Hello everyone! Today I want to share my progress on the "Armies on Parade" display board with you. Remember when I mentioned one or two ruins plus a little lake? Well I changed that setup a little. No ruins, no lake but a hill with to levels, a plastic venus fly trap and a broodnest instead. Initially I thought I could just go to the hardware store buy a stryofoam board (for insulating - hope this is a suitable description) the size I want. Turns out - they do not cut these, but as it is easy to cut them at home I bought one anyways. So I started cutting a rectangle with the desired size and tested if it would fit my display case. After some adjustments I used some spare parts to simulate the hill. Happy with the rough size of it, I started cutting the needed parts and brought them to shape. Once happy with the look I glued everything together. ![amp_01.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmUvCRJ45JiMn1ouXbaxZxN6RqevAFVwX4t6HR1Xq2UrPB/amp_01.jpg) *First test for the hill*
![amp_02.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTWxYr69JH5QYbatpArKmdP9pRRewg8fRJ37RCoSMWAXc/amp_02.jpg) *Hill parts shaped*
Then I mixed some filler ([this one](https://www.obi.de/wandspachtel-deckenspachtel/obi-fuellspachtel-weiss-500-g/p/6041834)) with brown color to make the base layer and fill the surface. I applied it mostly with my hands (wear gloves) to create an uneven look and spared the space where the harpy / hive crown base will be placed to make it easier to cut. This space will not be visible anyway. ![amp_03.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmNapPBa6kxRsJwVLJUVvwVbJHtaT6jeqLmfWjANF3W8AJ/amp_03.jpg)
Once dried I applied base coats of color, green where the grass will go, brown for the soft hill and path area, bone color for the stone hill side. The brown is needed because the filler dried very very light brown. I applied washes and dry brushed the area of the stone hill side until it fits the stones I use on my bases. This area will not receive any sand / soil / basing material and should be ready when applying these materials to the other areas. ![amp_04.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmcyJPEkcmAxK34GfwBmabnPD7biZ6XTFGRDUqb8T2fJfb/amp_04.jpg) *Fist base coat on the stone hill side and other areas*
![amp_05.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmbLY4ZNnBusxAbMk81DbyYVwZtxtFuJwiTjhQdVjUUa1P/amp_05.jpg) *Base color completed*
Later on I started gluing the static grass, soil and so on. I did a test fit of the different jungle plants I made earlier, too. To ensure all the miniatures will fit, I regularly put them on the board. For the muddy area I mixed glue, soil, color, water, sand, static grass, scatter material(?) and flock together. I also added some cheap putty that gets very slimy with water. I applied the mud with wood sticks and an old paint brush (it is a very crumbly paste, it sticks together fine, but not that good at another surface unless dried). ![amp_06.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmS9ysnXKfMhp6DqD5Pd49VysUtW3siTUejPhiyV9v9chG/amp_06.jpg) *Muddy area close up*
![amp_07.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmVM8UAKJZxZ4KxcdUKjXcJRNgT8g6zMZr9WoXGLEHGB9q/amp_07.jpg) *Current state - at the time I took the photos. In the meantime I filled the remaining gaps and added some minor details*
Not much time left, the "Armies on Parade" day is the 13. October and I still have a lot of work to do, including finishing some of the miniatures... I'll share the end result with you next time. Greetings ~ Tami