1:35 Krysy

Tenants who were everywhere

In a cellar, in a sewer, in a grain store and among ruins these animals were a permanent part of the setting, and a modeler can use them to inhabit places where a figure will not fit. The package holds 28 resin parts, 25 of which are the rodents themselves, and a decal comes with them.

Handling a casting this small

A part the size of a grain of rice is lost more easily than it is found. Work over a flat tray with a light-colored bottom, never over a carpet. Hold the casting on the tip of a toothpick moistened with saliva or lightly smeared with tacky putty; that way it can even be painted without being touched by the fingers. Cut the tab under its belly off with a new blade while the part lies on the base, not between your fingers; pressure from above will not shift it.

How to get depth into a small relief

On a model of this size a shadow will not appear by itself, because the surfaces are too close together. The procedure is the reverse of large parts: start with a darker base, leave it in every hollow and only then lay a few strokes of a lighter shade on the back and the head with an almost dry brush. The difference between light and shadow has to be exaggerated, or it will be lost at a distance. Lighten the ears and the tail with a pink touch, and one touch of a needle tip dipped in gloss varnish will make an eye.

Where to place them

The effect comes not from numbers but from the choice of place. One piece on the edge of a crate, two by a spilled sack and one disappearing into a hole in a wall say more about the cleanliness of a setting than a whole group set out in the middle of open ground.