Olive Press - part two

Following on from my original post - The Pledge for April 2013 here are some images of the initial construction of the Olive Press.

Photo One - Using a couple of off-cuts of Pink Foam, I built the main stone base by cutting a one inch thick layer of Pink Foam into a circle. The hollowed-out area was first carved with a snap-off bladed knife and then further shaped by using coarse sandpaper to produce the hollow.

The grinding stone was cut from another piece of Pink Foam and again trimmed and sanded to shape.

The larger base or hollowed-out stone is 60mm across by 20mm tall while the grinding stone is 34mm tall and 16mm wide.

Photo Two - Both pieces have been added to by smoothing over with some DAS modelling clay. I have also spread some 'Gloop' over the Pink Foam to fill any small holes and remove the obvious foam texture. The Gloop is a mix of ready-mixed filler (Spackle), some uPVA glue and some white tube acrylic paint, diluted-down with water and applied with a medium sized brush.

Photo Three - The wooden parts are pieces of Balsawood, cut, scored and textured before being glued together with Superglue. The central pole has a paper clip support through its base and a cut-down cocktail stick thought the main spindle joint.

Photo Four - I mounted the whole model onto a piece of 3mm thick MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) with uPVA glue and built up the groundwork with DAS.

In this view you can see how I have used sisal string to bind the main cross-bar to the central spindle. This was just wrapped around the main pole and held in place with superglue.

Photo Five - On one side of the main base I added a small step - an off-cut of Pink Foam which was 'blended' into the main base with DAS.

Photo Six - The model completed.

I have added small strips of Balsawood to the base. These were to help gain purchase on the base or soil and are just small strips of Balsa trimmed and glued in place.

I have placed some larger stones on the base - to add interest and bedded the main structures into the base groundwork with more DAS.

This photo shows how I refine the shape of my bases. First I cut out a rough oval or circle of MDF (or plastic card), then I trim the edges with a large snap-off bladed knife, finally I sand the edges smooth.

The base is 120mm x 120mm and the central pole 65mm tall.

The model was originally built three years ago and was intended to be a cross-over piece of decorative terrain for use in both my Flintloque games and my Ancient Greek or Greek Mythology games.

Pink Foam; Is used in the UK as insulation material. It is stronger than the more common White Polystyrene Foam, but is not as firm as Blue Foam. I found my off-cuts in a skip.

I will apologise in advance for the fact that further updates on this project may be a little delayed as issues with my computer are effecting how the more recent images are stored and retrieved.

Tony