You SHALL Go To The Ball

Time to put the finishing touches to the piece.  With everything being essentially painted, the only thing left being the bulbs on the lamp, it was really time to assemble it and put a few finishing touches on it.

First, the ice on the water surface was given a coat of gloss varnish.  With the texture already there it should give it a nice twinkly effect.

Then, I glued the lamp in place before adding a thick layer of snow.  I used GW’s Valhallan Blizzard and it’s one of the best products I have used.  There’s nothing more to it than painting it on and moulding or sculpting it into the shape you want.  I found I had to apply two layers to get the solid finish that I wanted as when it dries I think it contracts slightly.  However for many people a thick, smooth blanket of snow is not likely to be the desired look.  I added a couple of dabs to the top of the lamp also.

Next I added the two love birds.  Now, just a word of warning here.  If you have purchased or are thinking of purchasing from Hero Forge, the plastic is incredibly brittle.  Removing them from their bases proved both difficult and damaging to the models and I ended up having to reconstruct a large part of one of the feet.

And here’s what it looks like.

But wait, there’s more!  The final fairytale touch is of course a lovely glass ball.  And now it’s finished.

And now it’s finished.  Hopefully the recipient will like it.  I won’t mark the project complete just yet, even though the piece is technically finished.  In a little over two weeks I will be presenting the gift and, like the fairytale it depicts, we shall see whether or not this story has a fairytale ending.