Basing Tutorials(updated feb 28th)

[Starks333]

Ok so i will be posting a variety of basing tutorials in this thread

++++

 

The Purpose:

 

 

while not every tut is practical for specific application to a 25mm base, it gives ideas as to what you can and cant do with simple tools and materials...im not trying to show just specific ideas but how you can use things in ways to create anything you like

 

Its also useful for scenery making ;)

 

++++

 

GREAT SOURCE FOR MILLIPUT:

 

Ancestral Dawn on ebay:

 

http://stores.ebay.ca/AncestralDawn_W0QQss...sQ3amesstQQtZkm

 

its where i get all mine...good prices, great shipping

 

 

 

 

Page 1:

-Rock Water Bases

-Standard Bases

-Wet Blending Water for Water Bases in use with water effects

 

Page 2:

-Foresty bases

-Natural ground when using textured plasticard/how to build a fence!

-Lunchie's Urban basing

 

Page 3:

-Deeper Water bases

-basing supplies

 

to start we have my rock/water style

 

 

Materials:

 

-Milliput, get it from online retailers or if you are lucky a local hobby store, i use the red box for most everything, superfine(white box) is great for making a large patty and once dried hammering it to make a slate type of rock(but its more expensive to do it like that)

-Water Effects

-Slate, buy a small box of 4"x4" at your local home improvement store, wrap in paper towel and take a hammer to them, you get all sorts of sizes and shapes, which is ideal for terrain...ive done over 100+ bases using my standard base idea(tut below) and several of this rock themed, about 20 or so and used only one tile out of the 8 tile box(which i bought for less than $10?)

-Mixed Flock/sands/rocks(seen in detail in tutorial below)

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/000_1124.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/000_1130.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/000_1128.jpg

 

Step One:

 

Stick milliput onto the base, take a chunk of slate and "stamp" the milliput on the front edge where you want the cliff side to be it will leave the look of slate on the front

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/000_1125.jpg

 

Step Two:

 

Wet your finger and rub the milliput to smooth it out and smooth it into the slate to hold it in, you can then take another chunk of slate and stamp the top a bit to get a more natural look for the surface

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/000_1126.jpg

 

Just to show how quick and easy it is, I did these up in only a few minutes

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/000_1127.jpg

 

Step Three:

 

Cover desired areas in thinned down pva glue(i used wood glue , its yellowish not white...its stronger)

Sprinkle mixed flocks/sands onto the glue, let dry, then apply a thinner layer of glue over top to seal

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/000_1129.jpg

 

Step Four:

 

Prime Black

 

Step Five:

 

PAINT! using whatever colours you like, paint the water on, you have to manually paint the waves and ripples with highlighted versions of your water colour, as water effects simply make it shiny and water like, the paint underneath makes it look like water

 

Step Six:

 

Apply water effects over painted surface you want to be water

 

Step Seven:

 

After painting, you can then add static grass or bushes etc

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/100_3560.jpg

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/100_3561.jpg

 

Post edited by: Starks333, at: 2007/09/10 04

[Obliterator]

Excellent tutorial ;) . I like doing water bases myself, but I must honestly admit I have never been able to get my water looking like yours. Could you provide us with a step-by-step on how you did it? Like color recipes and stuff like that.

[Starks333]

Excellent tutorial :) . I like doing water bases myself, but I must honestly admit I have never been able to get my water looking like yours. Could you provide us with a step-by-step on how you did it? Like color recipes and stuff like that.

 

 

no problem, i figured thatd be mentioned..its actually pretty easy, it should be done sometime this week maybe

 

 

Starks

[Starks333]

Simple but cooler Standard bases

 

Why they are better than normal flocking:

 

They have a variety of shapes and sizes which replicates a more realistic ground effect, also with the random bitz of rocks if you pick them out in a different colour it really helps to spice out a simple base

 

 

Materials:

 

-GW Static Grass(woodland scenics and others work)

-GW standard green flock(you could sub this if you want as well)

-woodland scenics green turf(again if you have another brand, cool, make sure its fluffy)

-GW rocky stuff(rocks and wood chunks, any brand, but variety is key!)

-fine grain sand

- mixed flock(the multi colour green stuff) it adds variety in shapes, colour doesnt matter

-small bitz of slate(like tiny!)

