Urlag Gets a Basecoat!

Urlag’s basecoat is down!

I began a basic base coat on my Urläg conversion this evening. NEed to figure out what sort of details I want to add (runes, etc?) I wasn’t sure if the leather strappy things should be a dark green, or brighter red (pictured); I’m pleased with the current color.

I really like my chaos marine skin to be almost white, completely devoid of sunlight, ghastly, holed up in some roaming space vessel. Hope it’s not too stark a contrast.  I need to think of a color for my power weapons (though Urläg doesn’t have any), as I want it to compliment the colors – perhaps a bright blue, green?

In addition to the basic paint scheme layout on Urläg – I built  the Skyshield Landing Pad. I even did some handy LED work, left one of the hatches open for ladder functionality, and did the best I could to keep the moving parts moving (which is usually challenging for warped plastic models).  The hinges are tight, but they work well enough.

Below you can see the images of the build, especially how the 9v battery fits perfectly into the pylons (my biggest concern). I need to hot glue the wires into a more secure place, they’re currently just taped underneath as a temporary fix – and then I’ll need to cover them.

Drilling out the beacon lights on the Skyshield was relatively easy.

The first light drilled and installed. Slight protrusion like the original plastic version.

The underside of the Skyshield has the wiring components, switch, and battery. I think I’ll add disected drinking straws to form conduit to house the wiring. Thoughts?

The overall finished product. Now I just need to detail-paint the structure!

I’m very pleased with the result, and look forward to adding a few atmospheric lights to the rest of my terrain (especially the cities of death buildings).  I was really inspired by Jon Law over at his Flickr, his use of lighting in games and photography really captures the look and feel of how I imagine this grim future looks like.

Guess I need to sneak some miniature fog machines into some of these buildings.
For anyone that’s ever been daunted by the use of LED lights in models, it’s pretty easy these days, with pre-wired kits and simple switches.  You just connect red to red, and black to black and you’re good to go!  Link to the lights I use are found here.