After seeing a great video making dry mud using some unobtainable material from the UK, I decided to give DecoArt Texture Crackle(brown), and Tim Holtze Distress Crackle Paint(Antique Linen). I am pretty pleased with how both materials worked. It did take all night for them to dry, and I have not figured out how to keep the chunks from falling off, but with the power of resin casting I can stand to ruin the master in order to make a better mold. One of the key advantages of this stuff is that in addition to looking realistic, it can be painted around embedded objects such as skeletons, rocks, or any other bit I might want to add to a base.
They need a base of some sort of texture medium to adhere to the plastic. I use Vallejo Red Oxid paste with the Ranger Crackle. It will still come off with work or if you are rough with them, but they can take drybrushing pretty well.
ReplyDeleteIt is somewhat concerning that it is taking all night for them to dry. Thinner coats crack more in scale with 28mm models and I usually have dry bases in 15-30 minutes.
Also, it will be interesting to see how well they take to resin casting. With all the undercuts the crackle makes, backfilling the master so you aren't tearing out the moulds instantly seems like more trouble than it is worth. It is pretty easy to apply the crackle as needed, but then again, I think I am on my fourth or so bottle after seeing it earlier this year on Massive Voodoo.
Woudln't it be better to not cast them but just put the crackle paint on all your bases? That way all of your bases will be unique..
ReplyDeleteI prefer resin because the bases are solid and a bit more sturdy than the originals. Plus all I need to get is one set of interesting bases and I can duplicate them going forward. I tried using glue last night under the crackle paint and ended up without cracks, so I'll try again this evening. I had hoped to have had a set ready so I could pour the silicone to make the mold this morning, but more experimentation is needed.
ReplyDeleteTexture medium sounds like a good idea!
ReplyDeleteI used a stucco putty once and it crackled, but also came off the base.. I then used some super glue drops to let it all solidify.
Hmmm...I might have to start using that stuff for my desert themed minis. I wouldn't cast them though, as I would probably try to get the unique look for each. :)
ReplyDeletethe problem with the material is that it is brittle, so I am not sure how well it would hold up with miniatures used for more than just display. NOVA taught me quite a bit about broken models, and wobbly bases.
ReplyDelete