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Other Stuff => Workbench => Topic started by: snitcythedog on May 31, 2020, 02:16:21 PM

Title: Murder of crows
Post by: snitcythedog on May 31, 2020, 02:16:21 PM
Just finished this up.  A murder of crows and a dryad made to fit in with my forest terrain.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4FKm4IG8hps/XtO3yA08oDI/AAAAAAAACuQ/og3zXsqyqiobkStCi0WNcleKDGDucvT_gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_1538.jpg)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_asiO3gYeyA/XtO5B5Ydj7I/AAAAAAAACus/pTpiI7xfJLM7WYXLBjhWCwaL6uxMKlYkACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_1541.jpg)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J-aI90u3MGI/XtO5KbihQ3I/AAAAAAAACu4/38IllbVQb-cCdGcaRIiIJECq5YLmW8AWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_1544.jpg)
Crows were two packs of ravens from tabletop art.  I was going to paint them as Jackdaws but they were so tiny that they surpassed my painting skills.  The dryad is from reaper.  Tree was scratchbuilt.
Title: Re: Murder of crows
Post by: Citizen Sade on May 31, 2020, 02:29:46 PM
Nice concept and it looks good.

Are those the single piece Tabletop-Art metal Ravens or their two part resin ones?
Title: Re: Murder of crows
Post by: snitcythedog on May 31, 2020, 02:36:34 PM
Nice concept and it looks good.

Are those the single piece Tabletop-Art metal Ravens or their two part resin ones?
Thanks for the comp.  They are the the pack of eight metal ravens.  Very fine casts with good detail.  Just a bit of work to tap and pin. 
Title: Re: Murder of crows
Post by: Citizen Sade on May 31, 2020, 02:54:01 PM
Good to hear as I added them, on impulse, to an order I placed the other day.
Title: Re: Murder of crows
Post by: Codsticker on May 31, 2020, 03:14:27 PM
I like your trees too; is that coarse static grass for the branches?
Title: Re: Murder of crows
Post by: snitcythedog on May 31, 2020, 03:41:10 PM
I like your trees too; is that coarse static grass for the branches?
Not quite. 
Home made rubberised horsehair with acrylic coloured sawdust flock.  Helps to have a horse around. 
Title: Re: Murder of crows
Post by: Codsticker on May 31, 2020, 06:46:26 PM
  Helps to have a horse around.
That won't be a problem for me- we have three of them around here.  :D How did you rubberize it?
Title: Re: Murder of crows
Post by: snitcythedog on May 31, 2020, 09:49:37 PM
How did you rubberize it?
If you are in the UK it is cheaper and easier to buy it in bulk off ebay.  If you are in the US I would suggest this method as I could not find the stuff over there for love or money. 
Here are the steps.   
1.  Clean your mane and tail hair brushes and save it up until you have enough to work with (regular undercoat does not work as it is not course or long enough).  Clean the hair well with dish soap removing any debris and dry completely. 
2.  I use mould making latex for the rubber, watered down to the consistency of milk with a little dish soap added to break the surface tension.  Put your clean mane and tail hair in a zip lock, pour in a generous helping of rubber mixture.  Shake the bag well and coat all the hair.  Pour out the excess rubber to use later, then pull out the hair and spread out to dry on plastic sheeting. 
3.  It takes a bit of practice to get it right as you have to continually move and turn the hair over as it is drying to make sure that puddles of rubber are not forming and attaching to your hair.  Gloves, paper towels and either an apron or old clothing is a must. 
4.  Once dry you can cut it out and then tease it just like the manufactured stuff.  The batch of hair that I used on this project was about two years old.  It was still as solid and easy to work with as the day I made it. 

One hint for your flocking if you are not already doing it for trees.  Once the flocking is glued and dry on the hair, spray clear plasti-dip on to seal it.  It is a clear spray rubber that will coat the flocking and the hair together.  Stops much of the shedding as it coats both materials.  I forget who posted it on LAF but it has been a lifesaver.   

In this photo the birch trees are a mixture of purchased rubberised horsehair and home made stuff.  At this point I would be hard pressed to tell the difference any more between the two. 
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gxckrTj4G1g/WahJw0OHlKI/AAAAAAAABcs/5MR6_qvpeqMyU6hFaJmHCpRYq9ImzC99gCEwYBhgL/s1600/DSC06421.jpg)
Title: Re: Murder of crows
Post by: Codsticker on May 31, 2020, 10:14:44 PM
Thank you for the info. Those trees look great. I've been using 3M Stripping Pad material, teasing it apart and priming it. It's great for short, bent branches but I think your horsehair method would be better for longer, straighter branches.