What do you think about this transformation? Everything here is scratch-built except for the manhole rim and the cover (not shown).

This is unreal. I love the colours and the choice of rubble. really nice. One little point though; The lovely cobblestone footpath is almost hidden! I can see some of the curb stone, but is more visible from the side view?

Looking at this it seems a good time saver would be to add the rubble first before scribing, then less scribing would be needed. It shouldnt be that hard to scribe around the rubble!

Nonetheless, great work Marty, and now it needs a worthy figure or two to grace it!

Thanks Plasticbattle for your comments. Regarding the sidewalk being covered; I did get a bit too excited and covered more than I initially intended to but now that it is done I like it. I think it came out really nicely. Scribing the sidewalk took me seriously maybe 2 minutes so there is no love lost there. Yes you are right this base now needs a figure and I have one just about done. This whole project should be finished by the end of the week. Very exciting stuff. :-)

Looks great!!! How did you get the dust to stay still when you drybrushed it?

My first thought was along the same lines as PB's - "where'd the sidewalk go?" But if you're going to depict a destroyed building - or next to it. That's the result so it totally fits.

I've seen rubble piles twice the size.

The colors are good and toned down as if having gone through an explosion. Very nicely done.

Where do you find the time??

Thats great work!

Thats a nice conversion!!!!

~Chip (:-)

Jeff, the dust as you refer to it was made by sprinkling cat litter and finely sifted dirt over a generously applied mixture of white glue and water (about 75 - 25). Once dry it was then washed with various shades of brown and drybrushed with beige.



Scott, I try to work on my projects at least one hour every evening. I usually do it late at night after my family (at least my daughter) goes to sleep. I like working at night. It is nice and quiet with no interruptions. Unfortunately getting up at 5:30 the next morning becomes an issue.

GREAT WORK - VERY NICE

ROBERTO

Marty

The rubble effect looks fantastic. Looks as if our local Town Council also does your sewage repairs.

Super job!

Hey Marty, I may have missed postings about this before, but can you fill me in on your techniques here? Or post the link?

What did you use for the bricks?
Isn't cat litter great for rubble!

Cheers
Andy

Hola Marty!

Great stuff!! I would also be very intrested to hear how you did it, in detail ofcourse! Maybe a small feature? Looks very convincing, great job! What figures are you going to use on it?

It's absolutely great !!!!
I'll probably use the same techniques pretty soon !

Beautiful job Marty!
If it took you only 2 minutes to sculpt the sidewalk, what material is that? Balsafoam?
I'd love to read a little more about how you did this. It's really great!
Thanks for posting the pictures.

Thank you all for your comments. Since some of you have expressed the desire to find out how I created this base I wrote up an article explaining the process. Unfortunately it doesn't have any step-by-step photos but I promise to take some next time I make a base such as this. Let me know if you have any questions. For now here is the link... Click here

Hi Marty.

Super little article. I don't think any more pics are needed! Those are step-by-step enough for me.

One question, I've heard of Platalina twice in the last week. Does anyone know the North American equivalent? Or can I get that here.

So you basically made a plaster shape, then went crazy scribing, painting, and rubbling! Fantastic work!

And true scratchbuilding!

Andy

Hey Andy, I bought Plastalina here in the US at a local art store. I believe Plastalina is actually made in California. Do a Google search on it and you will find a bunch of places that sell it. Like I said, try your local arts supply depot as well.

Long live scratch building!!. The piece looks fantastic. Well Done!!

Nice little article, very helpfull tnx :-)

Well, that's too easy!

Cheers
Andy

::: gasp ::: Marty, you're at the edge of losing your status as a modeler... and to become a jeweler ! This is beautiful work. A real gem. We had so many discussions what rubble should look like. Your picture speaks louder than a thousand posts... !
Thanks for sharing your techniques.
Jan

Superb modeling Marty !! I love every inch of that base !!

Oh, Darn, I knew these magnifying glasses made me look weird but this.. :-) Seriously, thanks for all the kind words. I makes me feel good anytime I can share something useful with the rest of you guys.

Very Nice Work .............