UMS "Agram" : RISE - the Necromancer project < Articles < Hobby

RISE - the Necromancer project

Sebastian Søgård, 5th June 2024

For a while I had this Ossiarch Bonereapers miniature, Mortisan Boneshaper, from Age of Sigmar, in my collection of gray plastic, not really knowing what to do with it. I liked the model, bought it to support a local hobby store I visited, but didn’t ﬁnd any inspiration for it.

Until one day I saw a few kits at Carta Magica and my head started spinning around a new diorama idea - a Necromancer raising undead warriors from their graves. One of these kits was gravestone bits from Green Stuﬀ World, the other was this Spirit Hosts kit, where I suddenly noticed the very ﬁtting skeletons at the base that I never saw before. They were perfect for my idea.

I started by getting rid of all the spikes on the Boneshaper, as they’re too silly, big and unnecessary for my taste. I cut them oﬀ with my hobby knife and covered up the space this left with some brown stuﬀ. I also covered up the very “warhammer-y”, fancy pattern on middle part of his armor, with brown stuﬀ as well.

For the base, I started with a piece of XPS foam cut to the same size as the wooden plinth I knew I wanted to display it on. I superglued several pieces of bark on one side of the base, to elevate the area where my Mortisan Boneshaper, the focal point of the diorama, would be placed. I also mixed superglue with baking soda to create some textures here as well. Then I covered the bark and all the XPS foam with cheap, air-hardening modeling clay from DAS. At this point I also test-ﬁtted all my elements - the graves, the skeletons and some small branches that would eventually serve as streaks of energy (I didn’t know that yet at this point). And I pushed the base of the Mortisan Boneshaper into the clay before it had hardened to make sure it will ﬁt in the future (although I didn’t consider how much this kind of clay shrinks when it dries, so I eventually had to cut out more clay to make the base ﬁt).

The next step was to blend the graves and skeletons into the rest of the landscape. For this I found that Standard Milliput is perfect. It’s easy to work with and shape, it doesn’t stick as much as brown or green stuﬀ, and only requires a little water to blend it into the landscape.

My painting plan for this diorama and the miniature, was to work with contrast paints and enamel washes, something I don’t do often, so it would serve as practice. For this reason, I zenithal primed both diorama and miniature, and then covered them in contrast colours. On the diorama, to get a lot of variation in colour tones, I used ﬁve diﬀerent contrast colours, as I knew the later stage of drybrushing would bring them all together. I used warm colour tones for the rocks, landscape and skeletons - red, yellow, warm brown and green - while covering the gravestones in a colder blue colour (I like Citadel Contrast colour Gryph-Charger Grey a lot, as it is subtle, but gives a cold tint). Then I drybrushed everything with several lighter, neutral greys and browns.

I was happy with how varied in colour the landscape looked after this, but as I had already decided on Streaking Grime enamel as the wash for the whole project, because of a successful test on a General Grievous mini earlier, I went ahead and covered everything in the enamel wash, waited for 15 minutes and began the laborious process of cleaning oﬀ most of it with make-up removal brushes from DM that I’ve grown quite fond of (they don’t leave cotton hairs as Q-tips do) and paper towels. On the miniature I was pleased with the result, as the Streaking Grime dirtied down the very ﬂashy yellow colour on the dress, and gave an interesting worn feeling to the bones. Just as my Grievous test had showed me. But as I had never tested this technique on landscapes before, I made a miscalculation. In hindsight I would have left if without the wash, as the contrast colours had already added a nice contrast (duh?) to the diorama. Since the landscape had a lot of tiny textures, from the bark, superglue and baking soda, the enamel wash got stuck deep within the small crevices, and were impossible to get oﬀ. This left we with a darker, dirtier, less varied landscape than I wanted, and I took me a long time, and lots of boring steps I won’t get into here, to get some colour variation and interesting tones back into the diorama.

