Friday, December 2, 2011

Black Powder Command Stands

Picked up some plywood discs from Jo-Ann's yesterday for .29 cents each. They measure 3 1/4" in diameter, and about 3mm thick. A magnetic sheet was also picked up so I could use figures that were already individually based on either washers or metal bottom bases in the case of the mounted figures. I wanted to keep these figures as singles for Sharp Practice games. Here are three British and two French command stands. I need to pick up a few more mounted commanders to flesh out both armies.
The magnetic sheeting was added to the tops of the discs after cutting them a little smaller in diameter. The individual figure bases were than outlined with a ball point pen. Acrylic caulking was squeezed around the outlines and allowed to harden a bit.
More acrylic caulking was then added to fill in around the outlines for the bases.
Sand was added in irregular patches and after it was dried, the stands were painted a dark brown, followed by dry-brushing of lighter earthy colors. Besides static grass, taller grass (painted brush bristles) and rocks (aquarium pebbles) were also added.
I didn't add any period specific articles as I plan to use the same stands for Hail Caesar command bases.

20 comments:

  1. Very nice work! I always like those circular command stands.

    Cheers
    Christopher

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Gents! First time I'll be using command stands - previously had commanders singly based, but I think this should work well with Black Powder and Hail Caesar games. Best, Dean

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's pretty inventive! It gives a nice diorama effect, while keeping the flexibility of individually-based figures.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brilliant!! The idea is great and the bases look perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cool idea Dean,
    The bases as with the rest of your troops look exceelnt!!!
    It has been very enjoyable watching yer armies come together.
    Awe ra best
    Paul

    ReplyDelete
  6. Pardon the rubbish spelling it has been a heavy week!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Again a real eye-catcher. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks again for the nice comments.

    Paul - no sweat - do it myself sometimes too.

    Happy Holidays! Dean

    ReplyDelete
  9. Excellent looking command bases - no army is complete without them!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Another vote for a great idea, well-executed. Thanks for sharing.

    Ed

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lovely work Dean.

    Cheers,

    Helen

    ReplyDelete
  12. that's a great idea and they look awesome

    ReplyDelete
  13. Smart idea. They look beautiful . Michael

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good stuff. Definitely something needed for Black Powder.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very creative way of making your awesome collection versitile!

    Ted

    ReplyDelete
  16. Very good, I like using sabots myself too.

    ReplyDelete