The fountain of de-slump
April 3, 2016Brought on by a combination of a cold, plenty of things to do and a general lack of inspiration, I’ve been having yet another of my painting and modelling slumps. Yesterday I was finally able to break it with a few small things, and I’m back on the right track again!
I finally got to work on the fountain originally shown in this post and also finished the second one of the two market stalls. They’ve been sitting half-finished for a long while – as often tends to happen to pieces that require only a little somewhat dreary work to finish. This makes completing them even more satisfying.
The fountain was given a coat of VGC Stonewall Grey followed by successive coats of a lighter grey (I just added white to the base colour) and pure white. After that I grubbied it up with Citadel Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil washes and glued on various tufts and flocks to show the fountain has been out of use for quite a while. For something built mainly out of trash, I think it looks fine, and the details help draw the eye away from its humble origins.
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It wasn’t until I’d finished painting the second market stall, that I realised the scale was somewhat off – the boxes on the stand were really high for a 28mm mini to reach. I rectified this by painting up two more boxes and placing them on the ground, which I think helps somewhat. To stay on a quasi-historical track I filled two of the boxes with oranges and lemons, as they were eaten to combat scurvy. Fun fact: did you know the word limey used to describe Englishmen comes from the British Royal Navy’s 1795 policy of issuing lime juice to sailors for scurvy prevention? I didn’t. Anyway, the fruit add a lovely touch of really bright colour to the table. The boxes of goods are from Ainsty Castings.
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This is how they look on the table. Two vigilant pirates keep watch while their friends go grocery shopping.
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That’s it for now! I have another Warbases building almost finished, so that will likely be up next. Looking to finish a few more things before taking off for the UK on April 12 – more on that later!
Dawn of the Lead 
Nothing like a market to make a town setting look more lived-in, very nice.
The fountain worked out well too. Is the town callled De-Slump? Please say yes, its so very “Jack of All Trades” (the tv show) 🙂
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Thanks Paul! Haven’t decided a name for the town yet, although was thinking of something more English. De-slump definitely needs to be used though, maybe Jaan de Slump, Dutch trader extraordinaire?
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Inspiring stuff! I think I’d be tempted to put some water effect stuff in the fountain.
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Thanks for the comment Andy! Thought of doing that, but in the end settled for a dried-out fountain. A small, rancid puddle might work though…
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Maybe some rats?
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Very nice dude!
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Thanks Bob!
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Spot on mate, and nice fix for the market stall scale issue! I’m glad you’re out of your funk and over your cold 😉
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Thanks Alex! Things are certainly looking better in terms of motivation and energy 🙂
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