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My mother saw this is passing and loved the fountain and the big building next to it. She asked my why I couldn't do that. le sigh...

 Red Harvest wrote:

Looking at the bus and knowing different viewing angles (don't ask why, just take it for granted)... It is a bit short (height wise). Length is good, width is acceptable. At least comparing with the miniature.

You are an epic chap - exalted!

Nice work on the buss. Looks very good. I've also noticed that busses (and Semi Trailers) in real proportions often seem too long when put on a battlefield. I think we gamers are just so used to compressed length in buildings and containers that when a long vehicle is portrayed in scale it seems too long.

StarDrop wrote:
Looking at the bus and knowing different viewing angles (don't ask why, just take it for granted)... It is a bit short (height wise). Length is good, width is acceptable. At least comparing with the miniature.

I think it looks a bit short because of the extra thick basses under the mini. If the feet were level with the bottom of the wheels it would still technically be a bit short (1:55 being a bit small for most "28mm" gaming figs") but it would look just about perfect alongside of the miniature.

 Valhalla130 wrote:
My mother saw this is passing and loved the fountain and the big building next to it. She asked my why I couldn't do that. le sigh...

Mothers can be so cruel.

 inmygravenimage wrote:
You are an epic chap - exalted!

Thanks.

StarDrop and Eilif, To my eyes the bus looked a bit short (height) and a bit too long, and I can account for the base when I look at these things. Incidentally, the base that mini is on is 3.5mm high, and most bases are 3-3.5mm high ( although weirdly enough the new bases that ship with Infinity minis are onyl 2.5mm high.

1/54 is about right for 28mm minis, assuming they are in fact 28mm scale. The mini in the photo is 32mm to the eyes. Those are some high combat heels she is wearing, eh? Anyway, the bus is about 2-3mm too short in height. The wheels need to be 1mm more in diameter. And the bus can be shorter by about 30mm. So, I have a baseline for designing/building my own, when I get around to it. There is some interesting concept art out there for buses of the future. I think I'll block out something in the dimensions I think will work, just to be safe.

The back is much better, so I managed to get a mini painted. This one is Alaeros the Fighter.

I hope that I am not the only one who thinks that left arm is a bit short. Here is a group shot of all the character minis frm the Temple of Elemental Evil box

The ranger is normal enough. The rest are freakish in some manner or the other. Digital sculpting at its... adequate-ness? Well, the monsters are a bit better. And with this one finished I am 1/4 of the way through the D&D minis. Progress. Not much, but I'll take it.

Thanks for stopping by.

As I progress further with the miniature painting, and hopefully, improving both my painting and photography skills, I find that I want some sort of unique photo backdrop for the minis, especially the Infinity minis. So I decided to build one. More or less a Space Station sort of backdrop.

Here's the start.

It has to have lights, naturally.


A back view


And a view with out all the stuff in the way


I am leaving some slots in the side walls, so that if I want, I can use the piece as actual tabletop terrain simply by adding more wall.

Still much work to go. C&C welcomed, as always.

Thanks for stopping by.

Yep that looks like a great start to a backdrop.

It looks very clean at the moment. Not a bad thing, necessarily, but depending on the mood you want... could use some pipes or something. I mean presumably they're behind those rectangular sticky-out bits you've done so probably not needed.

Looking good.

Glad to hear you feel a bit better.

Sorry not been around, been lurking occasionally.

Backdrop is excellent work as always, Always amazing how crisp your card work is. I do like the shapes you have going and the lighting will make for great shots.

I have found through personal experience, you might want to make one "side" a bit longer. Create more of a corner. The number of times I end up taking shots slightly squiff and get a lovely backdrop and a coffee mug, or half the living room in is no odds.

Will this be a slightly grubby off white, or more your nice clean colours, similar to your "Hab" work? Since it will be mostly for Infinity I guess relatively clean.

It's going to stay clean, Grimdork. I was going to make some sort of piping though...

Cam, I left mortises, for lack of a better term, in the side walls, so if need be I can easily extend them. Since it is a photo backdrop, it'll be gray, a lighter gray than the floor. That way it won't mess with the color balance. I have trouble with straight up white backgrounds for some reason, and yes, I have tried all the white balance settings on the camera. I think it is the color temperature of the lightbulbs-- I use 5000k daylight bulbs, since I can't abide the strong yellowish light of the usual lightbulbs--

It looks great.

Thanks Warboss.

There is a new Terrain contest, "Got Wood" Here http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/665211.page

Check it out. All are welcome. I hope to find some time to try and get something entered this time. I've been having a dry spell when it comes to inspiration and time these past months.

Love the look of the backdrop. Do I see sliding doors? Very cool.

Ooh, shiny! I just come here for the inspiration. Although I leave feeling inadequate

 Cleatus wrote:
Love the look of the backdrop. Do I see sliding doors? Very cool.

Knowing Mr. Red Harvest, the doors are most likely spring loaded.

back drop looks spectacular! i am really a fan of your modern style housebuilding abilities! but what is my favourite part is the floor...how was that achieved?

and thanks for the free advertising of the comp

Vik, the floor is courtesy of my printer. The less painting I have to do, the better

Thanks Graven. But no feelings of inadequacy, please. You do just fine with your work. The Batman stuff is really cool.

Thanks Cleatus, They do indeed slide.

Stardrop, that is a great idea. But alas, no, these are not spring loaded. But now I am tempted to jury rig something just to see how to do it.

More work maybe tonight. Hectic week-end so no hobby time.

 StarDrop wrote:

 Cleatus wrote:
Love the look of the backdrop. Do I see sliding doors? Very cool.

