Dawn on Vraks

 The sun rises over the red soil of Vraks. 


Polyurethane cures, and three cans of Dulcote set the surface to a matte sheen.  Textured laytex paint, combined with masonite, is a fairly inexpensive, yet professional, gaming surface.  With all my Vraksian models, I thought it was only appropriate to make a representation of the planet itself.  The terrain I already posses is largely painted in cool greys and blues, so I knew a warm colored surface would compliment nicely.  After rolling the black textured paint onto the masonite, I airbrushed purples, oranges and greens in a variety of patterns.  These colors would compliment any of the primary colors represented in a player's army, while remaining buried beneath the heavy red drybrushed surface of the board.  And drybrush, I did:  I spent a few hours layering the red drybrush over the buried colors, with each coat and pass bringing the surface of the board closer to the basing treatment of my Vraks collection.  The end result, is that the gaming board has a "rippling effect", as your eye just barely reads the colors buried beneath the primary red color.  I like it.

Local Vraksian fauna may be spotted in the distance, taking up shape and color.  

 A 3'x3' Malifaux table is also in the mix.  Natural latex texture mat, bonded to a masonite sheet.  I have been airbrushing layers of color onto this board as well, and this pic shows the greens and purples pretty clearly.  This board has been a slower process in creation, as I am constantly testing new washes and paints on scraps of latex.  Natural latex can be a bit finicky, and I don't want my Malifaux table to disintigrate or decompose mid game, as cool as that could be.  The latex is textured to feature winding roots, stones, dry riverbeds and sand.  I hope I can do this board justice, without losing my mind painting all that detail...

The Chaos Space Marine portion of the Vraks set is taking shape, and I am enjoying the process.  These models are unique, and I really get a kick out of seeing them in my colors and treatments.  I remember as a kid, seeing the epic space marine catalogs, and the iconic profile of a squadron of old school land raiders, cresting a hill.  I am ashamed to admit the thrill I get each time I review this project.

/nerdblush

And lastly, as a bit of a teaser...  How is this going to be included in the Vraks project?