Basing techniques

Started by nikharwood, 20 March 2010, 10:44:34 PM

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nikharwood

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?!

Luddite

Mine's rubbish so await your collective wisdom with baited breath!!!   :D :P
http://www.durhamwargames.co.uk/
http://luddite1811.blogspot.co.uk/

"It is by tea alone i set my mind in motion.  It is by the juice of Typhoo my thoughs acquire speed the teeth acquire stains, the stains serve as a warning.  It is by tea alone i set my mind in motion."

"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." - Gary Gygax
"Maybe emu trampling created the desert?" - FierceKitty

2012 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!

"I have become inappropriately excited by the thought of a compendium of OOBs." FSN

Gunhit

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

Luddite

Interesting gunhit.  What do you use to apply the filler?
http://www.durhamwargames.co.uk/
http://luddite1811.blogspot.co.uk/

"It is by tea alone i set my mind in motion.  It is by the juice of Typhoo my thoughs acquire speed the teeth acquire stains, the stains serve as a warning.  It is by tea alone i set my mind in motion."

"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." - Gary Gygax
"Maybe emu trampling created the desert?" - FierceKitty

2012 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!

"I have become inappropriately excited by the thought of a compendium of OOBs." FSN

Aart Brouwer

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.  ::)
Sadly no longer with us - RIP (1958-2013)

"No, I do not have Orcs, Riders of Rohan, Dark Elves, Skaven, Kroot Mercenaries Battle Tech, HeroClix, Gangs of Mega-City One or many-horned f****** genetic-mechanoid arse-faced pigmen from the Purple Pustule of Tharg T bloody M." (Harry Pearson, Achtung Schweinehund!)

Timbo1974

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.

Gunhit

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

Aart Brouwer

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
Sadly no longer with us - RIP (1958-2013)

"No, I do not have Orcs, Riders of Rohan, Dark Elves, Skaven, Kroot Mercenaries Battle Tech, HeroClix, Gangs of Mega-City One or many-horned f****** genetic-mechanoid arse-faced pigmen from the Purple Pustule of Tharg T bloody M." (Harry Pearson, Achtung Schweinehund!)

Captain Verbeek

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.
Non Cadmus

DanJ

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.

Steve J

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/

slinky

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

Pruneau

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.

Boardgames: MMP ACW, ASL ᴥ BKC & SSOM - WW2 (In development) ᴥ Flying Lead - Sci-Fi: Shocktroops, Pulp, Spugs ᴥ WH - Greenskins, Dwarfs

http://hiording.blogspot.com - http://runequestfun.blogspot.com - http://secondsquadonme.blogspot.com

ʎɐqə ɯoɹɟ pɹɐoqʎəʞ ɐ ʎnq ı əɯıʇ ʇsɐl əɥʇ sı sıɥʇ

nikharwood

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...


Pruneau

Sounds like something that might work, trying that out tomorrow or over the weekend.  Thanks Nik.
Boardgames: MMP ACW, ASL ᴥ BKC & SSOM - WW2 (In development) ᴥ Flying Lead - Sci-Fi: Shocktroops, Pulp, Spugs ᴥ WH - Greenskins, Dwarfs

http://hiording.blogspot.com - http://runequestfun.blogspot.com - http://secondsquadonme.blogspot.com

ʎɐqə ɯoɹɟ pɹɐoqʎəʞ ɐ ʎnq ı əɯıʇ ʇsɐl əɥʇ sı sıɥʇ