Tyranid swamp base, (pics).

[Leech]

This is the base of my Barbed Hierodule in the painting section. It took loads of work and because I had so many pictures of it I decided to put it up here. I made it by cutting holes into the Hierodule's base so there were huge irregular gaps in it. I then filled in the bottoms of these gaps with milliput to create the areas where the swamp would go. I put the base on a plastic bag to dry which I peeled off when the milliput was dry, I didn't want it to bond with my table.

I put lots of alien, bug parts in there. I also made a few swamp-bugs to go in there. I used water effects to slowly, so slowly fill up the swamp. I mixed green ink into the water effects from time to time to give it a greenish tint. Ink is better than paint because paint will make the wqater effects go cloudy. The water effects took ages, well over a month.

The various critters were put in once the swamp was half full of water efffects. This helps to give the idea that they are swimming in it. I also put some old Skaven tails on the bottom of the swamp to look like things growing down there. Comments, questions, criticism welcome.

[fallvictim]

The base turned out great and all that time put in payed off. I like the added bugs in the swamp as it gives it more life.

[ShotgunFacelift]

All the work on the water effects seriously paid off!

[demyx]

looks awesome, would you consider doing a basic tutorial for how you did the water effect?

[macewind]

Amazing as ever, youve put just enough gribbly bits in without overpowering the base. I think id be tempted to brush a bit of water effects over some of the dry sand too though, it looks a little 'too' dry to be right next to such a swampy area.

[pilot00]

The base is amazing if somewhat creepy...but again nids have to be creapy
Btw where how on earth did they named that nid like that!?!?!?

[Da Mighty Camel]

Originally Posted by macewind

I think id be tempted to brush a bit of water effects over some of the dry sand too though, it looks a little 'too' dry to be right next to such a swampy area.

Agreed.

But wow, it looks amazing at the moment! One of the few bases I've seen for 40k that really gives me an alien feel to it.

[Leech]

Thanks for the comments, I'm glad you like my swamp. I can see what you mean about making the gravel near the swamp wetter. I think a little bit od gloss varnish will deal with that.

Originally Posted by demyx

looks awesome, would you consider doing a basic tutorial for how you did the water effect?

I think I may cook up a step by step guide. Here is what I did and what I think is important for using water effects, (WE).

1 Decide what you want to do and think in advance. The swamp got lots of bits on the bottom of it. These need to be painted in advance. Varnish all of this before you apply any water effects as the varnish will make it go cloudy.

2 Be patient, it will take a very long time to do anything with WE that is deep.

3 Apply one thin coat at a time. Don't try to pour in big pools of the stuff. The surface always dries first so if it is deep the WE beneath the surface will not dry quickly and remain cloudy for a week or more. Beware that it may pool in some areas like against the side of some plant, critter or in a corner. It will take longer to dry in these areas. Always check it seems clear before applying a new coat, usually one day at the least.

4 It will shrink when it dries so don't be surprised if there seems to be less in there once it has dried compared to how much was there when it was wet.

5 To colour WE use clear ink of some kind. Don't use paint as it will dry cloudy and just look like a gloss version of the paint you put in and not a liquid that has a similar colour to what you wanted. Do not mix the WE and ink before you put the WE where you want it. Put the WE into the area you want and then use a detail brush to carefully mix in the ink. If they are mixed before being put in you will likely get bubbles. Don't use too much ink. You also don't need every layer of WE to have this colour in it.

6 Bubbles will appear in your WE. If it dries with them there they will be visible. Check the whole thing after you apply the WE and remove any bubbles with a small brush.

7 You can once the area is half full or more put in anything you think should be swimming or floating in the WE. Just lay it on the surface and apply WE to it and the rest of the WE around it. Thsi will make it start to stick. More and more layers can be applied around the critter or whatever it is to make it look like it is partly submerged. Beware that around these things the WE may pool and take longer to dry.

8 Inks have a tendency to bleed into WE. Prevent this by applying a layer of gloss varnish to the whole are to get WE and also to any critters you want to put in there. If not a Purple bug in green water may have it's purple ink bleed slightly into the green water.

[Deumus]

Looks amazing although I do agree that perhaps the dirt and such could look more wet. Anyway great job could you give an overall shot of the entire base though thanks and good job.

[Leech]

Originally Posted by Deumus

Looks amazing although I do agree that perhaps the dirt and such could look more wet. Anyway great job could you give an overall shot of the entire base though thanks and good job.

Thanks. Here are some overall shots of the base in the Hierodule thread. It was really hard to photograph, took ages but was worth it.http://www.librarium-online.com/foru...dule-pics.html