I have been asked a couple of times now how I go about doing the compass bars on my Infinity figures so I figured it was time for a write-up
First up you will need straight sided bases (the standard plastic bases will not work) and a set of the correct size Compass Bars
Antenocitis Workshop Compass Bars
I like to colour the recesses on my Compass Bars to help them stand out. For that I prefer to use an Ink of my chosen colour but ordinary paint can also be used.
Use the Ink/Paint and make sure you get into all the recesses of the Compass Bars. It doesn’t matter at this stage how messy you are.
Once the wash is dry you will then need some form of sanding medium. For this I prefer these soft sanding pads but you can also use fine grade wet and dry sandpaper.
Using your chosen sanding medium (500-600 grit for me), gently rub over the Compass Bars until omly the recessed areas are still coloured. This will also have the effect of polishing your Compass Bars. You can move to? a finer grade sanding medium to really polish them to a shine if you want.
The next step is to cut out and pre-bend the Compass Bars before attaching them to your base.
You can either use strong side cutters or a strong craft knife to cut the brass sprue.
To do this you will need to bend the Compass Bar around something smaller than your base. I find the lid of a Valejo Paint bottle works perfectly for the 25mm Bars.
Be careful to get an even curving bend, it is very easy to crease the Brass if you are not careful.
You are now ready to attach the Compass Bar to the base. I like to do this once the Figure is on the base so I can make sure the LoF lines up. However you can attache the Compass Bar first then glue your Figure on after.
Lay both the base and Compass Bar on a flat surface making sure the Compass Bar is the correct way up, apply Super Glue (Cyanoacrylate) to the inner surface of the Compass Bar, then gentle push the Bar onto the base. Once the Bar is on, apply gentle pressure around the circumferance to ensure that the bar is fully attached to the base.
…and Voila, lovely crisp LoF marked in a clear and concise fashion.
