"Painting plastic hemispheres (for planets, templates, etc.)?" Topic

I like the look of GW's vortex grenade template, like this one

and this one

So I looked on-line for plastic hemispheres and found these

from Pastry Chef Central (there may be other sources--this is just the first source I've found).

I'm sure some of you have done this yourself for similar templates or planets for spaceship gaming. Do you have any hints or tips?

Thanks!

Surf around the model RC car forums maybe, all the shells for the cars are clear plastic like those molds. I am sure they have a ton of tricks there….

Paint the outside of one and put it inside another…

You might also want to look up some faux marble and similar painting techniques for walls. which will come in handy for making those awirling lightning bolt like shapes. You might also consider painting the inside of the shell.

Do you actually have the shells yet? I'm curious how durable they are.

Thanks for all of the replies so far.

Do you actually have the shells yet? I'm curious how durable they are.

I don't have the shells yet--I've just started looking. They didn't seem particularly expensive, though, so I'll try to pick some up soon.

I'll keep looking for sources too. Maybe I can pick just one up at a local craft store to see how well it will work.

You should also be able to find foam hemispheres too in craft stores. Black Cat Bases also sells some resin planets, with continents on them:
link

link

You can buy very cheap clear plastic hemispheres at craft shops like Michael's and JoAnn's, in several sizes. Look for two-part clear Christmas ornaments, or just search online.

One easy technique you can try is to paint the base color, then dip a large feather into thinned paint, wipe most of it off, then drag it across the surface, twirling it as you go. Gives a very cool marble or lightning effect, depending on the colors you use.

Thanks again for all the great responses. and for everyone!

You can buy very cheap clear plastic hemispheres at craft shops like Michael's and JoAnn's, in several sizes.

Fantastic! Thanks for the tip. They're an inexpensive option and it looks like a variety of diameters are available.

I'll plan on picking some up to start experimenting.

Look at craft stores for christmas ornements that allow you to put items insde . gives you two pieces to work with

Hey, why didn't I think of that!

Craft stores also sell clear, glass globe Christmas Tree decorations, one piece, with a molded neck for a hook holder. We saw a project where you squirt in some cheap, craft paints, of different colors, then cover the hole, and shake them up to randomly mix the paints together inside the globe. The paint will dry, leaving random swirls, and other shapes, within the glass -- each globe has unique patterns.

As long as you mount them with the stem down, they would work as a full, 3-D planet. Unfortunately, they may only offer one size of globe. They were not expensive, though, but being glass, they are delicate. Cheers!

To keep it shiny, paint the inside. Mask the outside with masking tape and newspapers.
Use the spray can that drools, spray from far away, etc. Get all the dribs and drabs and spots, feather it, etc. Final blast will be the full spray of black.
In other words, reverse priming!

The trick is to paint on the inside using a reverse painting technique. Basically painting fin details first and working toward the background last. Here is a somewhat helpful video:
YouTube link

I can see many uses for these but not as planets. Ground scale in space games is screwed up enough without having a planet only slightly larger or (shudder) smaller than you ships. When near a planet a whole edge of the game table is appropriate for the planet.