of how the wicker, wood, rope and cloth compare to one another.

Slowly but surely getting there
I will work on the otherside of the Mumak and then look at the rest of the Howdah
The shading may appear a bit here and there, but I have tried to bear in mind the rest of the Howdah and the prow the Mahud (can't wait to paint him) will stand on. That's why some of the uprights have little in the way of highlights. They may get a further touch up once the rest of the Howdah is in place.
If you look you will see I have darkened the wicker toward the Mumak as with the wooden supports. That should help with the final look, so that I don't have a bright highlight that is actually underneath 1/2 a tonne of wood !!!

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The new wood colour looks far better, IMO. The last time around, it looked a little like cartoon colouration - not a bad thing in itself, but compared to the awesome realisticness of the rest of the painting, it spoilt the overall effect a little. However, not a problema s it all fits and matches and is the same standard fo realistic painting! Kudos!

It looks really good. I like how you have all the different parts looking realistic and yet they still have nice contrast.

It is much easier to judge now you have the cloth painted. Very well done.

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

Looks Frikken Schweet!

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Ash Nazg Durbatulûk, Ash Nazg Gimbatul,
Ash Nazg Thrakatulûk Agh Burzum-ishi Krimpatul.

Simply wonderful mate! Fantastic paintjob! Great choice of colors! Very well done!!

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Thank you most graciously fellas. It's great to find your work appreciated.
Bart - just one thing mate - I can't help missing your old avatar. With me being a fellow brewer, it just looked more fitting...

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It looks very realistic, looks like he just stepped out of the movie but lost some parts in the way.( Other words for Finish it!!!)

Be sure to add a lot of dirt around the feet and blood to the tusks when you are finished.

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With thinking of so many other things it was something I didn't even consider. I think I may need to look at the mud around the feet. The blood I've got covered

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I looked at your painting and thought, "well, it's OK...". Then I looked at what I'd done with the same model...

Can I offer a couple of tips? If you're doing the mahoud, the holes in the ears for his reins are too low. I had to fill them and re-drill others higher up. You can get the model to look like the Mumak in the film, when he's blowing the horn before the battle, but you have to cut into his left elbow and move the hand up, so that the reins reach to the hand.

To make the model more stable, I put a disc of sheet lead (like they use for flashing on roofs) under the base. This gives it a bit of solidity. I usually fill plastic bases with Plasticene, to add weight, but that wasn't enough for fifty quid's worth of plastic, plus a number of hours of hard work. Are you planning anything interesting with the base? The GW one is a bit hackneyed now, and as you're doing so well with the rest of the model, it might be interesting to do something innovative with the base. It depends on how you're going to use it, I guess.

Brilliant effort so far, though.

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Angularity
If you want to check earlier in this thread - I appreciate there is a lot, as this is so much more than a simple Mumak painting.
I am to depict the initial charge of the Rohan against the Haradrim - I have one rider converted to be impailed on a tusk and about 8 cavalry in total. Some Haradrim on foot will be added, but no figure will have a round base, all will be pinned one way or another. I estimate about 30 figures in total by the time I've finished.
The painting looks a bit toned down as I have been applying a gloss coat to protect it from my clumsy handling. The whole thing will be coated with testors when I've finished.
The Mumak base has been cut up and spread about another base I made, making it about 30 x 22cm in total. You can see an odd photo earlier which will give you the idea.
I will bear in mind your points for the Mahoud and see what I can come up with to keep the realism level.

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Oh wow, that looks really great Gandlaf.
I'm eager to see the finished model.

Are you going to add a Mahud on top of the Mumak?
With the reigns in the ears of the oliphaunt.

I do like the paintjob of the grey mumak,
Never seen a brownish one though.