BSC2021 Bearwoodman's Frostgrave Fountain of the Olfactomancers

[Bearwoodman]

Blackwolf: No, I have not (Deothar and others are right that Pratchett is normally more my level) but I have googled him and as his story The Nose sounds interestingly grotesque so I have just ordered a copy on ebay for 2 pounds 94 including delivery. Very educational this BSC.

Deothar: Very kind of you to say so 

BUT:

After priming, basecoating, painting individual stones in three different colours, black wash, brown wash and green wash over the weekend, I thought that I would try and seal the washes in and dull down the glossy inks by adding a layer of varnish during my lunch break. The sun was beaming down so I sprayed it in the garden (I am currently working from home) and left it to dry while I went for a walk with Mrs B to the post office (15 minutes each way).

As you have probably guessed after about 10 minutes it started to pour with rain. We were drenched by the time we had completed our mission and returned home (the sun was out again by the time we were unlocking our front door, mocking me). I found my little cardboard fountain forlornly full of rain water. I would share a photo but that would result in disqualification from the contest and I am hopeful that it can be rescued in some form. I have tipped it upside down and just finished dabbing it dry, and it has not collapsed, or dissolved or fragmented. Maybe it will survive...

[Daeothar]

Frickin' heck! 

And here I was, lamenting my own setback, which now sounds like a very, very minor hickup...

I hope your work can still be rescued, because it's one of my favourites in this competition (what can I say? I just love silliness  ).

Make sure not to dry it by heating through means of a hairdryer, oven or even radiator; this will result in definite warping!

Give it a couple of days to breathe at room temperature, and if it does still warp, you might glue the base to a new one, to compensate.

Oh; and while drying, put weights on the edges of the base, to force it flat and prevent warping.

Good luck with the rescue, man...

[Bearwoodman]

Thanks Deothar. I think the base might actually be fine as it is plasticard. I have weighed down the steps as I can see them starting to bulge as they dry, so hopefully they will stay reasonably straight. If I am lucky the main effect will be to have made the paint job rather washed out and streaky, so not fatal!

[pistolpete]

When i have to dry stuff outdoors i put it in a shed.  Leaves and bugs tend to be my culprits and haven’t had spontaneous rain events.  I hope it’s salvageable as this is too creative and too well done.  Wishing you luck.

[Will Bailie]

I feel for you!  I've been moving my own project in and outdoors - too big and messy to work on indoors, but the need to constantly watch for rain, things falling from trees and other concerns is real!  (I've been vegetating my project, and I'm pretty sure that it contains contributions from the neighbourhood trees)

I'm looking forward to seeing your results and best wishes for recovering the fountain from its misfortune!

[Bearwoodman]

Thanks for the good wishes pistolpete and Will Baille, although the more I think about it the more I feel foolish for assuming that just because it was May and the sun was shining there would be no rain for half an hour. I have lived in England pretty much all my life so I should know better!

There has been a degree of warping but not to a disastrous degree (stuff I build is never very precise or straight anyway and this fountain has been subject to the passage of time, a magical cataclysm and some very odd smells). Tonight I tried to tidy up the smeared paintwork and washes with some dry brushing and it looks acceptable. I have also started painting the Nose, going for a dark bronze look rather than the carved stone I was originally thinking, as I think this will add variety of colour to the piece and contrast nicely with the ice. I just hope the weather is better at the weekend (it rained all day today) as I want to try out my resin!

[Bearwoodman]

I can't show any photos of the build, but here are my materials (building and reading) for the weekend:

[Blackwolf]

Excellent!

[Dr Mathias]

I sure do learn a lot on this forum 

[Bearwoodman]

I was on track to complete my piece by the original deadline (admittedly it is much more modestly sized than many of the other entries) but the extension of the date for submission has allowed me to relax a little and my hobby time today was spent painting goblins with my son instead of frantically finishing it off and taking photos.

There has been some progress however, some of which I can share because it is not painted.  First up I have had a go at creating icicles handing from the basin using the lengths of clear fishing line superglued to a clear acrylic base.  Here is a reference photo:


And here is my work in progress.  I will add water texture effect with a dash of white paint to this to make it look more natural and more frozen:


I have also been attempting to make sheets of ice by pouring resin over cling film.  After I had described the concept of the piece to a friend he laughed and said that the frozen liquid being discharged by the Nose ought to be "snot-coloured".  I was of course disgusted by his puerile and childish comment and offended by the lack of seriousness and respect with which he treated my work.  On the other hand, I thought that perhaps giving the water a faint green magical glow might appropriately hint at the untapped and misunderstood power that the Olfactomancers seek to harness and that the Deus Nasus represents.  So I added a drop of Army Painter "Poisonous Cloud" to the mix.   


And here is my plan for where the pieces will sit within the fountain:


I have also finished my Olfactomancer. 


He needs an apprentice of course, and I have some ideas...

[Clach Umha]

.

[Bearwoodman]

Thanks for the kind comments Clach Umha! It is the first time I have tried the ice and icicle effects I am using on this project, but I certainly cannot claim any credit for inventing them. I copied a technique used by Luke APS on YouTube to make the ice sheets, while using clear fishing line as the basis for icicles was something I saw on a miniature painting blog (I forget which one).

I am now pondering whether to add snow on top of the fountain. It will cover some imperfections, but also may obscure a lot of the effort made on the stone structure. Maybe just a little bit of melting snow in the nooks and crannies.

[mikedemana]

The Snot Rag of Senseless Slaughter

I almost had things spewing forth from my nose (in true Olfactomancer style) as I read that while eating lunch and burst out laughing... 

Love it! Can't wait to see it in all its frozen glory...

Mike Demana
http://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/

[Dr Mathias]

After seeing your painted image, I have to say this build turned out absolutely ace man. I think its my favorite of the competition- excellent work.

[Bearwoodman]

Cheers Dr Mathias, that is high praise coming from you and considering the standard of the competition! And it is a generous comment considering our entries are currently competiing in the same round. Thanks, and good luck!