In between painting the Shinden, I started preparing the ruins that will be part of the base. The biggest piece of the base is a cover for the 2 figures to be placed behind. Right from the beginning I imagined this to be a slightly curved piece of metal plate, perhaps a broken piece of aircraft fuselage. I also wanted some of the internal components to be intact. I used some smooth and grated plastic plate, round beams and H beams to build this barrier up.
I also made some smaller random pieces of plates, beams and a PE mesh piece to add more visual interest to the base. These were sprayed in black gray and then given a coat of Vallejo Chipping Medium. I scratched the surface and used a pair of pliers on the edges of the main barrier to make it look more beat-up.
After spraying the pieces in gray, I added a stencil of partial markings on the main barrier to add even more visual interest. Chipping is easy with Vallejo Chipping Medium added between the paint layers. I used water and a scrubbing sponge for this.
I originally wanted a rectangle base using a photo frame but after placing the elements on it, I find that the base was too big and the scene looked static.
I then tried a round base instead and I think it looks a lot better. The scene is more compact but also more dynamic.
To add some height to the base, I first tried styrofoam cut into random slopes but it didn’t work all that well.
I ended up with using cork which looks a lot better and offers a very easy way to add multiple layers to a base.
Once finalized, it’s time to finish up the base and bring everything together.
