Japanese Teahouse on a Turtle
“From the Malifaux Tactica Wiki:
Oiran are the Ten Thunders escorts in Malifaux. They understand the power of words, and find their place in the city by whispering secrets and lies, twisting others to their objectives.”
At that time, I had no idea what to do with these models other than that I found them very beautiful.
Eventually, an idea started to brew, something with a teahouse. Perhaps even ninjas to create a diorama.
Now I also have those lying around from the brand Zvezda.
But for now, building scenery is really my thing, painting is my second. (The future will show which and how many models I will use.)
So, I continued with the teahouse idea. Ideas raced through my mind, from Japanese gardens with water, stepping stones, bamboo forests, to even dragons. Perhaps mythological animals. Eventually, I came up with a turtle because I could build the teahouse on it.
Now, finding a turtle is a bit trickier than I thought, and certainly the right size for the models to stand out well.
The brand Schleich has a number of turtles, both sea and land turtles. In the end, it became a land turtle.
As I built, the turtle turned out to be just a little too small for the size of the teahouse, but I am also bound by the size of the models. So, it remains this turtle.
I also got more and more pleasure from creating this diorama.
At some point, you reach a point where you consider what to do with the base.
The base is an expression of a raked Japanese garden of sand and stones.
Materials used:
- Schleich: Land Turtle
- MDF plinth, size 10cm x 14cm, height 1.5cm, Milled edges and finished with layers of black gloss lacquer.
- Wooden coffee stirrers and Balsa Wood for planks and roof shingles.
- BBQ matches for wooden posts
- Paperclip for the balustrade
- Sand and stones for the garden
- Plasticard
- Solder
- Rope
- Wood glue, Superglue
A next step in the whole process was making the base.
I wanted a base with a Japanese look, with stacked stones and raked gravel.
First, I cut out a template of the base on paper and drew circles for the stones and the wave motion of the raked gravel.
I also added the turtle's steps to that.
I was satisfied with the second drawing and drew the circles around the stones with a compass and the wave motion in between on the plinth.
I masked the sides of the plinth with painter's tape and sprayed the top of the plinth with gray primer.
The next step was to create the height in the sand that arises from raking.
I followed all the lines with wood glue, then primed the whole thing again. I felt it was too low and added another layer of wood glue.
I can say it was more to my satisfaction.
I then sprayed the plinth with spray adhesive and sprinkled the gravel over it, pressing it down.
Tip:
Give it some time to rest; it yields a better result.
Once the gravel was on, I first painted the previously selected stones black and gave them a high-gloss coat to achieve the optimal result.
