Statue looks great man, great idea to use chess pieces to cast from. Pity we only really get the options of the fellowship in most chess sets I have seen.

~Hasufel

Haven't had much time for hobby lately, so been doing bits and dabs on the border crossing statue - something easy to pick up and put down when time permits.

Need to get to my hobby store for some more woodland scenics material to add to the project. Haven't down an arid project before so still trying to figure out what to do for the base.

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"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

In process of moving my images to Imgur, so bear with me as I update my threads...

Finished the Border statue between Gondor and Harad. Decided I didn't like the piece of shaper sheet I had done as it didn't look right with the bigger stone with the statue - so I tore it off and cut down the mdf holding the statue.

Lots of dry brushing, some added pieces of different grass mixtures and rocks.

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"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

Really well finished. Looks like something Weta made for the films.

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggie' until you can find a rock." -Will Rogers

Nice Job:-) - perhaps the only thing I might have done was degrade some of the statue more so some of the sharper edges seemed a bit more weathered. Maybe a few lichen splodges on the statue too. You can keep going on this sort of thing forever though.

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Careful with that axe of yours... Dain!

Azog

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GreatKhan - thanks, but not quite

Azog - no worries, I agree completely. Usually when I get a chess piece to make into a statue I make a casting of it and then do the statue in plaster of paris - easier to age and make worn vs the resin that this piece is made of. Since I was only going to use this chess piece once I didn't do that and while regretting that I didn't, I don't think I will go back and do it again. Also agree that is hard to stop not adding a another piece of lichen, another spot of paint, etc.. I usually pick up this type of terrain while watching tv and add another spot etc, so while the subject says finished I doubt it really is.

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"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

Hi Map, Great horses on those Gondor Knights!

Really nice work on that Statue.

If I might suggest going to Michaels and picking up a bag of Reindeer Moss, some Lichen and a bag of crushed cork. Check out the dried plants section, that's usually where the stuff is.
It's way cheaper than buying WS products and will look better in the long run.
You can get various colors and by using coupons you can save a ton. Or stock up when they run a 40% off sale on that stuff.

Anyway, the crushed cork makes great rock rubble. If your wife will let you use the blender, you can make your own. I buy mine. It's just easier!!
The lichen and reindeer moss can be sprayed with spray paint and sprinkled with fine ground foam or whatever flowers/leaves float you boat.
Once dry, spray or dunk the whole piece in, matte medium. You can then just attach it to the walls where vegetation would grow. I would also put some down on the ground and add loose rocks on top of it.
Like it was growing through.

For whatever reason, I picture this as a fall weather type scene. Some dead foliage, leaves and broken branches would look good. I would make some brown vines to run up the statue. Use common everyday
dark brown thread, soak in super glue, apply some brown oregano or other spice and place on the statue and rocks. Just keep the thread longer than you need, so that you have something to hold onto when your placing the piece. After the vine dries, just cut the excess thread off.

I would also give the statue a few cracks and some missing/broken parts.

Sorry to go on, but it's a really nice piece and, as he said, it's not finished in his mind. Just suggestions.

Again, no worries on comments on what needs to be done - I still agree completely.

Funny you should mention that you pictured it as a fall scene, my first practice casting of the rock mold I painted darker like it was deep in a forest but I wanted to have it in a more open area so I left off the twigs, etc.

I actually didn't buy anything at the train store, just like to look sometimes. My wife and I actually laugh when we see the small bags of rocks or twigs - heck, I just have to go into my yard to find better sticks. The rocks at the bottom of the statue are actually small gravel pieces that I scooped out of the gutter when I lived back in Maryland that they used for traction during snow removal. For lichen, I just use the moss I have on my trees that I let dry.

Really should have made a mold of this statue so I could try again It was only $3 on ebay, might have to look again.

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"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

This looks fantastic dude. Love the layering in the stonework with different levels of scenic bits and pieces. The blend into the statue is great too.

Nice man.

¬Hasufel

Absolutely beautiful - ruins and half remembered ages - symbols of loss - these are how I visualise the vast majority of Middle Earth.

Thanks all. This is one of those projects I keep going back to. If I have a decent color on my paintbrush I might add some dry brushing to a rock here or there or my most recent addition - vines. I was visiting one of the rainforests here in Washington State and enjoyed the moss effect. So I took some of the moss in my yard and added some vines to the statue. If I keep them or take them off will depend on how I look at it next.

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"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

Very nice! The colours of the rock and the vines look very realistic.

Love the vines Map, gives it another layer of feeling lived in and real.

¬Hasufel

While I was never unhappy with what I had done, I kept looking at it and thinking why didn't I do this, or I should have done that, etc.

So I went back onto Ebay and bought another chess piece vs breaking the first statue apart.

Made a press mold of the front of the chess piece, use plaster of paris for both the statue and the rock mold and used more of the rock mold to make it taller. Since I only had half the chess piece this time I didn't have to carve into the rock as far and using PoP I was able to break off the sword arm (to be debris at the base) and wear down the statue some more.

Here is where I am at now, with a little spray of some grey and brown pigment paint on it, trying to decide if it looks more like it is part of the rock vs just put in. Trying to decide if I want to break off some of the chainmail skirt at the bottom or just notch it a little. Several spots I am still not quite happy on but thinking when I paint more and add extra vegetation/vines on it I should be closer.

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"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

Went with a base green vs grey this time, not sure how it is working out. Still working on adding highlighting, washes, basing or adding the extra vegetation, etc. Taking the picture shows me where some parts are too green. Will try highlighting more with Terminatus Stone dry paint and see how that works.

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"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

"Finished" my second attempt at embedding a chess piece into a hill side. This time I did what I should have done the first time by making a mold of the chess piece so the rock and the statue would be of the same material making it easier to weather and paint them together. Happier with this result but that doesn't mean I might try again.

Now what to do with the first statue/rock.

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"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

Loving the second statue dude. I love the same material approach, really yields good results.

Funnily enough I dusted off my old LotR chess set to take into work and lo and behold, there us King Aragorn!



~Hasufel

Thanks, I really need to take another picture of that second statue, the vegetation showed up way to green in the bright sunlight.

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"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."