Realm of Battle Swamp Board

[SotonShades]

Good evening folks and folkettes!

Well the title says it all really. Taking inspiration from the board shown in the 6th Ed rulebook and a recent WD article, I am going for it. Despite all its many, many faults, I do like the Realm of Battle Boards (RoBB) and look forward to the expansions GW were so keen on telling us would be coming. I'm even tempted to save up for a set of the FW boards. Maybe some of the Zone Mortallis ones as well... I'm going off on a tangent. Yes, the original RoBBs.

Mine have been painted brown for a few years now and have recently been sitting rather forlornly in the garage. I just couldn't think what I wanted to do with them to make them interesting to fight over and as a result I really wasn't bothering. Seeing the swamp just made something click in my head about how I wanted to do them.



Very much a work in progress, but a good start and has given me a bit more confidence to push forward with the project! I've used spray paints in a couple of different shades of green to be the murky swamp waters, with the brighter shade being where sand banks and shallows show through. I sprayed all of the low areas of the board with the darker green, followed by doing a few random blobby shapes in the lighter green around the shore line, the skull pits and any areas where the darker green hadn't covered too well, then used the darker green again to soften the edges of the lighter areas and give better definition to a few of the other spots.



I tried to keep the lines as natural/curvy as possible, even while working around the cracked earth. I plan on filling the cracks in with some clear lacquer or something. Hopefully they will just look like they are at the bottom of the pools of water.



For the skull pits, I plan on painting the skulls as you would normally, then giving them whole pit a very heavy green and brown wash, before filling them with the clear lacquer as well. I'll then go over the whole thing with some form of water effects (probably not the GW one as there just isn’t enough in a single bottle!) to give it a more cohesive look.

As you can tell, I really need to touch up the brown. I still have a huge amount of the original brown paint I used to paint it first time round. I will probably mix in a load of fine sand and go over all of the non-water areas to give miniatures more grip on the hills, as well as touching up the shore lines.

I have never done water effects on this kind of scale before, so any helpful tips will be more than welcome. Any other comments, criticsm, advice or questions are also great. Hopefully I'll be getting on with the skull pits soon. More pics then.

Shades

[Deadlift]

Amazing, a very original use of a board. I still have to paint mine and this is a good kick up the backside. I love the contrast between beach areas and the water. Looks very neat. Job well done

[ted1138]

Ok, I now feel very bad about not using my board for so long. Good luck finishing this off, it looks absolutely amazing...

[SotonShades]

Cheers guys.

Apparently I am unable to concentrate on a single project at a time at the moment, so this evening I've been painting the now underwater skulls. Far, far too many wash layers and highlights, but I'm liking the effect I'm getting. Only two or three more layers to go (I think) so I might get some pics up tonight or tomorrow.

[SotonShades]

I've got to say, I have never enjoyed painting so many skulls this much before! Not in too much of a mood to waffle tonight, so straight on to some pics.



Skulls at the shore line.



I might have to repaint the rocks in this pit. Part of me wants to wait and see if adding the water effect will help, but obviously by then it will be too late. Dare I trust my instincts? For that matter, do i trust my instinct of keeping it as it is or the repainting one? Either way I like the skulls



Smaller skull pit looks good. From looking at pictures of underwater archaeological digs and the like, I tried to not be too neat with the paint, as layers of silt and the like seem to build up in perculiar ways leaving odd highlights of 'clean' bone showing where the light doesn't catch them. Not to mention filling eye sockets and cracks, so i didn't have to worry tooooooo much about filling in detail accidentally.

[SotonShades]

and the skull pits on the other, flat board;





Don't know if you can tell from these pics but, despite using the exact same technique and order of washes and paint layers and painting both boards at the same time, these ones have come out much much bluer. Even the rocks in the smaller pit almost match the spray painted area. With these bits being further away from the shore, I'm not really complaining. Hopefully it will create more of an illusion of depth. We shall see.

Speaking of illusions; the next step in my master plan!



If only I had a Yacht to use this on...

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to add it to my board instead. I've heard of people using Yacht varnish as a way of making lakes and rivers with waves in them before, so i might see about trying that if I can find any tutorials. I probably have too much in these two pots for the area of my 6'x4' board, but they were cheaper combined than buying Water Effects from GW, so I'm not compaining. Also, I still need to finish my Dreadfleet bases...

[Deadlift]

Looking good, loving the slimy "Pirates of the Caribbean" look of the under water skulls. They look great.
I am enjoying this thread very much

[SotonShades]

Cheers much.

Mini update today. Just realised that the varnish cannot be the next step in my master plan, as I need to re touch the shore lines and cover all of the lance with sandy paint, which means finding some sand to go in said paint! I know their is cement in the garage... bit too fine and cloggy me thinks :P Also, I don't fancy my boards weighing twice as much as they all ready do!

[SotonShades]

Hey there swamp fans!

Today I have managed to get the shores lines neatenned up and touched up the rest of the dry land as well. As for the original coat of brown paint, I've used Dulux's Earth Glaze 1, though this time I have mixed in a load of sand so that models have at least somekind of grip when they are stood on the RoBB hills.*

It will also give me even more of a contrast between the smooth varnish of the water (save for any waves I model/sculpt in) and the land. Hopefully I'll be using the same technique on the bases of my Wall of Martyrs and the rest of the scenery I've got so it will all match when it is on the hill or will look like it's natural islands in the swamp.

I'll wont take any pictures at this point, as they won't look all that different from the earlier ones, save for the shoreline being more clearly defined. If anyone is really desperate, just ask and I'll get some up.

Maybe during the week/next weekend I will have some time to put the first varnish layer in, even if that will only be so fill in the pits.

Shades

[Deadlift]

Look forward to the pictures, just out of interest once painted do you plan to transport your board at all, or will it be just at home. I am asking because I am now in the planning of my own board (volcanic to go with my Salamanders) but am worried that the current case is not strong enough to prevent the boards from paint chipping etc. I was thinking a combo of varnish and bubble wrap between each tile, what do you think ?