Ice Base Zero: Testing the playing field

Recently, I had a chance to set up the terrain pieces I had selected for Ice Base Zero. A couple of the pieces were not completed, so I added some proxies in order to get a feel for the final project. While it looked pretty good and there was plenty of cover for infantry, it was too wide open for vehicles and monsters... and it was just a little too stark. I know its an Ice Base, but it still just seemed a little flat. So, I added some additional terrain to create more maneuvering and cover for larger models.

Then, inspiration hit me. I will turn the base into a secret lab on some frozen ice planet. The new plan means more cover, bigger buildings with some type of compound and maybe a giant cannon. Don't worry, I'm keeping the burrowing beasts, he will still be creeping around the table.

Ice Base Zero: Burrowing Beast

War Gamma has a great resin kit called the "Burrowing Beast with Tentacles". The kit comes with the Burrowing Beast and four sets of tentacles all positioned as if they're "burrowing" out of the ground. One Burrowing Beast and one Games Workshop crater is all you need for this project.

I wanted to add a little more height and focus to the beast so I decided to glue it on a GW crater. I test fit the beast in the crater and clipped some of the crater edges to make sure it fit in the center of the crater. Once I decided on its position, I used cyanoacrylate to glue the beast in place.

As the position of the beast left some voids in and around the crater, I used muliput to fill and sculpt more crater effect around the beast. Once this dried, I used my mix of cat litter and play sand to add further debris to the crater. Finally, I primed and painted the model.

Originally, I made the beast to go with our group's Warhammer Fantasy terrain since there was a lot of Ogres and Chaos armies in the group. But now that this is going to be used with the Alpine F.A.T. Mat, I will need to figure out a coordinating paint scheme for the terrain and apply it to the beast. Check the terrain tally below for my progress.