Giant Levitating One-Eyed Brain!

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This is a woefully Out Of Production Archive (or maybe R*Kiiv?) giant, levitating, one-eyed brain... thing. No idea what it was actually called. But, I had a few in the collection and decided to finally paint one up. Suitable for Gamma World, Mutant Future, Metamorphosis Alpha, or any other Post Apocalyptic/Science Fiction game.

How to:
>>>Yes, there are other ways to do this (like not paint them at all, which seems to be all the rage at some store-run tournaments) but this works for me.

1. Washed the figure with dish soap and cold water, then blotted it dry.
>>>I usually let figures dry overnight.

2. Mercilessly hacked off the integral flight stand, then removed any flash and mold lines.
>>>The flight stand contained more metal than the rest of the figure.

3. Drilled a small hole into the underside of the brain and the center of the new base, then glued the ends of a short length of piano wire into both.
>>>This gives the "illusion" of levitation. Sort of. Sewing pins or bits of paperclips would also have done the job. Whatever is handy!

4. A slurry of sand, water, PVA glue and 2 different sizes of model railroading ballast was spread about the top of the base to give a gravel effect.
>>>Normally, a thin layer of DAS PRONTO putty or dry spackling compound would be used to hide any slots or other undesired surface textures before step 4, but the base was a wondrously featureless disk.

5. Primed entire figure with Krylon white spray primer in well ventilated area.
>>>That's right: white. Do whatever you want, but I've been priming white for over 30 years. Get off my lawn, ya dern kids!

6. Applied base colors:
Brain = Neutral Gray
Base, gravel & post = Medium Gray
Conjunctiva = White
Iris = Green
Pupil = Black
>>>Or "Grey", if you prefer.

7. Applied full strength inks.
Brain = Green Ink
Conjunctiva = Red Ink
>>>The Red Ink worked for this particular model as the "veins" were actually little groves in the surface, not ridges.

8. Dry-brushing!
Brain = Neutral Gray
Conjunctiva = White

9. Painted the Iris a mix of 1 Gold Paint to 1 Green Ink.

10. Applied a full strength black ink to the Iris.

11. Dry-brushed the Iris a mix of 1 Gold Paint to 1 Green Ink.

12. Painted a thin line with Burnt Rose around the edge of the eye.

13. Painted upper-most surfaces of brain with Sky Gray.
>>>Yes, one could have dry-brushed it, but I had the time.

14. Painted "facing lozenge" on the "front" edge of the base.
>>>Some rules require a front facing for the figures, so 30 seconds of effort eradicates any future ambiguity.

15. Dipped figure. This is a misnomer, as the polyurethane varnish was applied with a number 3 brush - for better control and less waste. Clear varnish was applied to the figure itself (as not to bury the inking and dry-brushing) and a 1:1 mix of clear and Tudor were brushed on the post and base.
>>>Yes, a second act of heresy: dipping. It speeds things along AND protects all that painting effort. Every little bit helps when you run convention games.

16. Flocked the base in 2 steps:
First, brushed a few patches of PVA glue and applied blended turf. Then picked a few other spots on the base, smeared a little PVA glue and applied static grass. The base had moss, grass and exposed earth.
>>>If you'd like to save some money, get your flocking from model railroading stores.

17. Sealed the figure with one coat of Krylon clear matte finish. Done!

See more of my painting here: http://ravenfeast.deviantart.com/gallery/