Basing techniques

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

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nikharwood

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...

mollinary

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
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Paint it Pink

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.
Unlike some people, I feel under no obligation to pretend that only one war-gaming scale is true, and that any others 6mm/10mm/15mm/25mm are mistaken; or that I know better than people themselves what is right for them to use. The point is precisely for all war-gamers to decide for themselves.

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Minenfeld

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.

Pruneau



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

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Fenton

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
If I were creating Pendraken I wouldn't mess about with Romans and  Mongols  I would have started with Centurions , eight o'clock, Day One!

Pruneau



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.

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

cameronian

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?
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Leon

No ply at the moment, but we'll see how the MDF ones go.
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Last Hussar

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.
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Aart Brouwer

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
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!)

count_zero99uk

Do most of you paint your minis on the base or seperatly before hand?

Minenfeld

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 !

NTM

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.

lentulus

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