A mule and his Marine-- Making a Mountainside

Today I finished constructing the basic shape of the armature which will hold the "mountainside" under the Marine and mule figures.

I had started a few days ago on the slope, using wood and nails to block it out:

Then I used wire screen and staples to make the form upon which the sculpting wax would be applied:

Finally, I applied melted wax to the screen and thus fleshed out the armature mountainside.

Next, I will add some girth to the base of the armature, so that the final cast bronze will not be top-heavy with mule... but I want to make sure it's not too heavy-looking and that the base has an uplift and a lightness to it. This may be a stubborn task-- perhaps just as stubborn as the subject itself!