f - Finishing and Basing the Hang Glider

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Finalist comicbkguy writes:

Now that the painting is finished, all that remains is to apply a finish to the piece and complete the base. When I have finished that it will be ready to ship.

I found that I was out of flat finish when it came time to spray the piece, so I made a trip to my local craft shop and picked up a can of Folk Art matte finish. This is not my usual brand and after I had applied the sealant I found that it was completely unsatisfactory. Even though it was supposed to be a flat finish, it went on very glossy. It was so glossy that I couldn't brush a flat finish on over it, as it just rolled of the shiny surface. I'm not sure if this was a bad can or just the standard for their product, but I won't be using it again.

So I made a second trip out, this time to my local hobby shop to pick up a can of Testor's flat finish. After spraying the piece again, I was much more pleased with this second coat.

Pleased as I was, I always find that any standard flat finish still leaves a slight sheen to a piece. Luckily I use a product called Dead Flat, which is a water-based super-flat finish. I find that it doesn't provide much in the way of protection, but it can be brushed over a sprayed-flat finish in order to provide a true matte look. So after the spray finish dried, that is exactly what I did.

After the Dead Flat dried, I then brushed Testor's semi-gloss finish over all of the metallic components in order to give them back a little shine. All of the glass components then get a brush coating of Testor's gloss finish, in order for them to shine even more.

After the sealant coats have completely dried, I can now finish the base of the Bat. Before adding any flock to the piece, I decide that I am not happy with the base as is. The clear plastic base has a very small footprint, and I am afraid that the Bat might tip over very easily. So I decide to attach it to the center of a standard Demonworld black plastic base which I happen to have on hand. Not only does this make the piece more stable, it also will make the base match with other units in the army.

The only problem it causes is that the clear base is curved while the black base is flat. This results in a mound in the center of the base with the edges being flat. So I apply putty to the base in order to give it a gently sloping shape throughout. I did this because I have decided that I want the bat to look as if it has significant altitude, and now it looks as if the pilot could be flying high over a hill.

In order to complete this effect, I brush the base with standard white glue after the putty dries. I then dip the base three different times in static grass. I don't add any other types of flock, because if viewed from above grass would be the only clearly visible feature. I then take an extremely watered-down white glue and drizzle it over the grass in order to give it a stronger bond to the base when dry.

At this point I am finished, but if I had more time I would have liked to have done one of two things. Either I could have placed small-scale buildings on the base (such as those from Hobby Product's other game, Empires), or I could have scratch-built a small stone megalithic circle on the base. I think either of these would have helped to add to the illusion of altitude.

Well, that is it. I hope that you got something from these long-winded ramblings. I know I certainly enjoyed getting to paint the piece. Thanks once again to the Editor. If any readers have questions about anything I did, or if you would like a clarification feel free to post something on the Message Boards and I will try to monitor them and respond.