After highlighting the mini, the skeletons and the graves, it was time to tackle the energy streaks. What was ﬁrst supposed to be regular branches, I decided to give a strong colour, pretend that they were streaks of energy coming up from the ground all around the Boneshaper as he’s doing his necromancy thing. I had several reasons for deciding on this - 1. the ﬂashy, turquoise colour of the eﬀect would add some nice colour back into a very brown diorama, 2. I hoped the energy streaks would add some dynamism and movement to the diorama, as well as help tell the story better and 3. it would give me a chance to add some subtle OSL in the project. I took inspiration from this artwork I found of the Mortisan Boneshaper.

So I base coloured the energy streaks with white. Then covered them all in two layers of the Citadel Technical paint Nihilakh Oxide.

Next step was again a Citadel Contrast paint, as this was my go to for the entire project. The one called Aeldari Emerald has a very strong, dark turquoise tone, and only needs one layer to cover anything light enough. So I gave the streaks a coat of this, and then proceeded to drybrush Celestra Grey and Ulthuan Grey in several layers on the streaks, and also on the ground around the streaks. Then another coat of Aeldari Emerald, with a watered down mix used to cover the ground around the streaks for the OSL. Then more drysbrushing, then back to some Nihilakh Oxide to bring in some more midtone again, as the darkness of the Aeldari Emerald became my shadow color, the Ulthuan Grey the brightest highlight, and so the Nihilakh Oxide became the midtone. I repeated these steps until I was happy with the outcome, as well as adding a Spirit Host painted in the same scheme. This was originally just a test model for the colour scheme, but it eventually found its way into the diorama.

At this point I was quite happy with the diorama, but felt like something was missing. Some colour in the brown, dirt ground was still lacking, and since it’s a rather large diorama, I wanted to pack it with as much story as possible. I had recently bought some 3D printed spiders from Green Stuﬀ World, and had the idea to paint them quite colourful, as well as have them running towards the necromancer, solving both problems; they would give some more colour to the ground, and help sell the “story” that the Boneshaper is controlling so much energy in this necromancy ritual, that all the spiders in the area are attracted to him. I found a picture of diﬀerent spiders online, and decided on the one on the bottom line, second from left, as I thought the colour would complement the diorama nicely.

So after about a month of on-and-oﬀ work on the diorama, I had this result:

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SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 5

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	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	So far I have finished making the base, painting the base, painting the interior of the vehicle and painting the figures. Now it's time to add the vegetation

	  

	The pines/trees were already fixed to the base before painting, so the first vegetation I added was tall shrubs that filled the volume of the base.

	  

	Then I added lower vegetation like tall grass and lower bushes.

	  

	Finally, I added some short grass, making sure when I was making the parking lot and path that there was no vegetation in the places where the wheels pass.

	  

	The paint on the base has just dried up, so next time I'll add the vegetation.

	  

	When the diorama is turned to the back, the volume of the forest is visible.

	  

	Before placing the vehicles and miniatures on the base, the diorama looks like this.

	  
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	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Do sada sam završio s izradom baze, bojanjem baze, bojanjem interijera vozila i bojanjem figura. Sada je došlo vrijeme za dodavanje vegetacije

	  

	Borovi/drveće je već bilo fiksirano na bazu prije bojanja pa je prva sljedeća vegetacija bila visoko žbunje kojim sam popunio volumen baze.

	  

	Potom sam dodao niže raslinje poput visoke trave i nižeg grmlja.

	  

	Na kraju sam dodao i nisku travu pri čemu sam pazio kad sam radio ugibalište i puteljak da vegetacije ne bude na mjestima gdje prolaze kotači.

	  

	Kada se dioramu okrene, vidi se volumen vegetacije u šumi. 

	

	Prije postavljanja vozila i minijatura, diorama izgleda ovako:

	
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Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 4

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	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	After the base and the vehicles, I started painting the miniatures. Two policemen and a truck driver. The first step was the base color – black and then white..

