This week I decided to get some bases made up for the army. Inspired by the bases made to look steampunk or ancient runes, I decided to make the terrain of the bases look like an ancient fallen city of machines. We'll get to that result later, but in the meantime, you must sit through my process. I decided to use my favorite sculpting medium, polymer clay. I personally use Super Sculpey for the colors, but it's a little weak. If you want polymer clay, use FIMO. If you prefer just painting and don't care for clay color, use an epoxy like Milliput or Apoxie Sculpt for added durability.
The first thing I wanted to do was make some gear molds. I have 16 bases, so saved some of the sculpt time by making a mold. I made a large one over some gears and jewelry I thought had the right texture using white Sculpey III...which is good in bulk but really freakin' soft, so be careful working with it when baked. I then scored the area with a wire brush to create a terrain texture in the negative space of the mold. With a mold this big, I can get many different angles for the bases without it looking repetitive.
