Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="MGibster" data-source="post: 9766029" data-attributes="member: 4534">It’s time for the big project.  A few years ago, my FLGS had the Gargantuan Ancient Red Dragon from WizKids on sale for roughly $200.  With some trepidation, I made the purchase primarily because I thought I'd kick myself years down the road if I did.  I guess it was FOMO.  I've placed a Reaper miniature at its base for scale, but at it's peak it's about 18 inches high.  I intend to enter this into a modeling competition in 2026, approximately one year from now, so this is a long term project.  And like any project, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, so I'm going to have to think about this one.  There are three areas of concern.  Artistic Considerations:  Color choice, patterns, base construction.   [ATTACH=full]418416[/ATTACH]Logistics:  Assembly, filling in gaps, pinning to base, construction site.  Costs:  Paints, basing materials, miscellaneous.[ATTACH=full]418419[/ATTACH]Proof of ConceptArtistic Considerations:  It's a red dragon, so overall color choice is decided at least.  What I'd like is a metallic red color, and the Archon Studio dragon I painted earlier this year, pictured above, was my proof of concept.  I like the basic color scheme, though I intend on adding several other shades of red, though I'm unlikely to use orange for the plates on its belly, and while I want the wings to have a fleshy appearance, I'll likely try something a little different.  I am considering different reds for bright, shiny scales and another for the fleshy areas of the body.  For the base, my plan is to have the dragon standing on part of its treasure horde.  That means piles of gold coins, gems, treasure chests, art objects, magic weapons, a few dead adventures, dragon eggs (hatchlings?), and maybe the dragon's pet cat.  My thought is to make it visually interesting so every time you look at it you find something you didn't notice before.  But I don't want it to be so interesting that it takes your attention away from the dragon.  That will likely be difficult given how big the dragon is though.  Logistics:  Did I mention this dragon was large?  It's so large (that's what she said) I can't paint this in my spray booth, so I need to set up a special area to get this done.  I need a weather forecast before I even think about painting this sucker.  I also need to consider how to best assemble the model.  The wings don't quite fit as snugly as I'd like.  I may be able to heat the connecting parts of the wings in hot water and get a better fit, but if not, I'm in for a bit of sculpting.  I'm also going to have to pin this dragon to the base, otherwise I'll be in constant dread it's going to break apart under it's own weight.  Costs:  Obviously the bulk of the costs are already paid.  I already own the model and I've got the painting tools.  I do need more paints, and the 4-5 Turbo Dork reds will cost me approximately $45.  For the base, I'm going to see if I can use gold glitter for the coins, rhinestones for gems, and beads as treasure which I expect will only be about $20 in total.  I'll probably purchase some more recognizable treasures like chests, art objects, etc., etc., but I don't have an estimate for cost.  I've got all the supplies I need to pin the model to the base, so I'm good there.  That's my big plan for now.  I'll update periodically of course.</blockquote>

Verification