paints "four characterful figures that seem to come directly from a vintage vampire movie..."
Been watching some documentaries lately set in the Western Desert, and was inspired to create this. There are some awfully good documentaries, mostly from the U.K.
I wanted to add a barbwire section to my tabletop for my games at Recon in Orlando in May. Mine will be for North Africa, but it can be for any region - just add the appropriate flock and brush.
I picked this base up at Historicon for $0.50 USD and put it to use here.
There are many ways to do this, and all of them are valid. I chose this one because those are the materials I have on hand and readily available.
I work in a well-ventilated area with plenty of sunlight, right next to a window overlooking the Manhattan skyline. (I can't really see the skyline because of the big brick building they put up, but I know it is there and this inspires me. 
)
Let's begin. Shall we???
Plain piece of wood.
Spread the pumice gel over it.
Used an Artizan figure for scale. Drilled small holes and added stakes.
Glued some rocks. Then rolled some barbwire around a pencil and added it.
Primed it all black.
Drybrushed base color, and painted rocks gray.
Added some highlights, figures, and some Artizan casualties for flavor.