I recently purchased one each of the three 28mm elephant poses from Acheson Creations. One elephant is advancing, one is charging, and one is walking. The elephants are cast in a resin and require minor assembly – ears and tusks need to be attached. I really like the poses and they are a fraction of the cost of 28mm metal elephants. By the way Acheson Creations is closing its doors at the end of May.
Building the Bases
As with most figures, the elephants do not come with a base. While I have rectangular bases that would work, I’ve been slowly converting my collection over to round or oval bases, which I think look much better on the table. To make an oval base large enough, I used two 40mm round bases and some medium weight chipboard.
The first step is to glue the two 40mm bases to the chipboard using a glue that has a low water content. I used E6000 glue, but hot glue or Aileen’s Tacky Glue would work as well. Make sure the two bases touch one another.
Once the glue had dried, I used a ruler to draw the sides of the oval. I used scissors to cut the oval away from the chipboard and then a utility knife (or hobby knife) to trim the chipbard away from the base. Finally, I used a coarse/medium grit emery board to smooth the edges.
Next, I used spackling compound to fill the gaps between the two circle bases to give the oval a level surface.
Basing the Elephants
Now that I have bases, it is time to attach the models to the bases and prepare them for painting.
With the model attached to its base, I finished assembling the model.
Since the bottom of the base is made of chipboard, it’s a good idea to seal it with Mod Podge.
Next, I brush the base with PVA glue (Elmer’s Glue) and add some sand as the first layer of ground cover.
When the sand is dry, I then apply used tea leaves to represent forest ground cover.
And with that, the basing is done, and I can now paint the elephants.
Painting the Elephants
Of course, I begin by priming the elephants black.
Finishing the Models
With the painting done, it is time to add flock and tufts to the bases before sealing the entire model with matte varnish.
Final Thoughts
The elephants from Acheson Creations are affordable, easy to assemble & easy to paint. They will make a great addition to the tabletop.
One last painting note: Elephants on the savannah and around water holes often coat themselves with dirt & mud, but videos and pictures of elephants in the forest often show them without the generous coating of dirt. So, since most of my encounters take place in the dense forests of the Congo Basin, I’ve chose not to add any pigment powder to represent dirt on the skin of the elephants. If you decide to use pigment powders, a cheaper alternative is eye shadow – I know, that means some of you big manly men may be embarrassed spending some time in the makeup aisle.
Please let me know your thoughts on the elephants in the comments.
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In response to your comments about Acheson, I visited their website, and realized they had a bunch of things I’d like. Unfortunately, I’d just squandered all my money on figures from other companies. So, I set about saving my pennies and nickels, and by mid-May had the money to buy if not everything I wanted, at least the things I wanted most. So, I ordered them, and yesterday they came! Wall segments to surround King Domnall Mor’s fortress. A mead hall for my Viking chieftain to host his warriors. Log cabins for my Russian Civil War games (though right now I’m working hard to maintain any enthusiasm for anything Russian), and some scatter scenery for a WWII Game. They all came and are very nice. So, I guess this more or less officially makes you an “influencer!”