Pendraken Miniatures Forum

Wider Wargaming => Painting & Modelling => Topic started by: nikharwood on 20 March 2010, 10:44:34 PM

Title: Basing techniques
Post by: nikharwood on 20 March 2010, 10:44:34 PM
Ok - from another thread: what are your standard basing techniques? What do you do for different theatres etc? What stunning shortcuts / tricks / tips have you got to share?!
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Luddite on 20 March 2010, 11:04:32 PM
Mine's rubbish so await your collective wisdom with baited breath!!!   :D :P
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Gunhit on 21 March 2010, 07:46:05 AM
At the moment I use general purpose filler, which is great for the small stuff as it allows you to mould the effect I want (I apply the filler first before the figures). I then add base colour, wash then drybrush/highlight. After that I add figures and bits of static grass and other ornaments as sees fit. I do not go over-board with the grass usually just placing it around the figure bases as this just blends the figure to the base and doesn't produce the "jungle effect".

It takes me a long time to do bases for 6mm ADLER so I will be experimenting with fine sand to see if this speeds things up.

Another advantage with using filler is it gives that added weight to the base  :)

Adrian
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Luddite on 21 March 2010, 09:40:54 AM
Interesting gunhit.  What do you use to apply the filler?
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Aart Brouwer on 21 March 2010, 11:00:41 AM
The main problem as I see it is not blending figures and bases, but blending the bases and their (prospective) surroundings on the field of battle. I'm a visual purist, I'm afraid, an affliction not unknown in wargaming circles but rather rare in the degree that I suffer from it. I just can't stand clumpy squares of wood of metal underneath soldiers and vehicles, regardless of how beautifully they have been moulded, structured and flocked.

To each his own, right?

So first of all I refuse to base any of my vehicles, which has the effect that they blend in beautifully with their surroundings. For foot soldiers I am experimenting with very thin plasticard bases, cut to oval or irregular shapes. I base two or three figures on them after taking two-thirds off the bottom of the little socles with my trusty Black & Decker and sanding pad. I apply watered down PVA and acrylic paint and add some inobtrusive (green-gray) flock or beach sand (which I dry-brush) to get as neutral an effect as possible. These stands weigh almost nothing so they can be easily picked up and moved around; a very light hold on one of the figures is enough to lift them. Suits me fine. No soldier of mine will ever be spotted wading knee-deep through Patagonian shrubs in the middle of Stalingrad.  ::)
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Timbo1974 on 21 March 2010, 11:03:39 AM
I slop brown paint on the base and let dry.  Then I cover the whole base with pva and then dunk it into my container of mixed sand.  While the glue is still wet I brush off any larger pieces until I'm happy with the look.  Let it dry and then wash the base with watery brown paint (same paint from the first step).  No need for dry brushing or anything like that as the different sand colours create the variation for you.  It's simple and looks natural enough.  Then flock or decorate as necessary.  I try to keep my bases simple but consistent across the army.
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Gunhit on 21 March 2010, 12:03:13 PM
Me FIGURES! Luddite.  How is life up in Durham? Lived there in my early teens and frequented the Durham Club quite a bit  ;D

Aart I have seen somewhere on the web clear pastic bases for infantry, can't remember what scale it was though.

Adrian
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Aart Brouwer on 21 March 2010, 02:07:58 PM
Quote from: Gunhit on 21 March 2010, 12:03:13 PMAart I have seen somewhere on the web clear pastic bases for infantry, can't remember what scale it was though.

Um, thanks Adrian - but I''l stick with the rectangular plastic milk bottles in my local supermarket? Sturdy, transparant and wafer-thin (gratuitous reference to Monsieur Créosote).  ;D
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Captain Verbeek on 21 March 2010, 04:38:17 PM
I have had some success with renaissance inks flocking gel but it is a little pricey.  But you can get quite a few stands done per bottle.  On the cheap I use paver sand mixed equal parts PVA glue, brown paint and sand apply let dry then highlight, add static grass etc.  I will be putting up an article on my blog on making an oasis later this week with using playground sand, will link it here later.
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: DanJ on 06 April 2010, 04:40:38 PM
I like my bases as thin as possible, the best I've found so far are steel bases about 1mm thick.

After sticking the figures down I fill arround and between then using green basetex with a bit of sharp sand sprinkled on top.  Then once dry I dry brush with cream.  For WW1 figures I so a partial darkbrown wash before the highlighting.

If I can't get steel bases the size I want I use thick card then after the basetex is dry peel off most of the card and add a magnetic base.

Using steel/magnetic bases makes storage and transportation easier.
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Steve J on 06 April 2010, 08:41:04 PM
Step 1. Score plastic base to help glue to adhere to the plastic.

Step 2. Glue figures to base with Araldite. I use Araldite as this gives me chance to tweak the arrangement of the figures before the glue dries. I find superglue too quick plus the fumes aggravate my asthma.

Step 3. Cover the spaces between the figures with fine surface polyfilla to make one level surface. Allow to dry.

