Diorama FX Landscape Texture Mars Red 2-5mm

Fragments of burnt rock

The largest grade of the rusty shade looks like stone flaked off the baked wall of a canyon. Besides the classic subjects, such as the North African desert, a wadi or a dry slope above a vineyard, this color has also caught on where the modeler does not want an earthly landscape: bases for fantasy figures and war machines take on a hint of a planet where nothing ever turned green.

Building a rocky surface

Start with the body of the base. A roughly shaped layer of putty or crushed cork sheet gives the terrain a profile and the fragments settle into it instead of lying on a flat board. Lay them out in bands that follow the contours and leave bare spots between them where the bedrock will show. A few of the smallest pieces dropped into the hollows suggest where water runs off after rain.

Color finish

The rusty color of the material is a starting point, not a final state. A dark glaze runs between the pieces and separates them from one another, a light dry brush pulls out the sharp edges, and a hint of violet or gray-blue in the deep shadows shifts the whole surface toward a parched look. Individual large pieces deserve a shade of their own so that the surface does not look cast in one piece.

Scale and legibility

The bigger the piece, the sooner it gives away the size of the whole scene. On small bases, sort the largest fragments out; in a large cutaway, let them work as dominant features instead. Make the same judgment about density: stones scattered thinly read as large boulders, a dense carpet as fine rubble.

Accessories that help

A parched landscape is finished off by a few dry tufts, the skeleton of a bush made from wire and a light layer of dust drifted into the lee. Greenery, on the other hand, does not belong here in any amount.