Dollar Tree Sand Mold Sci-Fi Terrain

   When scouting the local Dollar Tree this past week, I saw this sand mold of the Sydney Opera House.  It's part of a collection they have along with other world landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Pyramid, and Leaning Tower of Pisa.

     I thought is looked like it might be useful as some sort of Sci-Fi industrial structure, like a large generator, pumping station, or engine of some sort.   So I glued a couple stick-on gems to it and a simple plastic cap off of something, to give it a little texture.  In retrospect, you could apply even more cool add-ons to it, like access panels or make shift repairs covered in rivets.  The possibilities are endless, but I was in a hurry to get going with the painting, so I kept it kind of simple.

          I thought this piece would be another perfect chance to practice my salt and hairspray chipped paint technique, that I have ever only done once before.  So, I began by spraying it with a flat dark brown camouflage spray paint, and then splotched on some light brown and orange to give a rusty look to some areas.

      I then applied the hairspray, and while still wet, sprinkled kosher salt on it; mainly on the lower areas.  I let it dry for a short time, and then sprayed it with some medium blue satin-finish spray paint I happened to have.   I let the spray paint dry the minimum manufacturer recommended time, and then ran the piece under some warm water, and with a soft toothbrush gently brushed at the areas of salt.   I then let the piece throughly dry, and after that I painted the very bottom base layer with some medium gray paint to make it look a little like a concrete slab.

      When that was dry, I applied an allover wash of Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash using a wet brush.  Then, when the wash was dry, I gave the piece a light blue dry brushing .  Lastly, I applied some decals, and then applied a little paint to make the decals look aged and chipped up.  I let it sit over night and the next day my final step was to spray it with some Testor's Dullcote.

Shown with Reaper 28mm figures for scale.

    I'm really pleased with how this project turned out.  And considering it was only a dollar, I think it's pretty great!