It's been almost a full 12 months since my last post and frankly, that's a shame. I have, in fact, done a fair amount of hobby in the time. It's just that the access of social media has meant that I've become more of a lurker on other pages than a content creator on my blog. Well, I've taken the brave decision to improve my life my removing all social media apps off my phone. No more idle passivity for me.
Hopefully, this means I will document my hobby a little more on these pages as a record to myself rather than as a means of acquiring praise and recognition from others on social media. So to begin that process, I shall attempt to document the beginning of my new Necromunda Dominion campaign. Kicking off the process, I present the Zone Mortalis terrain that I have finally finished.
I purchased these walls from Art of War Studios a little over a year ago and it has taken me until now to finish them. Honestly, I thought it would be a simple job of assembly, spray silver, oil wash, drybrush rust and varnish. Put the kettle on and organise a game. Oddly, the process shook out more or less exactly like that except for one extra step. In between 'assembly' and 'silver spray', I decided to add extra texture detail to every section by applying 2mm half spheres as rivets. This step took a significant toll on my time and sanity, which resulted in a huge delay.
Regardless, I persevered and I think the extra texture really improves the look of each section. MDF terrain, in my opinion, suffers from a lack of surface texture, which makes it look 'Lego-ee'. Adding the rivets has given each section more 3D elements to help break up the flatness and enhance the overall industrial theme. I do not regret this step, but boy oh boy was it tedious.
More recently, Father Christmas (who's Santa?) brought me a pack of broken wall section from Art of War Studios to round off the set. I enhanced these with exposed piping, wiring, steel supports and rubble using bits from my box. Polyfiller did the rest!
Regarding the painting process, I first applied a base of boltgun metal spray from GW. Then I glued on the chevrons, which I printed on paper with a laser copier. I sealed the chevrons with clear varnish then proceeded to apply an oil wash of black followed by burnt umber using a spray bottle. Once dry, I sealed with clear varnish and began drybrushing. Using a large brush, I applied Ryza rust in random patches at random colour depths across each section. Then I sponged on random patches of Typhus corrosion. Next, I carefully applied Nihiakh oxide around rivets and panels etc... This final colour step is really important because it adds some much needed colour to what is essentially a very dark and rusty structure. Finally, I sponged on a small amount of 'Blood for the Blood God' here and there to add yet more bright colour to an otherwise dull affair.
As an additional finishing touch, I think I'll add some posters and signs to give it that lived in feel! Let's see how it pans out.