	  

	After that, I started with the basic colors, concentrating a little more on the truck driver..

	  

	Considering the year and location of the action, I decided that his jacket should have the logo from the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics..

	  

	Then I threw myself at the policemen..

	  

	The paint on the base has just dried up, so next time I'll add the vegetation.
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	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Nakon baze i vozila, bacio sam se na bojanje minijatura. Dva milicajca i vozač kamiona. Prvi korak je bila temeljna boja – crna pa bijela.

	  

	Nakon toga, krenuo sam s osnovnim bojama, malo više se koncentrirajući na vozača kamiona.

	  

	S obzirom na godinu i mjesto radnje, odlučio sam se da mu jakna ima logo od ZOI Sarajevo 1984.

	  

	Zatim sam se bacio na milicajce.

	  

	Taman se tako nekako osušila i boja na bazi pa ću sljedeći puta obraditi i dodavanje vegetacije.
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Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 3

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	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	As I announced last time, it's time to get down to the vehicles. The first thing I did was disassemble the models and take out the interiors of all three vehicles.

	  

	As you can see in the picture, the interior of the vehicle is poorly or not at all painted, so a lot of attention and time was spent there. I painted the upholstery in shades of gray, or brown on the Tristač. I brought out the details on the dashboard and around the gearbox.

	  

	There was something missing from the start on the Fićo, but I couldn't figure out what it was until Kruno pointed out to me that the flashing lights were missing. I fixed that with a small 3mm clear LED that I painted in Tamiya Clear Blue with a silver edge.

	  

	This completes the painting of the vehicles’ interior.

	  

	The finishing touches are the decorations in the truck's cabin.

	  

	Next time we will continue with painting the figures.
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	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Kao što sam najavio prošli put, vrijeme je da se bacim na vozila. Prvo što sam napravio jest da sam rastavio modele i izvadio unutrašnjost sva tri vozila

	  

	Kako je vidljivo na slici, unutrašnjost vozila je slabo ili nikako obojana stoga je tu otišlo mnogo pažnje i vremena. Tapecirunge sam obojao u sive nijanse, odnosno u smeđe na tristaču. Izvukao sam detalje na komandnim pločama te oko mjenjača.

	  

	Na fićeku mi je otpočetka nešto falilo, ali nisam mogao skužiti što dok mi Kruno nije skrenuo pažnju da fali rotirka. Nju sam sredio pomoću jedne male 3mm prozirne LED koju sam obojao u Tamiya Clear Blue sa srebrnim rubom.

	  

	Time je završeno bojanje unutrašnjosti vozila.

	  

	Završni detalji su ukrasi u kabini kamiona.

	  

	Sljedeći put nastavljamo sa bojanjem figura.

	 
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Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 2

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	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	Last time I explained how I created the terrain, and this time I'll be painting the terrain. The terrain itself consists of several parts: an asphalt road, a turnoff and path, and the terrain in the forest.

	  

	Since I wanted all the surfaces to have similar tones, I decided to paint without a base color, applying the main color immediately. The paint I applied was very thin so it stayed wet for a long time, which allowed me to mix the base colors and get a uniform tone.

	  

	After applying the basic tones, I started shading. I also used the same principle, using quite diluted tones to create unevenness in certain parts of the surface.

	  

	Then I added a layer that I could most simply call wash. A very diluted darker shade of color.

	  

	I applied the final shades using another technique, the simplest one – dry brush.

	  

	While these paints were drying, I was simultaneously disassembling and painting the interior of the car and truck, as well as the figures, which will be the subject of future articles.
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	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Prošli put sam objasnio kako sam izradio teren, a ovaj put ću se baviti bojanjem terena. Sami teren se sastoji od nekoliko dijelova: asfaltna cesta, ugibalište i puteljak te teren u šumi.

