Looking for easy, no-mess basing guides!

[Avindskjold]

I enjoy assembling minis: picking out parts on the sprue and coming up with dynamic poses, and unique individual models. I love painting: coming up with a color scheme of my own design and practicing techniques to make them look better. However, I've always hated basing. 

I never enjoyed spreading glue and dipping minis into sand, only to have grains fall off, during later stages. Even some finished minis aren't immune to having glue lose adhesion and peeling off a layer of sand. I've not been terribly lucky with my bases; they either keep together great or horribly.

I'd like to ask for other ways of basing minis that aren't as painful and lead to good results. If I could, I'd probably buy pre-textured bases for models, although I've yet to find 32mm in bulks greater than ten for good prices. 

[roberto]

I had this problem too.

brush watered down PVA on the surface of your sand covered bases after they dry.  They hold up much better to the rigors of battle!

[Redking]

I've gotten away from sand and grass mostly.  I've been using cork on my more recent stuff.  Although, the problem with cork is that it doesn't look natural when painted.  I've been covering the top on the cork and the bases with Liquitex Coarse Texture Gel.  It's a resin basing gel for canvas, but it's been working well for my bases.  It also makes the cork more resilient and it easy to dry brush.  Once painted add some grass in areas and the bases come out great.

http://www.hobbylobby.com/Art-Supplies/Painting-Supplies/Acrylic-Painting/Basics-Coarse-Texture-Gel/p/74991

It's easy to apply with a sculpting tool or Citadel Texture Brush.

 

[RuneBrush]

Agree with @roberto, after you glue your sand down thin down some PVA and cover the sand.  I use a dropper bottle with it pre-mixed (1 part PVA to 4 or 5 parts water) so I don't need to bother with a brush, just drip it over until all of the sand is wet and then leave it overnight.

All of my Bloodbound is done with Citadel Textured Paint - it's not the cheapest but it's pretty quick and not difficult to crank out a few models in one sitting - plus it looks pretty reasonable.  Mess-free it's not though - you'll need to wipe the edge of the base to remove any overhang and that can get fairly mucky

[HobbyHammer]

Hey dude check out some of my basing guides on my blog, all pretty simple but effective.

http://hobbyhammer.com/search/label/basing

[RossMHoward]

Another option is to use a paste. I use a combination of Coarse and Fine Sand, Cork, Bark and other miscellaneous bit's and then add texture to parts using Vallejo Mud paste

It's a lot like a citadel technical paint but it comes in a humungous pot and doesn't cost the earth.

I've attached some examples but these aren't particularly great. Just photo's I had to share my WIP's with the group. 

But I find that a combination of shapes and textures make base's a lot more effective and interesting.  

[Undead4Life]

I made a mud mixture of brown paint, wood glue, sands with different coarseness, wood filler and a bit of water. I can just use a beater brush and paint it on my bases and finish with a polyurethane gloss coat; it protects and makes the mud look wet. For variety on bigger models and heroes, etc I'll glue things like ruins or rocks or debris directly to the base before priming. I even add tufts of grass to certain dudebros to break up the monotony. At its core though it is the easiest form of basing I've ever gone about, plus it's durable and looks different from standard "sand and paint."

[Lord Cedric]

Another option is to use a paste. I use a combination of Coarse and Fine Sand, Cork, Bark and other miscellaneous bit's and then add texture to parts using Vallejo Mud paste

It's a lot like a citadel technical paint but it comes in a humungous pot and doesn't cost the earth.

I've attached some examples but these aren't particularly great. Just photo's I had to share my WIP's with the group. 

But I find that a combination of shapes and textures make base's a lot more effective and interesting.  

Beautiful work! Thank you for sharing. I am really wanting to get that light blue hue and glow precisely how you have your models for my Sylvaneth. Can you please tell me/show me the paint colors, methods, and steps to achieve this? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

- Cedric

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[RossMHoward]

Happy to help!

For the blue on the base I start with 

http://www.darksphere.co.uk/p.php?p=32773&c=650 Falcon Turqouise in the deep areas

Blending in http://www.darksphere.co.uk/p.php?p=32990&c=654 towards the shallows with a final line of http://www.darksphere.co.uk/p.php?p=33105&c=654 towards the edge. To add this glue to the base I drybrush on some of the middle Light Turquoise colour. 

The same approach was done on the background tree revenants. Drybrushing the Falcon Turqoise onto areas and then tidying and highlighting with Light Turquoise and Sky Blue. 

I also have a mix of 50/50 Biel Tan Green and Drakenhof Nightshade which I use to shade around these drybrushed areas to help blend the glow. 

I use this also on the rocks and sculpted areas of the base too. 


The blue-green on the weapons and armour plates is done with http://www.darksphere.co.uk/p.php?p=32775 mixed into http://www.darksphere.co.uk/p.php?p=32795&c= at a ratio of 25/75 and built up to a lighter colour with White. Also if you're looking for alternative colours, then ghost grey is a lot like Ulthuan Grey but it covers better. 

This was also washed with the same Drakenhof Nightshade and Biel Tan green blend. 

Hope that helps and thank you for the kind words!