Gigantosaur - The Base [Part 2]

For the Gigantosaur in the previous post I wanted to do more of a diorama than just a base.  I could see this majestic creature in a swamp somewhere, dead fallen trees around and reeds as high as a man around him.  The swamp is traveled by other dinosaurs, each leaving their tracks underwater.  The soupy water ripples and churns where the monster moves, mud is kicked up at the dinosaur's feet.

Or something like that anyways...

I started with Sculpy and a cardboard box top that looked to be about the right size.  Working the sculpy resulted in a fairly slick looking surface with small areas that were higher than the rest.  I took some other dinosaurs I had and began to stamp tracks in the 'mud'.  I then baked the sculpy according to the directions and after that cooled came back around with an airbrush (greens in the deeper areas and tans on the shallower).

Woodland scenics makes HO scale deadfall and field grass.  I found that the easiest way to get tufts of grass was to super glue in the center, let that dry and then cut in the middle of the super glue area.  This was then epoxy'd onto the painted base along with the deadfall.

I wanted to sink the sculpted base into a wooden base so that when I poured the 'water' in, it would just meet the base.  I chose my ambrosia maple again for this because when coated with a few coats of danish oil the grain comes out and it looks pretty.

I cut a piece of 3/4" plywood 1/4" bigger on each side than the sculpted base piece.  I chose 3/4" because the metal rod in the bottom of the dinosaur was fairly long and I wanted to keep as much stability as possible.

I cut the maple board into 1 1/2" thick pieces, routed them to fit over the 1/4" extra on the plywood and then mitered 45 degree corners.  Sanding was done and then the 2 coats of danish oil.

A few dabs of epoxy secured the sculpted base in place, some epoxy-sculpt to fill in any gaps, touch up paint, a drilled hole for the dino's foot.  Lots of wait time in here for drying.  I decided to add a few last minute tufts of grass and dead fall closer to the edges.

 

The above photos were while the 'water' was still wet which is why it is so shiny.

I decided to use Woodland Scenics 'Real Water' and 'Water Effects' for the water.  'Real Water' can be tinted (they recommend using the Woodland Scenics acrylic colors so a trip to the local train store provided a green and brown, just not brave enough to try other acrylic paints after reading about 'cloudy' issues with other products).  The first round of water was tinted green heavily for that 'bottom of the swamp' feel and I then used a brush to create brown swirls around the Dinosaur's feet where mud is getting kicked up.  These layers take 24 hours to dry so this is where I am right now.  I'll add more photos to my blog as I do more water and then the ripples...