	  

	S obzirom da sam htio da sve površine imaju slične tonove, odlučio sam se bojati bez temeljne boje, nanoseći odmah glavni ton. Boju koju sam nanosio bila je jako razvodnjena tako da je dugo bila mokra i to mi je omogućavalo miješanje osnovnih tonova i dobivanje ujednačene tonove.

	  

	Nakon nanošenja osnovnih tonova, krenuo sam sa nijansiranjem. Također sam radio istim principom, dosta razvodnjene tonove kako bih dobio neujednačenost pojedinih dijelova površine.

	  

	Potom sam dodao sloj koji bih najjednostavnije mogao nazvati wash. Jako razvodnjenu tamniju nijansu boje.

	  

	Završne nijanse sam nanio drugom tehnikom, najjednostavnijom – dry brush.

	  

	Dok su se ove boje sušile, paralelno sam rastavio i bojao unutrašnjost automobila i kamiona te figura što će biti tema sljedećih članaka.
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Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 1

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	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	As always, everything starts with an idea. This time, the idea came from a model of an Agrokomerc truck that Bojan brought me from Serbia (where it was published as part of a magazine). The design itself changed a bit over time (the first few months of planning). Initially, it was supposed to be just a truck at a roadside stop. Then the idea came to include the Police. And then I got two police vehicles. Fić and Tristač. Basically, this is the first drawing that started it all.

	  

	The base for the diorama came from Moson, from Buco. A fantastic combination of MDF and Styrodur that allows you to remove the diorama itself, but also to lower the terrain below the base level. I removed the Styrodur base, modeled it a little to get different terrain height levels. I modeled the road from a cork board, and assembled the rest of the terrain from DAS clay and wooden bark.

	  

	Once everything was dry I added texture. Two or three sizes of sand and that was it.

	  

	And when that layer was dry, I used a drill to fix the trees to the back of the base. Since all the trees had tall trunks, I decided to leave them as is and not move them during the painting process.

	  

	That's it for this week. We already have a nice outline of the diorama, and next time we'll continue with painting the base.
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	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Kao i uvijek, sve počinje idejom. Ovoga puta, ideja se izrodila iz makete Agrokomercovog kamiona kojeg mi je Bojan dofurao iz Srbije (gdje je izašao u sklopu nekog časopisa). Sami dizajn se malo mijenjao tijekom vremena (prvih par mjeseci planiranja). Otpočetka, trebao je to biti samo kamion na nekom ugibalištu pored ceste. Onda se rodila ideja da stavim i Miliciju. A onda sam nabavio i dva milicijska vozila. Fiću i Tristača. Uglavnom, ovo je prvi crtež od kojeg je sve krenulo.

	  

	Baza za dioramu je došla s Mosona, od Buce. Fantastičan spoj MDFa i stirodura koji omogućava vađenje same diorame, ali i upuštanje terena ispod razine baze. Izvadio sam stirodurnu podlogu, malo je izmodelirao da dobijem razne razine visine terena. Cestu sam izmodelirao iz ploče pluta, a ostatak terena složio od DAS glinamola i drvenih kora.

	  

	Kada se sve osušilo dodao sam teksturu. Dvije ili tri veličine pijeska i to je to.

	  

	A kada se i taj sloj osušio, bušilicom sam fiksirao drveće na stražnji dio baze. S obzirom da su sva stable imala visoka debla, odlučio sam ih ostaviti tako i ne micati ih za process bojanja.

	  

	To je to za ovaj tjedan. Imamo već lijepe obrise diorame, a sljedeći puta nastavljamo sa bojanjem baze.
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Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

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Kill Team - Blooded vs. Vespid Stingwings 28th February 2025, GW - Warhammer 40.000, and Antoni Pastuović (Imperial Guard)

22nd April 2022, GW - Warhammer 40.000, Borna Pleše (Space Marines) and Kristijan Kliska (Tau Empire)

17th November 2021, GW - Warhammer 40.000, and Nino Marasović (Space Marines)

Association of miniature collectors, modellers and tabletop wargamers "Agram"

RISE - the Necromancer project

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