-random stuff found outdoors

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Standard%20Basing/000_1132.jpg

 

Step 1:

 

Mix all those goodies into one container

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Standard%20Basing/000_1128.jpg

 

Step 2:

 

apply thinned glue(i use woodglue, its yellowish, its stronger than white glue) to the base and sprinkle on the mix

 

Step 3:

 

after its dry apply a seal coat of extra thinned glue, this will hold it on the base better

 

Step 4:

 

Prime!...then paint!

 

Some Examples(done quickly):

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Standard%20Basing/000_1135.jpg

 

:pinch:

 

 

 

 

Starks

[LunchBox]

Starks...if you would like, I can post up some urban basing techniques.

 

Also, can you give us a really in depth water-base lesson?

 

Thanks!

[Starks333]

Starks...if you would like, I can post up some urban basing techniques.

 

Also, can you give us a really in depth water-base lesson?

 

Thanks!

 

ya feel free to post your tut here :pinch:...as to the water, im going to try and get those bases painted to show how to do it with water effects...and then once i get around to testing out actual resin water ill deal with that...however resin isnt suitable for round bases as its a paint to pour, unless you do it a certain way!

 

im just kinda busy with some other things(dreadnought, marine army, and my car which i just got back here the other day) so ill tyr and get something up tonight or tommorow

 

Starks

[Marovingean]

Would be nice to see. I love doing bases, you can get really creative, and you don't even have to be an amazing modeller to get good results. That's so satisfying.

I seem to remember you used to paint shadows on your base. You still doing that?

 

M

[LunchBox]

Thanks...I have NO idea how to do water bases...I've searched it, and I have a general idea...but you have a very no nonsense, detailed way of explaining things. For example, I'd read about glazing, but they never tell you WHY to use it, and what effects you can get...your help and advice is priceless...and I hope to hell you don't enter up against me in next year's Chicago GD.

[Starks333]

Heres the painted water tutorial:

 

 

NOTE: this base is completely WET BLENDING

 

so...how to start:

 

first water down your paint a bit, but less thinning more adding water, you want it to stay wet for awhile...so add all colours to your palette as you need to move quickly(you have about 30seconds to a minute to do it :tu:)

 

First:

 

apply blue colour(i used deep sea blue VMC)

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Painted%20Water/100_3587.jpg

 

Now thin down a green heavily(i used black green VMC) and paint it over portions of the blue, because most water is greenish due to the seaweed and other natural growth, this layer will act more as a glaze, but because the blue paint is still wet you can play with it(as in be random dont apply carefully)

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Painted%20Water/100_3588.jpg

 

Now mix some white into the blue, paint on lines in a way to make it look like ripples or waves in the water...

 

NOTE, after you paint on the lines if the lines are too bold, clean your brush(or lick it) and go over the edges of the lines quickly(with a damp or slightly wet brush) this will fade them back in so they dont show up as distinctive lines

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Painted%20Water/100_3589.jpg

 

Now take a bit more white mix it in, and then paint the edges close to the rocks(foamyness waves etc) and then highlight the lines you painted:

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Painted%20Water/100_3590.jpg

 

And since your paint is still wet you might not of gotten your highlights bright enough, so go again, maybe adding a bit more white if you need to

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Painted%20Water/100_3593.jpg

 

and after about 30seconds to 1minute you are now done the water, cover it with water effects and voila

 

**might take some praacticing, just remember dont aim for perfect placement, be random

 

also, you may need to re highlight a bit after it dries, it sometimes dries a bit duller..not a problem though

 

:P

 

Starks

[Allerka]

Starks333, beautiful job on these tutorials. In fact, we like 'em so much, we're gonna immortalize them as a Librarium article. One question, though. Is there any way you can get some sharper images for the "painted water" tutorial? Thanks.

[Marovingean]

Hey starks, mind if I post some character bases? Not painted.

 

M

[Starks333]

Starks333, beautiful job on these tutorials. In fact, we like 'em so much, we're gonna immortalize them as a Librarium article. One question, though. Is there any way you can get some sharper images for the "painted water" tutorial? Thanks.

 

thanks, its tricky to get good pics because they have to be taken so fast, (because i have to do it all while the paints wet) and my friend was trying to steady them but alas couldnt

 

ill get the tripod set up and some better lighting when i do them next time, i have more bases to do so i can try again ;)

 

 

@Marovingean, pm me the link to the pics, ill see how they look, i may be covering them myself(also i want to keep things simple but effective)

 

I was doing a lot of other stuff lately, but i may be able to return to some basing soon...real water will come up eventually, i just need to get around to it!

