Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Thrud the Barbarian: Step by Step - Highlighting and Sealing

At last we're near the end!  We have arrives at the final stages, highlighting and sealing.  Now I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very good at highlighting, but I like to try to make a go of it anyway.  I dry brushed silver onto the hard edges of Thrud's axe and helmet to make them stand out.  I did the same for the studs on his belt.  Then I used a brownish yellow on the ground to make it stand out a bit better.  A little light brown on the edges of his loincloth, and I was done.  Nothing too hard, just a little work to make the miniature look a bit more finished.  And there you have it.  All Thrud needs is a coat or two of clear sealant.  For sealing my miniatures, I use a two step process.  First, I spray-coat the miniature with Rustoleum Crystal Clear Enamel.  This gives a hard coating that will stand up to the rigors of the gaming table, but it's way too shiny for actual use.  So after letting that coat dry over night, I use a spray-coating of Testors Dullcote, which eliminates the shininess.  Finally, I brush-coat the areas that are supposed to be shiny, such as jewels or shiny metals, with a gloss coating such as Games Workshop's 'ARDCOAT or Model Master Gloss Clear Acryl.  And there you have it, he is ready for the gaming table!  

Afterward: I've been toying with the idea of adding some clumps of static grass to the base, but I still haven't decided on that.  If I do, I'll be sure to post a follow up.