Age of Sigmar: Treelord Ancient Progress 3

Hi folks,

Yesterday I knuckled down and completed construction of the base, which ended up being more technical than constructing the miniature itself. I was inspired by this article in the February 2019 White Dwarf, which showcased some techniques for making bases that reflect the metal realm of Chamon. I have used both the techniques outlined, one for making interesting rock formations and one for making bubbles in liquid.

I started the the process by cutting up some sprue pieces and gluing them together with polystyrene glue for a very strong bond. It would need this to survive being sawed into smaller pieces of different sizes. I also carefully rolled some different sized balls of green stuff, which would be cut in half and glued to the "molten gold" later to represent bubbles.

While those pieces were curing, I got the base and marked out where the stream of "molten gold" was going to go. I then filled that space in with PVA and left it to cure in the sun on a windowsill, to change the texture of the base a bit (instead of the fine bumps of a stock base. On a previous day, I had attached three smaller bases with Selleys Liquid Nails and sculpted around the rims. This would provide the model with some extra elevation above the stream and give more space for the crystals to shine.

Watching this dry was exactly as exciting as it sounds.

With all the glues set, I cut the sprues into different sizes using a razor saw and added then to the base in clumps. I also very carefully cut the green stuff balls in half, which was difficult; like cutting up frozen peas! I used superglue to attach the "bubbles" and polystyrene glue to attach the crystals.

By this stage the sun had gone down. With 24 hours to go, I picked a selection of paints from my station and moved to the kitchen, hoping that the wifey wouldn't mind me smashing out the paint job. Thankfully, she is playing through Bastion on the Nintendo Switch at the moment, so we had a really pleasant evening with the fire crackling, chatting about our various trials. Here is how it looked after the painting was complete:

In the last five minutes I added some crushed rock that I had gathered during the day. It is actually solidified lava (as a science teacher, it gets donated to me regularly!), which is black/grey with metallic flecks through it. I left it overnight for the PVA to set. During the night, I finished the job about 100 times in my dreams; I went through the final stages over and over again in my head. In the morning I had breakfast and then glued the model to the base, then added crushed rock around the feet. Nearly there. I then took some small pieces of a plant that we get from a tree here in Australia that, when broken apart, look like sturdy miniature dead leaves (because that is what they are). I added a couple of these strategically around the base to added another light colour that compliments the model.

Waiting for the leaves to dry was excruciating!

I then sat back and let the glue dry before taking my final photos for the competition, which ends tomorrow. When I finished the model part a few nights ago, I literally jumped in the air a couple of times, I was so elated to get it finished. After actually finishing the project, I was too tired to do this!

On the weekend I will post the final photos of this project. Whilst I would obviously love to win, it was always about giving my local store some sales before they closed down for an indefinite period. In that sense, I have already achieved what I set out to do, in supporting one of the few local businesses I really deeply appreciate. From it, I know have a centerpiece for a new army that I am very proud of, with an interesting backstory (more about that later!).

See you across the table,

Marc