Military Model Scene
Robin Buckland's
Quake Crackle Creator
...from Ammo of Mig Jiminez
Crackle Creation Acrylics, from Ammo
I've had the chance to try out three new colours for these new 'Crackle Creators' from Ammo. This is an acrylic material which once applied (with a palette knife) and as it dries, it does so with fine cracks opening up in the surface, to replicate very dry or perhaps iced surfaces.
I have tried a Basic Surface, which is white so you can add colour of your own choice, another for Sand, ideal for a cracked desert surface, and another black one which could well be a heat damaged tarmac road surface. I tried them out on 3 pdf laser cut bases. Not only for vehicle diorama or wargames figure bonuses but I suspect that larger scale figure modellers will like these as well.
When you apply it these are smooth and quite liquid. The magic happens when it dries and you discover the many fine cracks that appear all over the surface.
I gave it 48 hours to dry completely and then used the Ammo Acrylic Washes to add some variation to the colours.
On the Sand base I used their Ochre wash, and then wiped much of it off before it dried. With that done I added a small number of grass tufts. These ones from The Army Painter.
For the second base, a plain white that I decided to use to simulate cracked ice. For this one, I used a Blue wash, which gave some emphasis to the cracks. To this, I added a grass strip to one side, grass coming through as any snow melts and the ice breaks up. This strip was from the excellent range of grass tufts from Tajima1 Miniatures. I then dabbed on some Snow/white paint to simulate the remains of melted snow.
For the third and last one, which is the black tarmac colour one, I used both a dark grey wash and then a lighter neutral grey wash, which again gave emphasis to the cracked surface and softened the harsh black of the basic crackle terrain. This time I added 4 of the larger, irregular shaped grass tufts, again from the range by Tajima1 Miniatures.
Just for the photo purposes, I have used a 1/72 model of the RSO tractor, with an einheits cab, just to give a common reference for these 3 finished bases.
Available direct from Ammo of Mig Jiminez, or via their distributors around the world. It can make some interesting bases for wargames figures and vehicles, but also a handy accessory for larger scale figure modellers who want to add the effect to a base for their figures.
Thanks to Ammo for the samples of these new products.
Robin