Heavy Gear Blitz Diorama – part 1.
I made this diorama over 5-6 months (20-25 hours of work in total) in 2022.
In the following articles, I will cover the production thematically through the following units:
• Painting, camouflage and weathering on figures (robots and trucks)
• Manufacturing and installation of parachutes
• Making a stand
• Texturing of the base
• Painting of palm trees - already described here.
• Creation of additional vegetation
• Adding narrative details to the diorama (foot with rocket launcher, landing ramp on the plane, camouflage tarp on the trucks).
Painting, camouflage and weathering on figures (robots and trucks)
The idea for this diorama was gradually born in my head throughout the second half of 2021 and the spring of 2022. It all started when I ordered a blister pack of two North Hunter Paratrooper figures from Dream Pod 9 (maker of the Heavy Gear Blitz tabletop strategy game!), metal figures that I thought were extremely nice and appreciative of painting and camouflaging, despite their small scale (1/144). When I received them, I saw that I was not mistaken in my previous assumption, and I set to work. Considering that, as I already mentioned, it is a fairly small scale, and that it is a question of relatively simple models, in the design of which the emphasis was placed on functionality and military simplicity and robustness, I decided on a simple coloring scheme. I used olive green for most of the armor, as well as dark blue-grey for the rest of the parts, and dark gray for the weapons.
Then I added Athonian Camoshade wash from Citadel to shade and connect all the tones throughout the figure. After that, looking at references from the Internet, I made camouflage spots with a little paint on a brush in 4-5 tones.
What is important to note here is that you should make an effort to make spots of as random and amorphous shapes as possible, in order to gain persuasiveness, as well as pay attention to the tones used. surfaces on the figure to create the impression of worn paint (eng. chipping). A few months later, when the production of the diorama itself was already in an advanced stage (October-November 2022), I ordered a blister of two Camel trucks from the same manufacturer and in the same scale.
Since these figures are made of resin, I cleaned them with a scalpel and sandpaper, while wearing a mask, because inhaling resin dust is not recommended at all, especially if you have respiratory problems like me. Then I put the basic black color on them with the black Cosmos primer, and painted the truck's paneling with the same olive green as the robot. I painted the truck windows quite dark blue, and left the wheels in black.
Using the same technique as the robot, with maybe 1-2 tons of difference, I made camouflage on the trucks. As for the weathering on the trucks, here I wanted to achieve a more dusty and worn look, so I used a reddish rust pigment on the wheels, undercarriage and front fascia, and completed the look with weathering pencils from AK Interactive, which I highly recommend to anyone thinking of getting into any what a project of this kind. The key is to emphasize the jagged parts with a lighter olive green color, as well as to apply a slightly larger amount of pigment from the pencil to the surface, which is then spread with a brush moistened in water. For a more detailed explanation of techniques for using weathering pencils, I recommend the Weathering Pencil Techniques booklet by AK Interactive.
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