Joining the 'Arena Race' Part 2

Construction has progressed for my 'barbaric' wooden arena set in the outer fringes and frontier outpost of the Republic / Empire. Images that inspired me from recent films like Centurion has given me great ideas for the overall look and feel.

I love all the look of the rough hewn timber. 

With these images fresh in my mind and those lessons learned from the massing model I then incorporated improvements to the finish model. Namely a taller height for the Governor's Box. It makes the addition of the portcullis gate opening more proportional thus allowing me to add more details and embellishments to this structure. 

Available foam that I had laying around in my scrap pile that forms the structural core to be clad in wood. 

Thankfully, this project has used most of my Popsicle sticks from the 80s.

For the Governor's Box, I decided to use pavers to represent an upgraded flooring material. Nothin' but the best for the Governor. BTW - material used for this was acquired from the Doll House department at my local craft store. They're sheets of embossed styrene that represent ceramic bathroom tiles.

Base color applied and ready for a much needed dry brushing and weathering. 

Side by side comparison: weather or not?

Dry bush and ink wash cycle (lather, rinse and repeat) to get the desired effect. Here's where the warping effect actually aided in the overall look and feel of weathered wood brought out by dry brushing. 

Almost done.