Here we have a small sprue of x5 Dark Age Warriors from Gripping Beast. They were really easy to build and have a fair amount of detail.
What I chose to do this time with the unused part of the sprue was to make some bases out of it. This was such a simple thing to do. I trimmed some small pieces into a rectangular shape first, then sliced off small square bits to act like tiny flagstones. I then roughed them up a bit with a knife to add some texture to the surfaces.
Depending how thick the frame is will make a difference of the size of the stonework. Obviously I had to bear in mind how big the mini was, otherwise it might look a bit out of scale.
A quick prime in black, a really rough grey base coat and the customary dry brushing with white and they were done. I glued the figures to their new bases to complete the project!
I think they turned out quite good and it’s a great free way of elevating your miniatures on the table.
Head Handle
The Idea
I still had the main piece of sprue left over from the making the bases, so I decided to build something useful out of it!
Well if you’ve seen some of my previous posts I like to paint all of the spare heads as I go along. So rather than leaving them hanging around the place, I bottle them up and put them on display! Heads Up! – Use The Sprue
Normally I would glue each head individually to a cocktail stick, poke them into a blob of blue tack, attach them to a piece of card and then prime them. To be honest, this is a bit of a pain and time consuming to do. So I came up with a solution. The “Head Painter Handle Frame Sprue Helper”.
The Build
I chose the most suitable part of the sprue, where the heads can be easily attached (I went for the bit with about 10 nobbles on). I cut it free from the frame and gently trimmed each “head spike” to make a flat surface so the heads will stick a little better. Now with only a drop of super glue it will keep them securely in place.
Now a handle! I made it long enough so I wouldn’t spray my hand whilst priming the heads!
Then I had another thought. If I was applying a wash over the heads how could I keep the handle in an upright position to dry? So with the remaining piece of sprue the handle base was born. Now it can be safely put down without the thing falling over!
A quick rust effect paint job and it’s done!
Now Let’s Try it Out.
Well it works! I found it really easy to use and to manoeuvre the heads into any position I wanted while I was painting them.
“And that’s another sprue saved from going to landfill and it’s another “Five Heads for the Pot!”