Knowing Mr. Red Harvest, the doors are most likely spring loaded.

He probably has them on a motion sensor and will open automatically.

No, no, no. He has built an extra dimensional "pocket" in which he keeps a pair of rats trained to open the door at someone's approach.

Seriously nice back drop you have there. Will make photographing a lot more fun i think.

Vik, the floor is courtesy of my printer. The less painting I have to do, the better

sounds reasonable, but it looks so convincingly 3D that you fooled me^^

It is a well done graphic. It is from that Star Wars Diorama pack.

Thanks guys. I hope it does Archer. I am, erm, 'challenged' when it comes to taking decent photos of minis.

A quick question.

Since I still need more of that metallic material, I thought maybe some of the TicTac kiosks could have little posters on the sides in lieu of the metal. Thoughts?

More work on the backdrop. Couldn't find a motion sensor small enough. But adding a motion sensor detail above the door would look pretty good, eh? Anyways, Pix...

And a front view


A few shots with some minis, and lights-- not fully painted minis, FYI.



Naturally I would crop things closer to have the mini fill most of the picture, were I show-casing the mini.

Yes, I see it, the warping on the one pilaster. It will be fixed. And the painting is preliminary. The next step will be to add a layer of panels-- in a lighter gray-- and maybe some framing, to the walls. Then some signage, but not much. the door needs more detail, and I am still wondering what to do about the niches that run along the bottom of the walls. Any ideas about what could be there, if anything?

And I will build a wall extension with a big door, so that when I photograph the minis that are on 55mm bases, it won't look so silly, like it would with just that small door in the background.

Thanks for stopping by.

Edit: don't you just hate it when you notice a type right after you hit the submit button.

I think a grill over the niches at the bottom of the walls. It just makes sense as an air conditioning duct.

I think maybe some sort of grill could work on the tic tac containers as well OR would could put some graffiti or posters randomly stuck on advertising coming attractions?

The lights are fantastic. My ego keeps getting taken down a notch every time I look at the level of attention you pay to your work. It's ok though, I could do with more of an ego check....

Looks awesome.

Screens came out really good, and the light work is great.

Not much to add to it as a scenery piece, but maybe needing a bit less for using it as a backdrop? Some of the detailed work on the walls can make for a too noisy background when trying to show a model.

(For example, the red stripes on the sides of the door and on the centre column: a great addition from the pure modelling perspective of the building, but may be a bit counter productive for a photo session, as the in the first picture, where the vertical line shoots up behind the Reverend Healer, messing up the composition)

Something alike might happen when/if adding more signage.

Again, that goes for the backdrop role, when the set remains secondary to the subject. As a "proper" build, though, it's coming along great.

And yes for the added posters on the sides of the TicTac kiosks!

I can always turn off some of the backlighting if the red lights are too much. And pay more attention to composition

I think I'll have 2 with side ads and two without-- simply because it is a PITA to find stuff that would look nice at that size, and would not clash with the main posters. I'm going to need to order some regular LEDs at some point, and try lighting them.

Archer, a grill would be a fantastic idea for the niches on the side walls. I'll see what I can come up with.

Thanks Guys.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
'Tis done. Except maybe some touch up on the paint. Looking at the photos, definitely some touch up. But it does look like a sci fi facility to me.

Added grates, per Archer's suggestion, and...

A few more screens. I followed Littletower's suggestion to refrain from overdoing the backdrop so that did not distract from the mini. So I did not add anything else like additional panelling, etc. I also covered the side lights to the door. They were going to be a problem, as Littletower noted. Anyway, a few test shots, with the models that are closest to being finished. Anyat is actually finished.

Kirpal has been so close to being done. I would have finished him in time for the contest deadline-- a contest on Data-Sphere-- if it were not for my back troubles. Grrrr.


Now I have to figure out lighting. These photos are a bit over-lit. But at least I have a sci fi backdrop for my soon ( well "soon") to be painted minis. I'm going to call this one done, at least until I need to build the wall with the big door. I am rather pleased with it too.

Now, back to the objective room, and painting. And waiting for the hurricane.

Thanks for stopping by

That looks so utterly amazing. Really great job and helps your models pop even more.

Great work Red. Really great.

the painted walls have a strong kirk star trek vibe to them...

also... i thought for the sides of the display a ribbed surface could be helpful... if you like i could take some pics from the infamous berlin u-bahn... there we have these moving displays...the change the pics every soso moment...


also... that cowled femme fatal looks really beautiful...looks almost like how i would picture the SoB if i would have had a say at GW^^

Very cool. I agree with Vik, and Anyat is staggering - and I don't particularly like infinity miniatures.

Thanks guys. Yeah, I see an original Star Trek influence. I'm going to say it is a good thing. Although I was going for Sci-Fi building interior rather than spaceship interior.

Berlin U-Bahn trains are banana yellow?

I can try a ribbed surface. There is sort of one starting around the door, where I covered over the light panels.

The cowled mini is a Reverend-Healer which came in the starter box ( Operation:Icestorm). But I don't play that faction, the nomads, so I'm just painting it as a scale model. Same story with Anyat. I find that it is a different kind of fun to just paint a mini for no other reason than to paint it, rather than to paint it for game-play. Of course, I could always try learning how to paint for the showcase rather than the tabletop.

Oh Vik, for cowled femme fatales...

Good stuff

Very, very nice, both minis and backdrop!

As for lighting, if your camera allows for it, you might keeping the lights as are, and lowering the exposure value as an alternative.

Will be waiting for this weekend's painted mini!