Marching Fort corner (part 2)

Long time no update. I've been making slow progress, but was laid low for a few days with yet another cold (number three this season for those playing along at home).

I decided to forgo a fancy corner tower or crow's nest and simply raise the level of the dirt berm and stockade at the corner of the fort. I did this by adding bit more pink foam there:

I wasn't super happy with how regular the dirt surface of the last section turned out. I had used a coffee stirrer to apply the Vallejo White Pumice last time. This time I decided to get some more texture by using a paint brush (and a very crappy one at that):

When experimenting, its important to change as many things as possible in one go, that way you'll never know what worked. With that flawed reasoning to motivate me, I decided to also change the way I painted and sealed the terrain. Last time (after struggling to adequately cover the pumice) I ended up using a mix of PVA, Burnt Umber craft paint, and playground sand. 

For this attempt, I used the same three materials, but applied them in sequence. First the PVA, then a mix of playground sand and decorative sand (yet another variable!) on the wet glue:

And then a coat of the Burnt Umber craft paint. This again proved problematic. I ended up having to mix it with PVA to get it to cover some of the deeper dimples in my roughly textured surface.

Next up my favorite part, dry brushing...

Marching Fort wall section (part 7)

God, I love the sheer mindlessness of dry-brushing. And the Vallejo pumice painted up a treat.

I could've kept at it all night but forced myself to stop after four color variants.

Here it is with my three log tests. I gotta say, I'm leaning toward the one on the far right. The middle one just seems way too dark and the first just gets lost on the brown dirt mound.

You may have noticed a darker streak at the base of the wall. I'm thinking of making it look a bit wet there.

Marching Fort wall section (part 6)

Well, I think I finally licked the issue with white spots showing through the porous pumice. I made a goop of water, PVA, burnt umber craft paint, and a bit of playground sand (just for laughs).

And here it is with a barely noticeable dry-brush of "spice brown." More dry-brushing to come, but it's beer-o-clock here...

Here's a shot of various dry-brush techniques for the logs. Brown base, Brown-Black base, and Black base. I'm trying to decide what look to go for. Newly cut logs, ancient logs, or something in between.

I may defer this decision until more of the dry-brushing is done on the base to make sure the fence stands out color-wise.

Not as much progress as I'd hoped, but I was sick again dammit. Twice in two months. I may have to start eating apples again...

Marching Fort wall section (part 4)

I'd bought some Vallejo white pumice a while back with the intention of using it for basing. Upon further research, many people find it to be too messy for basing. So I stuck to Gareson's method.

However, I felt like I shouldn't let the pumice go to waste and decided to give it a go on the earth berms of the fort section.

As expected, it was a bit of a nuisance. I used a wet craft stick too apply and it was hard to get it on evenly and without the odd bit poking up like meringue. I'm pretty pleased with the texture though.

Here's the back of it done. Have to admit this side is looking more like a concrete bunker than an earth berm, but hopefully some paint and flocking will sort that out...