"Lich-Mobile: magical battle platform for a Lich" Topic

I mentioned this project in another thread. I finally made some progress on it.

The base is thin plywood; the perimeter fence is made up of 6" Skeletons who have been cannibalized for parts: skulls, ribs, and hands. I glued them into place using E6000 Premium contact adhesive. I arranged them in such a way as to form a "fence" around the edges, to stop any enemy soldiers from bum-rushing the Lich riding his levitating magical platform (it will be mounted atop a short wooden dowel beneath it, attached to another rectangular base, holding it around 20-25 mm above the base). The center is flat and open, allowing the Lich to move around a bit, as needed, possibly allowing one of his subordinates to ride with him (cannon fodder; another target to absorb enemy attacks; someone to assist him in commanding his undead hordes?).

I used a wire cutter tool to remove the rib cages from the spines, as well as removing the skulls and the hands. I then cut the rib cages in half, to create a curled shape, similar to barbed wire atop a chain-link fence, to keep enemies from climbing over the rib bones to attack those inside.

I bought three packs of skulls from Reaper Miniature company. I plan to glue these atop the ribs for further decorations. I might allow the Lich to cast various spells inside each skull, or maybe just the larger Giant Skulls, giving him some magical defenses against enemy troops which approach his Battle Platform from any side: Magic Missile spells to repel all would-be boarders; perhaps Fear spells to augment his own Terror aura; maybe even a Stinking Cloud or a Cloud Kill spell to engulf his Platform (Undead will be unaffected by these spells…)?

View #1 (side view, with the ribs blocking would-be boarders); View #2 (note the skeletal hands beside the Skull); View #3 (top-down view).

Not sure how to finish the wooden platform: leave it as wood, or something else?

Planning to mount the humanoid/demi-human/human/demon skulls atop the ribs, on the sides, and likely finger tips, front and rear. Need to wait 72 hours for the E6000 Premium Glue to fully cure before messing with the skulls on the finger tips… Cheers!

Well, that's not creepy

Good work! I would stain the wood and leave it wood, but you da boss when it comes to finishing it off

Well, that's not creepy

ROFL! Thanks. I think I will leave it as wood, maybe staining it grey, for an aging effect? We shall see. Cheers!

I would like the platform to suggest powerful magic, so wood seems anti-climactic. A friend agreed, wood is not appropriate. That broke the dam of my artist's block…

I am thinking lapis lazuli, as a base: dark blue, with flecks/streaks of gold, with maybe a touch of silver. Add to this some sort of large glyph, in the center (which will most often be covered by the Lich figure's base -- Grrr!). I need to stew on this for a while.

I want it to be a bit of a showpiece. Time to let the subconscious mind percolate on it for a while. Cheers!

I think that I will employ a metallic blue nail polish as the base "Lapis" color. I used metallic red and metallic green nail polish on some plastic beetle figures, years ago, and they turned out rather nice, IMO.

The metallic blue will be more interesting than a simple blue paint base color. I will use gold and silver acrylic paint pens to add wisps of gold and silver to create the Lapis appearance, sealing that in a gloss clear coating, to really make it shiny. I think that, without any glyphs, will really be a good look. More photos to come, as progress is made. Cheers!

Progress update:

The bones have been stained (Dip'ed), the wooden platform has received its initial application of metallic blue nail polish: Photo #1, Photo #2, Photo #3, Photo #4.

The whole was baked at 170 F, for 25 minutes, after applying the urethane-stain, to speed cure it. The E6000 Premium Glue was unaffected by the baking process.

After that, I grabbed a throw-away School Paint Brush (~$0.30 each) and I applied the metallic blue nail polish to the wooden base, filling in as much as I could, surrounding the bones. I will apply a total of 2-3 coats of the nail polish, to provide full coverage. After the final coat of nail polish cures, I will use gold, and possibly silver, Acrylic Paint Pens to create wisps of metal, to create the illusion of the base being made of Lapis Lazuli. Once that is cured, I will apply a spray matte clear coat over the whole platform, to dull the shine on the bones. I will follow that with a glossy clear coat brushed onto the Lapis Lazuli base portions, to bring them back to a (hopefully!) beautiful glossy, polished finish.

