Space, the final frontier: The base

As I promised yesterday, I would like to present the base for this current project. This whole thing wasn't really my idea. On the picture that comes with the miniature that will soon stand on the base, this effect has been done with photoshop. I thought about the different possibilities to realize the effect and came out with this base. Everything you can see is built with plastikcard and very thin, transparent plastik sheets. It took me ages to get everything smooth, I might do an article about this one day. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the progress.

The idea is to show a small interior area of a spaceship, in this case the first Enterprise. The window in the background is meant to show space, without really catching that much attention, after the miniature has been attached to the base. The window is made from transparend plastik foil. To make it dull, I used a few layers of Matt Medium that I applied with the airbrush. The light reflections where made by adding just a little bit of Vallejo Model Air White (71001) to the Medium. This effect seems exaggerated on the pictures, but this is due to the flash of the cam. Also, the foil isn't that translucent in real life, the space can hardly be seen, it is more some kind of a hint.

I did some research on the colours that where used during the making of the original series Stark Trek and found out, that the same room appeared in different lights, depending on the mood of the scene. This effect has been achieved with some kind of ambiance light. Therefore, I went for a blueish base, without making it look too cold or hostile. The colours I used for the space behind the window are very similar to the colours that I used fot the interior. I will try to continue this effect on the Captain....

The rough work has been done with my airbrush, before I went into detail with my brush. I only used Vallejo Model Air colours, my new favourite.

I hope you like it, please let me know what you think. I am especially interested in your opinion concerning the effect with  the window and the space. Does it work for you?

Chris