Above are photos of my discontinued West Wind London Detective featured earlier. I finally finished the base, which ends my work on this miniature. Again, this model was a series of experiments as I learn how to paint and finish my miniatures. Since he will be hunting vampires across Eastern Europe and North America, as well as operating as an Eastern Agent in the Wild West, I wanted the fellow to look like he is standing in dirt that could be anywhere, not just in the desert Southwest. I think the result is that the dirt looks like it had just rained, which is fine by me for this model. I have also used this technique for making small muddy puddles by simply having a slight depression in the wood putty I use on the base, making sure no sand gets in it, and then applying some thick gloss varnish to the area. It's very effective without the mess of using Woodland Scenics instant water mixes. You can see such a puddle in my article on making Woodland Scenics trees.
Here is the procedure I followed when decorating the base after the wood putty had dried and had been primed with black gesso:
1. Paint base Ceramcoat Dark Brown.
2. Dip in sand. Adjust until satisfied, removing any stray chunks.
3. When dry, brush sand with Games Workshop Brown Ink, soaking it into sand.
4. Drybrush with the following colors in this order in increasing lightness:
- Americanna Sable Brown
- Ceramcoat Golden Brown
- Ceramcoat Latte
- Ceramcoat Rain Grey
- Ceramcoat Quaker Grey
5. Brush on areas of white glue.
6. Dip in Scenic Express Flock & Turf "Pasture Blend." Adjust flock until satisfied.
