Found the base in a Army Surplus store - old award of some type, pure walnut... best part $1.75. Little sanding and some Semi Gloss Finish... and we have a BASE.
Going to be Grassland Late Summer Russia 1943 with some scrubby trees in the back ground
Base and Blue tape... not Mickey Mouse
I tape off the base to protect the finish from ground material and paint. And I do a second layer on the top. This second layer will be peel off as soon as my work is done and before everything dries. Prevents a lot of "stuck tape" syndrome.
Next I drill 1/4 holes all over the base in the areas to be covered by ground. Not precise science I try to have a hole ever inch +/-.
I need some height so I use florist foam – it is easy to find, easy to cut and dense enough to hold up to all my "messing and adjusting". Here I have added in 1/4-1/2 inch slices of a root I found while on a walk with my bride (remember every walk or outing is an opportunity to find modeling goodies) this give a little elevation and adds some interest for the viewers eyes to ponder. We are Modelers. We love it just because (may be an illness, I will check the "Second Book of Hesitations" and get back to you all) but always remember your audience… who will see it and what will they perceive. Trees were added in for height, visual variation and to contrast the camo paint job – grass and trees will hopefully give visual impact of camo.
This ground cover will be Celluclay… mixed in a paper picnic bowl with a huge dollop of White glue (gives it adhesion and keep the edges from peeling up off the walnut base) and a health portion of Burnt Siena Acrylic paint (Color for those spots I might miss while painting later). I spread it out with a small artist spatula.
Next I pour on dirt mixture - real dirt, fine rocks, pebbles that I found in the street gutter while I was mowing the lawn. I scoop it up and put in a mason jar for use later. I use a toothbrush to push down any irregular area and fill in any spots I missed at the base of the trees or my little rise.
After I am satisfied, I peel of the second layer of tape and set it assign to dry… do not want it to dry to fast or the Cellucaly can shrink dramatically or roll up at the edges. Give it a solid day before blow of the excess dirt and start painting.
You can see the tank tread marks. I positioned my Pzr III and then pressed down to leave a footprint. At the edge I used a screwdriver to tear up the soil a bit.
Confucius say, “Big tanks leave bit footprints…” or maybe that was Shun Yuck….? Anyway enjoy!Paint and grass next!
Neill