Step 4. Cover base with PVA glue and then coat base with mixed grit. Mine own mix is basically seived sharp sand so that I get a nice mix of different size stones.

Step 5. Prime everything with dark brown paint.

Step 6. Having painted the figures, the base is drybrushed with Bestial Brown, then Bubonic Brown drybrushed in areas and then drybrush highlights of Bleached Bone.

Step 7. Clumps of low foliage or lichen placed on the base in appropriate areas to make it look good.

Step 8. Finally static grass applied to finish things off.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page of my Blog and it has pics of some of my 6mm basing which is the same in principal as above, but with less drybrushing of colours.

http://wwiigamingaddict.blog.co.uk/
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: slinky on 07 April 2010, 09:02:55 PM
I never base my vehicles

I put infantry on separate metal discs I get from peter pig and put support weapons on 30 x 30 mdf
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Pruneau on 08 April 2010, 10:27:33 AM
Hi guys,

I have just finished up painting some test units for HOTT basing.  I prepped and painted them 5 in a row on a icecream popsicle stick, which went fine, but now that they're painted I am struggling with getting them based.  I know some of you, including Nik, base them first, and go from there, but although I can see that work for warbands where the troops are not in close file, the particular units I have done so far are shieldwall and cataphract units, and I like full bases, so there's not a lot of room for painting when I base them straight away.

How can I solve this?  I tried basing using zap glue and coarse sand - which has always served me perfectly in 28 mm - but it's not working well here: the figs are so close together that I can't squeeze a pencil in the paint the bases anymore, so I guess I should have done that before basing.  I'd love to get any pointers on how to proceed basing say 8 city guards on a 40x15 base, or 5/6 cataphracti on a 40x30 base.  Yep, that's very crowded.

Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: nikharwood on 08 April 2010, 03:43:44 PM
Good luck! I think the way to do this could be to mix a basing material - something like PVA:Polyfilla (spackle):sand:water at about 40:30:30:10 ratio - this should be fluid enough for you to put on the bases & then impress the figures into...it'll set rock hard as well & is textured enough.

I'd suggest adding brown ink to it as well so that it's coloured - and then you can just drybrush some sand / bone colour to give a highlight...

Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Pruneau on 08 April 2010, 09:54:11 PM
Sounds like something that might work, trying that out tomorrow or over the weekend.  Thanks Nik.
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: nikharwood on 08 April 2010, 10:28:51 PM
You're welcome - hope it works out OK; I've just done something similar for a load of 28mm Napoleonics I'm doing for some skirmishing as a way of saving time - I'm happy with how it worked...let me know if you want pics & I'll post...
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: mollinary on 09 April 2010, 09:51:42 AM
I like to try and make mine blend into my terrain, so the following:

    Use thin steel bases, for reasons already outlined above. Mine are from Products for Wargamers, custom size at 25mm x 20mm;

     Stick figures to base, brush on PVA white glue as used in schools.

     Dip base into sand mix.

      When dry paint with thinned Foundry Granite, colour, then drybrush with Vallejo Stone Grey.

      Then apply flock, in my case the same flock as used on the terrain. 

   Not as time consuming as it sounds, works for me.

Mollinary
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Paint it Pink on 10 April 2010, 07:35:13 PM
I like my bases to be as unobtrusive as possible, so thin plastic is best. However, small figures are easier to move if the base has substance, so I tend to base them on small coins, but leave vehicles unbased. It is IMNSHO all a matter of what is an acceptable compromise for you.
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Minenfeld on 11 April 2010, 08:05:55 PM
I have never got on with Basetex. I use polyfilla or similar. The mix must be fairly fluid but not too runny. I use an old paint brush to fill around the fig bases, then the rest of the base. Let this dry overnight. I then glue a few small stones ( Jarvis fine chippings for railway ballast ). Once this has dried, I paint the whole base light to mid brown, dry brush with yellow ochre and then white. Last but not least, static grass.
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Pruneau on 19 April 2010, 10:22:57 PM
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4534129437_6af1993b76_b.jpg)

Here is a first try with just glue and coarse sand.  I get some very nice results in 28 mm with that, but it's not working here.  I have some regular sand now, and some polyfila, in order to try and mix up something user friendly, cos this isn't very nice.  The sand grains look way too big.  Don't mention the painting, 10 mm is rather new for me   :-[
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Fenton on 21 April 2010, 02:08:47 AM
I always bought the GW sand ( yeah I know ...but what the hell  they had in tubs lying about and I coudnt resist) then sieved it out to get rid of the big lumpy bits...stuck down with a bit of PVA  then inked and drybrushed ...works ok for me
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Pruneau on 16 May 2010, 01:09:01 PM
(http://gjniwq.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pB_tMm6tbU_t4c3gA4wlzgVyiKA5p-LdA588JR5uMheFmIdHFgAsrIeb3kBlxdPMRQjeLiaeC76JQmKzVVTMF3oa3GIZus9zj/IMG_2017.jpg)

Here's what I ended up with.  Just pressing the minis in the paste kinda worked, but two mini's fell off afterwards, and gluing them on wasnt really easy, the hole their base left seemed smaller than the actual foot itself  :o

After a bit of messing around with all kind of acryl paints from the art store and so on I found a paste that works very well, it's a sandy paste with excellent texture.  However, I glue the mini footbases to the mdf base now to avoid them dropping off.

