Mars is dying...

Mars is dying...

Not through fault or neglect or wicked reason, not even because of the Gods; though some would say this is so. Mars is dying because it is old.

For time beyond count, our world has floated with the orb of the sun god, basking in the everwarmth that it provides, the Martian brothers sailing around giving constant company.

The Ancients warned the death of Mars might be so. Long, long ago; before the Storm. It is said the Storm lasted for an age or more: I for one, do not believe this to be true even though the clan elders warn me against foolish words.

There are still some Ancient writings in the deep deserts for those who wish to learn and are willing to brave sandstorms and the creatures that live there. Most of our knowledge from before the Storm comes from stories told around the clan fires, told again and again, embellished ever so lightly with each clan teller so who knows what is true and what is not.

With each storm season, the Ancient houses and temples disappear and reappear so fast that is easy to loose them completely, Gods know how large their cites were or what final secrets they contain. Three whole clans have been lost searching for the chief city with no sign or call from them these long years past.

But now we have new troubles and concerns. The Earthers have come to Mars: to steal and pillage what they can and to take it away to their blue world. Curse them to the Gods! They have no right, no honour and no need to be here. Like parasites they come here destroying whatever they touch and leaving mayhem in their wake.

They must be sent back across the sky ocean to their blue world.

They must be stopped.

It must happen now!

Sunday, 18 November 2018

A small Martian burial mesa

As mentioned in an earlier text, if a Martian family are too far away from a burial vale then they will make do with a lonely mesa for their tomb.

This project concentrates on one of the smaller of such tombs near New Victoria.

A suitable sized base was picked out and the main 'core' was roughed out with large cork bark pieces. An open entrance way was left at the 'front' to act as the entrance to the tomb. This would be covered by carved blue foam.

Some columns (soon to be released) were added to the front with one collapsed and were sprayed dark brown prior to the rest to ease painting.

Once the form was complete the small gaps were filled in with cork off cuts and glued in place. Also, the surrounding levels were added with normal filler and the whole lot was left to dry.



The front of the tomb was made from blue foam and was distressed with small rocks to give it a aged, worn appearance. Also, there were clan/family markings 'drawn' on the foam with a ball point pen. This was then coated with wood glue to help seal it before painting could begin.


The top surfaces of the temple were covered in sand and also the base was given a coating and again, this was left to dry.




Once dry he same colours were used on the cork as before and the carved stone work and columns used the same method as the Sky Martian enclave and the sand was the same as on all the terrain and figure bases. All that is left is to use it in game...







Thanks for reading :-)
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6 comments:

  1. daveb18 November 2018 at 19:13

    Thanks for the info. I was looking at your mesas and admiring them. I'm a little unclear....are they essentially solid through out (except for the entrance to the catacombs)? Or do you build some sort of roof/floor for the filler to go onto at the top?

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    1. jimbibbly19 November 2018 at 10:55

      No worries :-)

      The cork is pretty much rounded (following the curve) and there is a 10mm blue foam roof that's then been covered in filler then sand.

      cheers

      James

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  2. BaronVonJ19 November 2018 at 06:31

    Nice job. Where do you get your cork?

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    Replies
    1. jimbibbly19 November 2018 at 10:56

      Thanks Baron,

      Just from the local pet shop. They occasionally do a 'buy one get one free' which cn be worth a gander.

      cheers

      James

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  3. Codsticker19 November 2018 at 08:06

    I like that you left the cork unpainted. It looks perfect just as it is.

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    Replies
    1. jimbibbly19 November 2018 at 10:58

      It's had a bit of a wash of watered down sepia ink and then given a light drybrush of the base colours but the natural colour of the material comes through.

      cheers

      James

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