Once that is done, I will create a textured base, using a small wooden dowel (painted black) to make it appear to float above the "ground" base beneath it. Cheers!

PS:

The smaller skulls of Demi-Humans and Humanoids might be too much, making the model too busy… Yep, too much. I will have the Lich ensorcel the larger skulls with his magical defenses. Adding more details to the model would make it far too busy.

Update:

I finished painting the wooden platform with metallic blue nail polish: it works better if you use a paint brush other than the brush included within the bottle; the cap brush is clumsy and difficult to control; clean up can be done with some nail polish remover (acetone) and a Q-tip cotton swab (not completed yet).

Photo #5 and Photo #6.

I realized that for this small model: wisps of gold found in Lapis Lazuli would be far too small to recognize; gold and/or silver glyphs can added, but the Lich figure's base would mostly cover them; I can add small glyph symbols in the corners which should be visible outside of the Lich figure's square base, but they need to be kept small. Adding the glyphs is my next step. I will likely make gold and silver glyphs in opposite corners to maximize their effect and contrast. Hoping to finish the Lich-Mobile this weekend, adding the glyps as well as building its base and attaching it to its base. Cheers!

Update: Narkabtum (Hittite for Chariot)

I added some gold and silver paint to the platform. I discovered my brush-tipped paint pens are pretty hashed, being incapable of any precise application. I decided to make some gold streaks on the large Skulls (I'll use a black, fine-tipped paint pen to outline these, after they dry), along with some silver clouds, in the corners of the platform.

Gold lines on the Skulls: the front; the side; a corner view; ‌and Harcuum (the Lich), testing his ride to ensure it meets his aesthetic requirements…

I figure the Skulls will be capable of hurling Fireball spells, upon command of the riding Lich, while the ribs will be charged with Shocking Grasp spells, zapping would-be boarders when they try to climb up. It will be easy to write these spell effects up for 2e BattleSystem fantasy rules.

Narkabtum will augment Harcuum the Lich dramatically, on the battlefield. He won't be nearly so easy for a hero figure to rush and engage him in heroic combat. This will free him up to give his troops his full attention -- the poor bastards…

Back to the workshop, so I can finish Narkabtum before Harcuum gets angry: "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." By the way, Bruce Banner stole that line from Harcuum, before he could fully Trademark(R) it. Did I mention that Harcuum doesn't waste time with lawyers? Watch out Mr. Banner… Cheers!

Update:

Nearly finished with the painting. I mounted the platform atop the base, using bamboo kabob skewer sticks, cut to size. I used my new E6000 Premium Contact Adhesive glue. Getting the bamboos sticks plumb is difficult, so I just did the best I could: side shot.

I tried using rectangles of cardboard with cut-out's for the glue blobs at the bottom, but I had to attach these to the bamboo shafts, with tape… Detaching the tape pretty much wrecked the glue bond, so I just eyeballed it. Since they are painted black, and they are mounted away from the edge of the platform, they are very difficult to see until you pick the platform up and hold it at eye level.

I used a black paint pen to color the bamboo skewer shafts. Easy-peasy. The E6000 Premium Contact Adhesive took the acrylic paint fairly well, but a second coat will be needed for touch-up's.

I outlined the gold lines on the large skulls with a plumb purple color. According to the Internet AI bots, purple-plumb color offers a high contrast to gold. I think it looks OK. I tried outlining one of the skulls purple with black, but it is just too much.

I still need to clean up the metallic blue nail polish with some acetone, on the large skulls. I checked, and acetone will dissolve polyurethane… I figure I will clean up/remove the nail polish, then dunk that portion of the model into water, to remove the acetone before it can dissolve the polyurethane. If not, I will need to touch up the skulls with some additional Minwax. Views from above, similar to a tabletop view: Photo #7; Photo #8; Photo #9; Photo #10; Photo #11.

2e BattleSystem stats will follow soon. Cheers!