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I thought I'd take a break from 40k army building/painting and try something completely different in the lead up to 6th edition's release. I've had the seed of an idea floating around my head for a number of years based on a character and his familiars/animal companions from the D&D game Neverwinter Nights I used to play online on the Vives persistent world.
I've always been inspired by dioramas in general and specifically the golden demon placing ones, but mine won't be anywhere near that standard! I've not attempted a diorama before because I never thought I could do it justice, but I'm hopeful I can make a good job of it now. Here's the plan;
Cast
Spoiler:
Eerel Swiftfoot, halfling/swiftling druid/sorcerer/ranger
Griz, Dire Bear, rescued Duegar war bear
Vis, Black panther companion
Isy, woodland sprite familiar
Fang, dire wolf companion
Synopsis
Spoiler:
Eerel was raised in the wilds by Vis and Isy, the abandoned off-spring of the union between halfling and swiftling. The diorama will show a face off between Eerel, his companions and a unidentified foe which won't be represented in the diorama. The locale will be his home of blood wood which is renowned for the red hues of autumnal leaves which I want to make up the majority of the groundwork along with a felled tree, rocks, foliage and a handful of mushrooms. I don't think I'll include any standing trees.
A crude picture is below of how I want to layout the piece;
1. Is obviously the centre piece and with Eerel mounted on Griz the dire bear
2. Fang, dire wolf
3. Vis, panther
4. Terrain feature - a rocky outcrop of some sort made from cork or natural rock
5. Terrain feature- a felled tree
6. Isy, sprite sat atop the felled tree.
So this week I've been hunting the net for the models, reviewing techniques and collecting images to use as inspiration.
Griz, dire bear(bought)
Spoiler:
The war bear by Scibor is the one I'm most excited about and when I chanced across it recently it was what inspired me get the ball rolling with this project.
I'll likely follow the colour scheme above with darker browns for the bear itself.
Eerel, halfling/swiftling (bought)
Spoiler:
This one is from hassle frees juvenile range and I love the dynamic pose plus the dual wielding.
Not sure how much conversion work I'll be doing on the minis themselves but potentially I'm looking at weapon swaps and adding leaves to his cloak. He will be painted greens and browns mainly.
Vis, panther (bought)
Spoiler:
I came across this clan wars mini on eBay and it is by far the best feline miniature I've been able to find.
Although she is a lion I'm sure once painted black she will be a convincing panther!
Isy, woodland sprite (bought)
Spoiler:
This is the mini I struggled most to find anything suitable. In the end I've settled for one of reaper's familiars, the dark fairy.
This one isn't final and I want to attempt to colour her a sort of luminous green, if I'm feeling brave maybe with a lighting effect - well see about that.
Fang, dire wolf
Spoiler:
Still deciding between two minis I like. Firstly otherworld's dire wolf, the one growling to the left;
Secondly one of GW's Fenrisian wolves, the one on its hind legs in the middle.
Shades of grey for these models.
I've purchased some items for the groundwork;
Spoiler:
Mushrooms by battleforge (bought)
Foliage; bracken, oak and sycamore by hasslefree (bought)
I'll need a few more bits which I'll worry about once I have the miniatures and get an idea of how big a display base I need. I'm thinking a circular trophy base possibly plastic, as small as I can reasonably fit everything on to be aesthetically pleasing.
Various paints
Styrofoam
Modelling putty
Cork
Coarse basing sand/cork
Spray Varnish
Water effect paint
Old paint brushes (for long grass)
Dried twigs
Probably more...
That's enough for now other than a few inspirational environmental images;
I managed to source a superior wolf to the previous two I was looking at, one in the middle by Micro Art Studios.
Ordered a couple of 6 and 7 inch cake drums to use as bases for the diorama. Also got some pink styrofoam on the way and found some decent twigs I can use for the felled tree!
Going to use an old cd to practice some of the terrain/basing techniques over the next week or so to get me warmed up for the real thing
Did a little bit of working out where to add some additional packs and weapons to the war bear. Just blue tacked for now until I clean the model up properly but I think the additional trappings will add to the character of the piece, identifying Eerel as a hardy adventurer.
Messing around with some other models which have arrived.
Also started putting together my experimental diorama base on the cd. Just going try a few ideas including;
Foam as moss/undergrowth
Different length grasses
Ground colouring
