672nd Fighter Wing, Red Dragon Squadron Imperial Navy - “The Red Baroness” (SPRING CLEAN CHALLENGE 2021 by Zebraoutrider)
Flying bases - a jungle themed adventure
Now that the two craft are more or less there, I needed to create solid bases. I wanted the Lightning and the Thunderbolt to both be in flight and as I have yet to do a jungle-themed base for any vehicles yet, I could imagine them flying above the tree tops. The standard flying bases did look and feel insubstantial for both craft and I can see now why you don’t see loads of pictures of the heavier Thunderbolt in flight.
I acquired some 3D printed tree kits eBay for a very reasonable price. Had some slight trepidation as they were coming from France and I wasn’t sure what effect the Brexit paperwork may have for importing such goods! It appears that the VAT gets calculated into eBay purchases now. I don’t normally promote eBay sellers, largely because I don’t agree with inflation of prices for classic minis by some sellers, but I am going to recommend rabiotsman as they sent me two additional jungle trees beyond what I ordered and they are brilliant quality.
The gallery below shows the WIP from unboxing the parts, removing the flashing, construction, plastered basing, painting with neutral, earthy browns and greens and blues for water effects, washes and flocking. The clear flying support was super glued into place to provide the required height for the craft. I used foliage washed with Biel Tan green from a 1970s Britain’s Zoo to soften and obscure the flying support.
The Lightning Pattern Strike Fighter mounted onto its much more secure and solid base. It could be used as both a display piece and a playing unit. The Lightning has had additional transfers added to the underside of the wings and further weathering using Nuln Oil wash and Vallejo weathering powders.
Really enjoyed immersing myself into this part of the project and I’m actually quite chuffed at how it came together. I will next replicate the process for the Thunderbolt, but reconfigure the trees so that they aren’t exactly duplicated, but will fit in as part of the same jungle terrain.
Time Taken: (not including drying times)
Base preparation: 2 Hours
Tree Painting: 2 Hours
Construction of base, plastering and ground painting: 2 Hours
Flocking: 30 minutes
Transfers for underside of Lightning wings: 30 minutes
Weathering: 1 Hour
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