Mediterranean Island Pirate Mega-Map ReaperCon 2012

[ableman33]

5 DAYS...

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@ Elderac - I do plan to take lots of pictures of the map in play. I am eager to see what it looks like with units all over it.  

@ pendrake - Thanks for the ideas.    A raft sounds like a really good idea. I was wanting another small boat to put in one of the small sea caves, but I did not want something just like the rowboat. I will keep your other ideas in mind as I go along.

@ kerinst - I appreciate your generous offer, but if this does not end up staying in the Dallas area, I can clear off my bottom map storage shelf to make room. The wire shelves on my wall were laid out to accommodate my Battletech hex maps which are also 2 feet on one side, so everything is already set.  

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Some of the priatey details I want to make if I can squeeze in the time are some flagpoles for each of the four pirate factions. To get started on those, I copied the faction images from the Reapercon website and pulled the faction symbols from each image.





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Using these I printed out some flags, giving each faction their own background color to change things up a bit.

For my first flagpole, I wanted to make something that looked like the tip of a snapped off mast complete with a crow's nest that was stuck into the ground and used as a flagpole.

The underwater adventure kit that contained my kraken also included a scuba diver and a powered motor for pulling him through the water.

The cowling around the propeller looked just like a crow's nest to me.  





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A bit of cutting and trimming got the cowling free. I then filled most of it with a shaped block of balsa wood hot glued in place with a hole drilled through it to hold the mast securely to the nest.





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A snapped off dowel made a nice mast tip. I used a large fender washer for the base and weighted everything down with two layers of crushed lead pellets held in place with more hot glue.





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I then coated the base and pellets with more hot glue and covered everything in clay cat litter.





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To give the paper flags some strength and better give them the ability to hold flapping shapes, I cut them out and glued them to both sides of some heavy craft aluminium foil. For the two non-symmetric emblems, I was careful to print out mirror images for the back sides of the flags.





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A base coat of some brown primer, some dry brushing, and some dyed floral wire rope, and everything was complete.







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Three more flags to go.  Thumbs Up

(Now that I have made one, I have to do the other three of the other factions will get jealous.)

[ableman33]

Quote:Elderac said:
The Karkarion flag sure is reminiscent of that figurehead. One has to wonder if there is a connection.

Quote:Shakandara said:
Just FYI ableman, none of those pirate factions (other than the Razig flag you just did) are part of the Warlord game. The rest were spun up specifically for the other events going on at the convention. That does not mean, of course, that you can't incorporate them into details for this island. Smile

I'll definitely take some actions shots when I'm playing too, and be sure to come back to the thread and post them afterwards.

In addition to finishing up the pirate ships, I've got about about a gross or so of barrels, crates, and chests that are in various stages of paint. While some are specifically intended to be used as scenario markers, there should be some left over to use as terrain embellishments as well. Smile

Here's a sample of them: solid barrels, empty barrels (will be filled with resin water effect), broken barrels, and treasure chests.

Quote:pendrake said:
The Karkarian faction seems to be sharkmen and other aquatics [?] maybe its flag pole could have a base like Karl the Kraken's base.

I'm thinking they would stake out the lagoon area as their... errr... 'turf'.  

@ Shakandara - Hmmm... good to know that about the factions, though I will go ahead and make all four factions as flags for fun.

[ableman33]

For the Cult of Maersuluth's flag, I used a cat vertebra and coccyx to represent whale or sea serpent bones used to anchor their flagpole.

(Teachers have all kinds of cool stuff floating around in their garages. Well, at least I do...   )

The base was crushed lead pellets and cat litter on a large fender washer.

[ableman33]

The Karkarion flagpole has a fish net made from some loose woven gauze stained with diluted ink. Again the base has the now standard crushed lead pellets covered in clay cat litter.

I thought about soaking the netting in diluted PVA and letting it dry in its hanging shape to give it more stiffness, but in the end I decided I liked the softness of it. I did tack the gauze down to the mast and ground in several places with hot glue so that it cannot be moved out of position.

[ableman33]

And finally, the Stormchaser Pirates' flagpole is a fairly standard affair set up near some supplies.

The stairs are from the same friend that supplied me with the shipwreck railings and resin rowboat.















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To help anchor the stairs, I glued a plank to the base with a small strip of the same heavy craft foil that makes the core of the flags.





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And finally here is a group shot of all four flagpoles together.

[ableman33]

Quote:kropptkin303 said:
Simply stunning work Ableman.Your attention to detail, as always, impresses. I like your use of silicone caulk and will be experimenting with it next time I do a sea shore or flowing water. Thanks.  

[ableman33]

3 DAYS...

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The past weekend proved as time-filled as expected so I have been able to make very little progress on this project since my last post.

I did find a spot around the cove where I forgot to add my white caulk foam and took care that oversight.

I also made a small raft and some more scatterable pieces, including some plain barrels, spools, and chests. (The boxes in the second pic are glued together as a group.)







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I will continue to make more scatterable bits as I can until it is time to pack up. Right now I have a small shark with caulk bits drying and I am working on the remains of a bonfire.

Back to work.  

[ableman33]

A couple more items. An old bonfire with a wood pile, and a shark.

I experimented with having some white caulk foam around the shark, but nothing looked as good as leaving it plain.

Quote:Lordober said:
Great work on the table.

I have some of those wood cubes and have been trying to figure out a quick way to make them look like terrain. The simple black lines are fantastic.

Did you consider sanding or cutting down the shark to make more of a waterline model?

@ Lordober - Yes I did. This is not my first attempt. Unfortunately, the lower fins are so close to the bottom that any further thinning of the profile removes them leaving something that looks more like a dolphin. I tried reattaching the cut off fins, but it did not look right and they kept coming off. In the end, I had to settle on just cutting off the lower half of the tail and shaving the belly a little.

If my toy model was larger, I could have just cut it in half so that it looked like it was reaching out of the water. But at this scale, it made it look too small.

I considered just making some gray silhouettes as if the shark was just under the surface, but I do not think I will have time.

At least these sharks are cheap. They came in some bundles of toys for giving away at birthday parties.

[ableman33]

2 DAYS....

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Some floating barrels and boxes. Slicing each piece at an angle provided two new floating pieces.







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Trooper scout contemplates just how much trouble he will be in for knocking the supplies off the raft.





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Apparently, kraken like rum too.

On a side note, trooper scout will not have to worry about getting in trouble anymore...

[ableman33]

Quote:ForestZ said:
You might just try lopping off some fins and sculpting a little foamy wake around/behind them. That way you could have half a dozen circling the raft. It might not work so great with your crystal clear Mediterranean water without the silhouette though.

Still, this is shaping up to be another awesome creation! Those flag poles are so full of character. They came out great!

@ ForestZ - Thanks. I did end up tacking down the fishnet on the Karkarian flagpole a bit to tighten it up a little. I also adjusted the top of the net so that it drapes over the yard arm rather than just curving in front of it.

I have considered making some large shark dorsal fins with foamy wakes. I will have to see if I end up with enough time.

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This map is really starting to grow on me. I am eager to see people playing on it, but I am also of two minds about letting it go. It looks so nice and I have put so much of myself into it, but I do not right now personally play any games that would use it. If I kept it, it would likely only get used at conventions and such. It would be better to let it go to a home where it would get better use. I will have to see.

A lot of my remaining time is filled with other things. I will have to see just how much more work I can squeeze in between now and Thursday morning.  

Quote:Elderac said:
You should give the shark the same treatment as the boxes/barrels. Now it looks a bit to much as a plastic shark on the surface.