Here's a Gripping Beast freebie figure (I don't remember what he came free with!), which I found on Sunday and fancied painting. I wasn't feeling well yesterday (I'm still not great), so sitting quietly, painting something simple seemed like a good plan. The shield transfer is, inevitably, from Little Big Men Studios.
These are a couple of 4Ground 'Dark Age' buildings, which I bought with my share of the 'winnings' from the demonstrators' raffle at The Other Partizan MMXII. I like the 4Ground stuff - it's fairly easy to put together, and looks great when done!
I find that the 'edges' of the pieces aren't quite square - understandably, the laser burns away more material at the top of the cut compared to the bottom - so running a smooth file over the surface which are going to join makes for an easier job - some parts (particularly the inner walls) don't fit very well until/unless you do this.
I've never used 'teddy-bear fur' for thatch before, and was quite nervous about whether I'd end up with something which looked anything like thatch, or whether I'd end up with a soggy teddy… I think I've succeeded! What I did was to glue the 'mesh' side of the fur down with 'just enough' glue (i.e. enough to stick it down, but not so much that it soaked through into the 'fluff'), and allowed to dry. Then I combed/brushed the fur, so it was all lying the right way; took a scalpel and ruler, and cut through the fur in straight lines - to sort of simulate different layers of reed/thatch. Once I'd done that, I soaked the fur in white glue & water mix, combing it down with a coarse comb (borrowed from my daughter). Allowed it to dry (it took ages and ages!), and then gently dry-brushed it with light sandy colours. The dry-brushing seems more subtle in real life for some reason!
I think I'm going to make them bases, with gardens and wattle fences, to finish them off. I could scratch-build the wattle fences as I've done before, or I might just settle for buying some from Renedra!
I'm hoping that the shield transfers for the dismounted Sassanids will arrive from Little Big Men Studios today, then I can finish them off too.