I set myself a challenge to make something cool from this small piece of sprue, but what?
I spent some time going through some old codex’s until I settled on the “Orcs and Goblins” Warhammer Armies book from 1996.
Orcs are cool, the old ones are even cooler, and their banners are even more cool! So I’ll make one of those!
Starting with the frame, I trimmed the sprue and textured the bits to make them look a little more like wood. Then, with the remaining plastic, I dropped it into acetone to make some sprue goo. When it was soft enough, I fashioned it into a rough banner shape and let it dry.
The great thing about sprue goo is that when it hardens, it often has the texture of fabric, which is perfect for a flag or banner!
With the plastic still a bit malleable, I trimmed the goo into the final shape, complete with a ragged bottom edge. With the leftover goo, I plopped it onto a 25mm base to make a heap of soil. I also made a round shield with a few spikes to go on the top of the banner.
I then attached all the bits to the frame and glued them to the base. Unfortunately, I was a bit too impatient, as the banner kept drying and thus shrinking, bending the frame! (I just left it for the effect.)
For scale, I grabbed an old Orc from 1985 called “Tie-Sun”. I must have painted this around that time with at least 20 layers of paint! So I set about freeing him from his painted cocoon, and I couldn’t believe the amount of detail it revealed!
Painting
Let’s get this out of the way first. I’m not a good painter, and the idea of free-handing stuff is very daunting. So going through the book again, I thought a selective approach to the design would be best. I plumped for the yellow banner, but accidentally forgot about the tiny skulls on its side!
Obviously, the end result is not as good as the original, but I had fun with it! I also painted up the orc, which was the first time I’ve painted a metal miniature in decades!
Missed this other sprue build? Pots R Us – Use The Sprue