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North Africa-Western Desert base (?)

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arbomambo	North Africa-Western Desert base (?)	Lead	[-]
Posts: 942 (06/02/09 11:59:13) Master Artificer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None Hello all... beaching it today...we're blessed down here on the Alabama coast with beautiful white sand beaches and beautiful clear Gulf waters...enjoying the sea breeze... BUT...wanted to post a few pics of an attempt at a 'desert' base I've fooled with... I don't model any North Afrika figures, but I do have a DAF pilot that I'd like to pose on one of my wall sconces in a desert setting...so I was fooling around this weekend with a simple DAK-style base... It's tougher than I thought... I like simple bases that don't overshadow the figure, but still keep the figure in the scenic and historical context...by it's very nature (and name), a desert is...well...a desert...'deserted'... All of the pics I have viewed of Allied and Axis forces in the Western Desert are, generally, devoid of any structure and distinguishing feature (save for the occasional well, rock structure, etc-and these would be too large to be included on a small wall sconce base... This is the only thing I could 'come up with'... a small base feature-less desert ground cover with a 'minen' marker in the background...(of course, this couldn't really work with my DAF 112 squadron pilot, but it might be useful for a DAK pioneer... would love to hear comments and suggestions for DAK base ideas...especially from those who model North Africa figures... Thanks, Bruce
DougOSU		#1	[-]
Posts: 2172 (06/02/09 12:22:32) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Well for a base that small, it doesnt hurt for it to be plain... it actually kind of helps. But I am toying around with a larger DAK base right now, and I definitely feel your pain. I am considering trying some tire or tank tracks to add something to look at. Also, some struggling looking grass and shrubs are completely fine for most of North Africa. Also, adding a bit of hilly-ness is good to keep things interesting. Much of North Africa was far more hilly and green than people seem to think. Take a look at this bunker nearTobruk. And here is another bunker in Libya - much flatter and less green, but still plenty of struggling plant life. Certainly the type of landscape in your base is just as common, if not more common, than the greener, hillier landscapes, it might not be as interesting to look at. So you do have options. Aside from that, I am a big fan of sprinkling "boring" areas with 7.92 casings. As for your base, I would apply some dusting from several tannish/yellow pastels to make the colors more interesting, and a dusting of pastel also makes groundwork look dryer. Your sand, to me, resembles the wet sand that you see when the ocean pulls back after a wave hits the beach. I personally would make the stones a little dirtier too, so they dont stand out so much. Almost everything in the desert is covered in dust. I broke down and bought a dremel. --------------------------------------------------------- My trade list: http://onesixthnet.yuku.com/topic/13533 My trade references: http://onesixthnet.yuku.com/topic/6487 Last Edited By: DougOSU 06/02/09 12:26:26. Edited 1 times.
Tony Barton.onesixthredarmy		#2	[-]
Posts: 159 (06/02/09 15:42:39) Master Artist Royal Pioneer Antheads 1-MASTERPIECES-6 Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The terrain is certainly very varied , and the surface varies in colour from place to place quite a lot , pink or sand coloured , from pure sand , to small stones , to vegetation like in Doug's pic above. The low bushes, brown for most of the year , are camelthorn or Briar plants ( the roots used to make the pipes ) , and they appear in countless pics . I like to dust the whole thing with talc ( and the figure ) , which is the one universal along the whole area :dust, dust and more dust . Oh , I almost forgot, the stone is Limestone : if you can buy of find some crushed limestone from a garden supplier, it makes better rocks. And you can always crush it some more by putting it in a bag and pounding it.

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