 

Starks

[LadyKat]

Starks, I have to say you're one of my new fav people. I have been trying to figure basing out using trail and error and was having a heck of a time. You just made my life way easier (and with a 7 month old that's always good!)

 

Thanks a ton for all the pointers and instruction!

[LunchBox]

We're coming up on report card time; a hectic time in the life of an educator...I'll try to get an urban/rubble basing tutorial added this week/weekend if I can. I'm actually ahead of schedule on my Demon comp wips, so I should have a little extra time.

[lord_bunny]

cool, I like the finished product, urban would be nice, I glad to find a fellow milliput user.

 

If anyones looking for milliput, a good site is: http://www.mmodels.co.uk/shopgallery.php?subcatid=29

[LunchBox]

I think I'll search Ebay for milliput rigt now. I've been needing a dense filler that will hold texture...but why would I use milliput over green stuff?

[Blindhamster]

damn man thats pretty sweet! will have to try it on some of my models... hmmm now which ones...

[AinuLainour]

I think I'll search Ebay for milliput rigt now. I've been needing a dense filler that will hold texture...but why would I use milliput over green stuff?

 

Milliput > GS for basing, filling big gaps, and the red rimmed milliput box is fantastic for sculpting, although it takes getting used to after being a user of GS.

[Starks333]

FOREST STYLE LANDSCAPE

 

++++++

(my piece is done for display, so i have lighting effects and such you wont be doing for gaming models, please ignore the painting effects and focus solely on how the base is constructed, some suggestions are made in terms of colour however)

++++++

 

(mods excuse the model sitting on it..as its not BnC compliant, but this is for the base not the model and i had no other pictures :) )

 

ok, so this specific base is not very TT practical, but it will show many simple concepts you can use to do things to your liking

 

 

Materials:

 

-Milliput, red rim (yellow/grey)

-twigs of appropriate size/shape

-static grasses and flocks

-a rock with a nice texture on it and shape(not round or even, but random and irregular)

-talc/flour etc

 

STEP 1:

 

if you want to add trees, PLAN it, you need to position everything and figure it out, dont just gung ho it or you probably wont end up with something functional

 

STEP 2:

 

take your twigs figure out how they look best, and if they are big enough(like mine) you can pin them together for extra strength...otherwise use super glue and gap fill with milliput...attach the tree to the base if its big like mine, otherwise wait until step 3

 

STEP 3:

 

apply milliput unevenely on your surface(stick your tree in and push milliput around it to hold it in) after its pressed on..take flour or talc and spread it on the milliput..take your texture rock and proceed to "stamp" the ground multiple times to form the shapes and randomness of nature

 

example of ROCK:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/100_3787.jpg

 

Step 4:

 

cover the wood with plastic, and then spray the milliput black, you want the natural colours of the wood to stay

 

example of how it will look after doing this step:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Fantasy/LotR/100_3764.jpg

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Fantasy/LotR/100_3768.jpg

 

Step 5:

 

apply paint

 

on this piece because my character is painted using green, yellow, red, orange, brown and offwhite, i used all of those in the base...get your paint nice and watery, and slap the colours on in a big wet blending mess...some people like randomness i personally like to position my colour more...for the tree i just painted on lines as i saw fit

 

 

example:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Fantasy/LotR/100_3772.jpg

 

 

Step 6:

 

drybrush a brighter colour on the rough surface,, paint it more etc etc.....then add flocks...mixed flocks are always best, why? because more colour=more natural...i have mixed together gw static grass, a marshland flock(brown and redish) a swamp flock(deep green) and some others(gw normal flock and such)

 

pick your spots and apply flocks (and or bush) ALWAYS PAINT OVER ANYTHING YOU ADD TO A BASE, otherwise it will nto fit in...so this includes: real world items(twigs) flocks, sands, etc...you can apply thin washes of paint and use the natural colours ot your advantage but never leave anything untouched....there may be a few things that ignore that rule, but nothing ive come across so far

 

example of my mixed flock:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/100_3788.jpg

 

example of base after this step:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Fantasy/LotR/100_3773.jpg

 

Step 7:

 

touch up painting..add details--> leaves, swing moss, whatever you want..

 

 

FINAL PRODUCT:

 

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Fantasy/LotR/100_3785.jpg

 

 

 

so basicly, what can you get from this?

 

-milliput and stamping creates great natural landscapes

-real life piecescan be used if painted

-nice terrain is simple to make

 

 

enjoy :)

 

Starks

[AinuLainour]

Alex, another way for brilliant forest-bed type bases is to use paper mache. Mixing in twigs and bits of dried herb can really do the trick.

