So here's the story... I was beating my head against a wall all week long on the list I was going to take to a local tournament this weekend. I wanted it to be the most brutal, cut-throat, take-no-prisoners kind of Khorne Daemonkin list I could cobble together. I figured, for that, I would need a Khorne Void Shield generator (to take the punch out of 1st Turn shooting). I decided this exactly 1 day before the tournament was supposed to take place. So how to churn out an appropriately Khorney Void Shield Generator based on what I had available?
Lucky for you, I documented my slapped-together process:
I took stock of my materials. I had:
- a printer and some paper
- a chunk of MDF wood (about 5"x5")
- A 4" styrofoam ball from the craft aisle of my local Walmart
- Hot glue
- PVA glue (aka Elmer's, or in my case, Roseart)
- Plaster of Paris
- Cardboard (cereal box variety)
- Basing material (aka dirt and sand from my driveway)
- Cheap paints from the craft aisle
- Cheap black spraypaint
- A wood stick, longer than a toothpick but about as thick. In my case it was the burnt end of an incense stick.
- A variety of crafting tools (scissors, hobby knife, etc)
So first thing I did was find a Khorne symbol, and printed it out about 4"x4". After doing so, I traced it out four times onto my cardboard. To save time and make it more sturdy, I did two pieces joined together at a time, like that pictured below-
Having completed that, I put the main structure together on the MDF wood base, using the hot glue to stick it together. I wasn't particularly careful with the hot glue. It's all going to be covered up anyway, and it added a bit of a 3-dimensional quality to the surface. Once I was done with that, I took it outside and sealed it up with a coat of black enamel spraypaint. I was sure to use a flat black so it wouldn't be too glossy.
As you can see, while I was waiting for it to dry, I started mixing up my coating. I used PVA glue, Plaster, a little bit of water, and some basing material to make a kind of thin paste that I applied onto the entire structure. If you want some kind of exact formula, I have bad news for you. I just kind of fiddled with adding water and PVA glue to a cup or two of plaster until it was the consistency I wanted, thin enough to spread easily but thick enough to cling. Really pile it into the middle, get a decent amount there to build up the center and give the orb something to stay up on.
Setting that aside to dry (it took an hour or two, even when left in front of my heater), I started on the orb itself. Mixing PVA glue and craft paint in approximately a 1:1 ratio, I created a very dark base color using "Cherry Red." In hindsight, I should have done this after the next step. But I applied this to the entire foam ball, sticking the wood rod in the bottom and propping it in a soda can to catch drips. I really doused the thing... it's important to do so to seal up the styrofoam.
At this point, I had to wait for everything to dry. So I took a break for an hour or two. When I came back, everything was hard as rock, exactly as I wanted. I decided that rather than just painting on rings and swirls onto my orb, however, I wanted them etched into it. So I took the cap to a spray paint can, and etched curved lines into the visible parts of the orb with it. This is why I was saying that in hindsight, I'd have painted and sealed the thing AFTER doing this bit. It still turned out ok, but it would have made it easier.
Taking my longest-bristled brush I had, I used very thinned-down red paint (about 5 parts water to 1 part bright-red paint) and started filling in the lines. This worked ok, but I discovered that an eye-dropper worked better eventually. By applying the runny paint to the top of the curve, it would follow the line down beautifully.
The plaster was too light upon drying for my taste, so I applied some very thinned-down black paint. Very liquid, it was approximately 15 parts water to 1 part black craft paint. I had a lot left over, so on a whim, I used it on the raised portions of my orb and decided it looked pretty bad-ass. Leaving the rod in the bottom of the orb, it propped itself up rather nicely in the center.
To finish it up, I drybrushed the structure. I started with a dark grey, then did a light grey, then a white/light grey mix (approximately 1:1) on only the top down. For extra Khorne cred, I applied some wicked blood effects around the base of the thing. My secret for the spatter? Taking a short but stiff bristled brush (an old toothbrush also works for this), I liberally juiced the brush up with paint, and used my finger to pull the bristles back and whip or flick paint onto the model. I did this twice: once with my dark red cherry color, and once again with my bright red. In hindsight, I should have mixed the bright red directly with some GW 'ardcoat and really gone the extra mile! I only slapped some hardcoat on over some of the splatter with a brush to give it a wet effect.
And there you have it! Finished Blood Orb for the Blood God. Providing a cheap and effective way to protect me from the alpha-strike on my first turn.
Sadly, I didn't get to test it, as I had to refrain from entering the tournament due to family commitments. Maybe one of you out there can build one and give it a go for me? Otherwise, it'll have to wait until my buddies and I can give it a go.
Hope this How-To inspired you, looking forward to seeing what you all come up with!
-Teun135
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