The minis on the picture reflect the three stages:
first was based white, minis put in wet polyfila paste
second and third use the method described by Nik: black base, then drybrushed.  The difference between 2 and 3 is not visible, the bases look the same.  I used a thinned brown paint for the base colour, then brushed on sand color, a few dabs of wood glue, and lots of grass, excess is brushed off after drying up.

Not gonna win any prizes but it'll sure serve on the battlefield.

Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: cameronian on 09 June 2010, 01:57:30 PM
Sorry, posted this already but in wrong place.

For 10mm basing I use 1.5mm ply bases; USA - Litko, UK - Fenris Games, Unit 1, House Carpenter's Shop, Chatham Historic Dockyard, Kent ME4 4TE.
Fenris will laser cut any number of ply bases to your spec and cheaply too. I've just ordered 250 30mm x 20mm 1.5mm thick bases for my 1866 austrians, 21 quid the lot including postage! Quality is v good.
So; paint base grass green with matt household acrylic, glue figures on base (rub any residual base flash right down) with thick superglue; wait until completely dry; cover half base (and figure bases too) with PVA; flock with earth coloured flock; let dry and tap excess back into flock box; PVA other half of base, flock green or whatever; let dry and tap excess etc. Mix v dilute solution of PVA and brush onto bases to 'bind' the flock (alternately if you spray varnish at this stage do that instead) Little extras can now be added, eg blob of PVA add grass, rocks, whatever. Personally I think 10mm looks best on a low base (1.5mm) as opposed to the thicker MDF, makes them look like pygmies on a plinth IMHO. Dave, are you offering ply as part of your new bases and grit range?
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Leon on 09 June 2010, 03:58:19 PM
No ply at the moment, but we'll see how the MDF ones go.
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Last Hussar on 23 June 2010, 12:44:13 AM
I use cheap self adhesive vinyl tiles - they are 1mm thin or less.  Spread with PVA, then a drop of superglue on the bottom of the figure (superglue reacts with water, which is why it is so successful in sticking your fingers, but never the vase) and place QUICKLY - you can not really slide move them after 15 seconds or so. I try to get the pva to go over the figure base. I then push the base into a pile of flock on each side.

Leave for 24 hours, shake the excess off, then spray sealant/varnish to hold the flock in place.
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Aart Brouwer on 23 June 2010, 04:57:36 PM
Being a noob, I had some trouble finding a suitable basing method. Here's what I do now.

I cut my own bases out of plates of 1mm thick white polyester. Either with a box-cutter (neat) or with a sturdy pair of scissors (acceptable). I round off the corners, polish the edges, then glue the figures in place with superglue. Over the bases (and around the figures) I spread a 1-2 mm thick layer of PVA mixed with water, raw sienna acrylic paint and fine sand. I add a pebble, a bush or a dead tree trunk here and there. Once dry, the sandy surface is lightly dry-brushed successively with grey, dark olive, light olive and yellow to give it proper depth. Finally I add some grass and a little flocking that blend in with the table.

Cheers,
Aart
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: count_zero99uk on 05 July 2010, 08:38:48 AM
Do most of you paint your minis on the base or seperatly before hand?
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: Minenfeld on 09 July 2010, 12:44:49 PM
I use lolly ice sticks, you can get about 5 to 6 on each stick using bluetack. I paint and varnish my minis while they are on the stick, then stick them on the base when dry !
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: NTM on 09 July 2010, 01:22:35 PM
Currently I paint base green apply flock with pva then paint green again followed by drybrush of yellow then white. Feel this works well for North West Europe as to me the countryside when you look at it is predominantly green not brown with patches of green. But as I am planning forces for Sicily and Italy I find myself leaning towards using sand first painting mid brown/sand then flocking so that most items are suitable for both fronts particularly scenery.
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: lentulus on 09 July 2010, 01:24:27 PM
Quote from: count_zero99uk on 05 July 2010, 08:38:48 AM
Do most of you paint your minis on the base or seperatly before hand?

Sounds like a good poll to me:
http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=934.0
Title: Re: Basing techniques
Post by: goat major on 09 July 2010, 03:50:36 PM
Quote from: Minenfeld on 09 July 2010, 12:44:49 PM
I use lolly ice sticks, you can get about 5 to 6 on each stick using bluetack. I paint and varnish my minis while they are on the stick, then stick them on the base when dry !

pretty much what i do but (as mentioned on other thread) instead of lolly sticks i load up on those wooden sticks from Costa Coffee