Turning Thrift Store Ornaments into Terrain

[Deleted]

Hey Hive

After being home for the holidays for a few weeks, i stumbled upon these two plaster christmas statues in a thrift shop




Turns out that its the season for buying christmas ornaments, because they cost me a grand total of 4.00 for both, and thrift stores are generally full of these things. In any case, i decided to try to turn one into a statue for my set of Tyranid infested terrain.

In case anyone wants to do something similar, i took some photos of the project as i worked on it. Enjoy!

1). Sawed off the excess statue base with a hacksaw



2). Cut a base out of a circle of MDF and a block of plywood



3). Covered the base with Joint Compound, a type of ready mixed plaster you can get at the hardware store (5.00 for about a half gallon i think). Left it to dry for a few hours.



4). Sanded the dried Joint compound to get ride of clumps and ridges. Then, i added some sand and gravel for rubble, then glued half a dead tyranid on for some atmosphere. Then, i used a hot glue gun to make tyrand tentacle/creep stuff covering part of the statue




5). I then coated the whole thing with a slightly watered down glue, then primed it dark grey and began to paint


Some WIP Photos:






And the finished project: (Sorry about the messy background my desk is a disaster haha)







In any case, im really happy with how it turned out. If anyone would like to know the paints used or if you want to make one and have any questions about the process, just let me know!

Cheers

[gigasnail]

DON'T BLINK!

[liberame]

Lol. Dr who reference ftw

[Remalis]

Nicely done. Would make a great thematic objective marker.

[romorini]

This is quite well executed. I wonder if the dove really fits in the grimdark theme though.

For those ornaments with themes that run against the atmosphere being sought, some strategic battle damage cpuld take place.

[Deleted]

Thanks Guys!

romorini: That gives me a good idea actually - i may convert a ripper into a sky slasher with wings and have that perched on top of the dove for a little irony - that would probably fit more with the dark theme of the 40k World. i probably could've added a few little tentacles creeping across the statue's face too

[Kwodd]

Very nice.

[lordsia]

I love it the way it is, specifically because it doesn't seem as grimdark as everything else. Which makes it even more poignant when you overrun it with your chittering swarm of extra-galactic space locusts.

Once, this place was alive. Full of people. This statue commemorates Saint Innocentia, one of the more peaceful Saints of the Imperium, and the plaza where it stood was one of constant joy and cheer; even when there were no festivals, the mood was none the less festive, as one could always hear the choir of the nearby cathedral practice their hymns. Now though...

... It is a desolate, empty place. The cheerful crowds are replaced by decimated ranks of despairing PDF troopers; the festivals and fairs by incursions and counter-attacks; the sacred hymns and blessed chants by the screams of the dying and the thunder of guns. The Statue of Saint Innocentia still stands, gentle, smiling; a strand of alien matter grows near the base, greedy roots burrowing deep into the marble stone below.

She will not stand for much longer. Only the Angels of Death can save her now.

[Deleted]

Haha i love the fluff man! Thanks

[ghostnids]

FINISH THE ****ING STORY!

[gman25639]

Jan 6, 2015 4:02:21 GMT gigasnail said:

DON'T BLINK!

Apparently that's what that Termagant did. Nicely done man!

[angelwing]

excellent work, and a good use of the decoration. I always watch the shops for stuff like this after the event (xmas, Halloween etc) I scored a load of plastic skulls (about the size of a human fist) for 20 pence each. I cut two up and mounted them on cd's as broken statues, and then used four more as corners for a temple piece.

[Deleted]

Thanks guys!

angelwing: sounds like a nice find - i had no idea thrift stores were such a gold mine until this month!