No Droids Here!
Some more work on the base.
Hi,
I managed to get some more work done on this project. I finished priming the models and painted the interior of the drop pod. I also attached everything and started to cover the base with DAS air drying putty.
The problem with this putty is that it tends to shrink and crack – a lot. In order to minimize this you need to :
1] Knead the putty with PVA white wood glue.
2] Add PVA white wood glue to the surface before attaching the putty.
3] Let the putty dry slowly in a cool area.
I find that following these 3 rules help to reduce the cracking and shrinking.
Noticing that the base was very empty at the back corner, therefore I decided to reduce the frontage of the diorama by 2cm and add a skeleton for some extra interest.. I know there was no monster skeleton at the pod site, but in the re-re-edited movie there is a monster skeleton in the sands. So I said to myself, ‘What the heck!’
Models cleaned and primed - finally.
I reduced the base size and added some interest to the empty corner.
The plaster stone walls are casted from the original model.
Kneading PVA glue into the putty.
Adding PVA to the surface before adding the DAS.In order to make track markings of R2D2 and C3PO I placed a piece of celloplastic they use for cooking on the wet putty base and pressed the models into it. I also finalized the position of the models.
Adding tracks and foot prints and final positions of models.
The interior painted before attaching to the base.
Now I have to leave the whole thing to dry properly. There will be cracks, and the DAS will pull away from the skeleton and the pod. After this happens I will simply fill in the cracks with milliput softened with methylated spirit.
In the meantime I also decided that the skeleton was not enough so I sculpted a small snake like creature I am calling it a snakdillo! If I add a fin, then I will call it a shnakdillo! The inspiration comes from the desert sidewinder snake. The sculpt still needs a lot of work.
Until next time, my best regards,
NR
nice idea with the snake…it looks like a little swimmer though lol
LOL, now that you pointed it out, I can’t take the image out of my head. I should be posting an update of it soon. Great comment – made my evening.
Do you wet the surface you are putting the das onto, or just relying on the PVA to attach it?
Kneading PVA into the das itself is interesting!
I only wet the surface when I put DAS on plaster or similar stuff. The plaster aggressively absorbs the water in the DAS making it crack further and making it brittle. In these cases I wet the plaster repeatedly allowing the plaster to drink its fill, so to speak. I hope it helps.