I've finally gotten my act together and learnt how to post pictures in my posts so now I will begin a proper WIP thread instead of having the info in my gallery.
I started this one after seeing Dagorlad's Fell Winter diorama, I really liked the winter scene and white warg, it looks awesome. Then I stumbled across this awesome base from Thomarillion and thought it had the perfect shape to fit the Warg chieftain's stance.
Here's what it looks like assembled but unpainted:







Here is the base almost finished for the time being, I've since beefed up the snowdrift and added a few more tufts of grass, nothing too fancy yet but a few really good ideas that were posted in my gallery might encourage me to add some more elements to it at a later date.





Any comments and ideas are welcome and thanks for looking,
Pinky

Yes, I am aware that there is green stuff sticking out of the Warg and I can assure you that I wont paint it that way, I was just positioning the rear leg to get the proper stance and it looked to good not to take a picture right then and there.

Very nice work! Keep it up!

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Flying is the practice of trying to crash into the ground and missing.

this will look really nice i really like the perfect shade you gave to the head

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In the beginning there was the great music of illuvitar AKA Led Zeppelin

That's fabulous! All this winter stuff (your thread, the GW site) is really making me itch to try a winter theme for an army sometime.

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There and Blog Again ...

I concur whole-heartedly! I've always loved that Thomarillion piece, and it fits the Warg Chieftain's pose perfectly. Great work, and I look forward to seeing this completed.

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Respectfully,
Jonathan

Do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly

Battle Companies

Here's the finished product (for the time being). I'm not happy about a few elements of it:
- I had a bit of a mishap when mounting the Warg hence the piles of extra snow.
- When they cut up the Warg for casting they must have loped off his head with a very blunt saw as I have two Warg chieftains and they both suffer from very large gaps for their heads which I can never seem to fill properly.
- I would have liked the Warg to look a little more white but for the time being he'll do.
Anyway, here are some pics of the project.









As always, comments are welcome and thanks for looking,
Pinky

I think this is coming along nicely, although I would hesitate to call it finished just yet. As I said before, the Warg's pose and the Thomarillion head are just perfect for each other. However, I think that the Warg needs a little more "warmth" to make him stand out a bit from the rest of the diorama, as he is obviously the centerpiece. Perhaps some light brown or darker grey markings to break up the uniformity of his coat? Or maybe some mud on his paws? The vegetation seems to suggest that winter is nearing its end, and that spring is on its way, and the melting snow would make the ground quite slushy.

Also, the blank area in front of the head could use something more as well. Maybe it could be a frozen creek? Or going off the idea of a spring thaw, it could be a nice, muddy, foot-and-hoof-mangled path?

I'm just throwing ideas out there. A diorama must be considered for artistic balance and composition. Adding some "warmer" earth tones could go a long way towards balancing all of the "cool" greys and whites.

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Respectfully,
Jonathan

Do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly

Battle Companies

Yeah, I agree.
I was going to do a bit of a slushy path but I'm not sure how to make realistic mud, any hints and tips?
As someone else suggested I might put a couple more wargs on the path and he can be scouting from the top of the statue but at the moment I've got a few other minis I'm working on that I want to get painted first so I may revisit that later.
I'm mildly happy with it as I'm fairly new to the hobby and I hope to produce a few more dioramas in time.
Cheers for the comments,
Pinky

GW just happened to have published this article and I think it would be great for the muddy path or frozen creek ideas:

Winter War -- Snow Bases

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Respectfully,
Jonathan

Do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly

Battle Companies

Cheers!
Muddy paths or frozen creeks, both look good.
Keep an eye out in the new year.

the warg deffinatly needs to stand out alittle more other wise it's amazing i love what you did with the base.

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In the beginning there was the great music of illuvitar AKA Led Zeppelin

I think the grass out of place. I should be short and yellowish brown, dead, if winter is starting or shorter and green if winter is ending. You could try adding some footprints in the snow as well with a toothpick. Good luck finishing it off.

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“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8

It does look good but it definately needs something in the middle (I would go for a muddy footpath as if he is waiting to ambush the next traveller) and the Warg itself could do with some brown paint in the colour scheme to make him stand out a bit more.
I look forward to seeing the next update!

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TO9G - 2010 Isengard

Thanks for the comments guys.
I think I might give the frozen creek idea a go, any suggestions as to how to go about it. I've seen the article on the GW website about winter bases (thanks Erunion) but was wondering if I should paint under the "ice" and if so what colour? I was thinking blues and greens, obvious water colours but suggestions are welcome.

A murky brown/green mix - more realistic and adds a bit of "warmth" to the piece.

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TO9G - 2010 Isengard

I like the colour of the Wild Warg, and It gives me an idea on how to paint my white wargs so I might borrow the paint scheme.

Some Bleached Bone highlights on the 'mane' of the chieften would add a bit more warmth and make it stand out a bit more.

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When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.

Backlog Reduction Oath Participant - 6/53

Encouraged by everyones comments the piece is now getting a major overhaul! I wasn't going to be able to lay down some ice properly without having to remove some of the snow so off it came, including some of the paint!
Oh well, touched it up and reapplied some blue as a base coat for the frozen creek along with some stippling of paler blue, white and green, hopefully that will give it a nice frosty look once the "ice" is down.
Only thing is, how to do the ice?
I was contemplating putting down some water effects first and then using the style from the GW guide using clear plastic with some dried dots of glue under it to represent trapped air.
Any thoughts guys?
Cheers,
Pinky

The dried super glue to make 'Trapped Air' has a nice effect. I tried it on a piece of waste blister pack plastic and it seems to work.

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When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.

Backlog Reduction Oath Participant - 6/53

Sorry for neglecting this thread guys.
Thanks for the comments too everyone, they mean a lot, really helps to keep you focused on the hobby.

@ Anduril - Just good old fashioned wallet draining GW Water Effects! The only hobby shops I have close by are a GW and one that is mainly focused on RC stuff with a tiny corner for model railway stuff so their scenery bits are very limited.

P.S. Be careful when using it as it's a very good paint stripper!!! And it has a surprisingly thin viscosity, something I found out after it leaked through my makeshift formwork and went everywhere!

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Ash Nazg Durbatulûk, Ash Nazg Gimbatul,
Ash Nazg Thrakatulûk Agh Burzum-ishi Krimpatul.