[Starks333]

PLASTICARD BASES:

 

ok so you have textured plasticard, what now? well applying it straight to the base is ok but then its super flat and borrrring

 

so heres what we can do(and a little extra added in for fun)

 

Materials:

 

-milliput

-textured plasticard

-mixed flocks/dirt

-wooden dowel and thin sheet of wood (balsa wood works)

-plastic wrap

-hay or dried grass

 

Step 1:

 

Take your plasticard and mangle it, bends it all to hell and back...if you want pothols in your road, make small cuts into the card

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Plasticard/100_3789.jpg

 

Step 2:

 

**note for these two exampels my plasticard piece is tiny, and my milliput is dry, simply because i didnt remember to take pictures during the actual original bases construction

 

apply milliput to the base in whatever shape your want your mangled plasticard to take

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Plasticard/100_3810.jpg

 

and while the milliput is still wet, press in your plasticard, you will need to hold it in place and keep pressing it down every now and then so it stays...the alternative is to allow the milliput to dry, and then simply add superglue and press on your plasticard

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Plasticard/100_3811.jpg

 

 

Step 3:

 

After Milliput has dried, start filling in gaps or areas your plasticards edges still show

 

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Plasticard/100_3790.jpg

 

Step 4: Building a Fence

 

ok, so to build your fence, grab an appropriate sized wooden dowel(round peg like wood) take a knife and shave it down a bit since it will probably be a bit too big around...the knife shaving also allows you to add random shapes to the wood, so dont worry about being perfect when shaving it down

 

next take a screw with finer threads and repeatedly go up and down the wood while slowly turning it, this will leave striations(lines) in the wood and tear it up a bit which will seem more natural

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Plasticard/100_3793.jpg

 

for the thinner pieces especially if you use balswood, id simply use a knife and random cut in lines, make sure to just cut away dont be precise, precision is what will make it look fake

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Plasticard/100_3791.jpg

 

Step 5:

 

put the fence in place, glue it together and cover it with plastic wrap...then proceed to prime the base, i chose black, white might of been better for this because of my painting step...also dont forget the nails, i had Greenstuff nails sculpted on but apparently they fell off....

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Plasticard/100_3796.jpg

 

 

Step 6:

 

add some colour!, have fun if you want!

 

how i did it:

 

taking colours i used on my model, liche purple, golden yellow, dark flesh and catachan green and an offwhite, I wet the paints a lot, and applied them in a big puddle placing colours more so where i wanted than complete randomness(some like the randomness, i find it more attractive with some more precise placement) as you can tell the paint is still very wet in the picture and this was about 5 minutes after first application

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Plasticard/100_3797.jpg

 

Step 7: seems i forgot to take a pic without the mini....

 

ok so in this step after the puddle has dried take your dirt nature mix and apply it, let it dry, and while its drying drybrush your cobblestone with a brighter offwhite

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Fantasy/Empire/100_3799.jpg

 

 

Step 8/9:

 

***the next steps go together, i didnt have pictures to do it in order...

 

paint the fence..using the same colours and a bit of brown and black, i paint the fence, applying colours as i see fit

 

after paiting the ground more(step below):

apply the hay/dried grass behind the fence along with some random pieces of stuff

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Plasticard/100_3801.jpg

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Plasticard/100_3801.jpg

 

Step 8/9:

 

apply controlled washes of a darker brown to areas needing shading...applying several layers of thin paint helps you keep some areas lighter while darkening others....i do a very thin layer over the entire cobblestone except the very brightest...i also washed with greens near the greeny patches

 

after attaching the grass after painting the ground:

you can paint the grasses...make sure that the glue has dried completely before, otherwise it will turn your paint whitey...same thing, paint shade and highlight the grasses as you would anything else...thin/wet washes are the trick as always

 

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Plasticard/100_3809.jpg

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Plasticard/100_3808.jpg

 

and thats that...rural bases, how to use plasticard without getting flat results(heehee good pun) and some fence building :P

 

 

 

 

Starks

[Berzerker Pezz]

Starks, stealing your basing tut for your LOTR boy. Has the exact look I want for my berserkers.

[battle captain corpus]

Loving the Forest basing guide Starks, perfect for my Rangers of Gondor....cough, sorry Space Marine Scouts... ^_^

[darkmarauder]

Nice basing techniques.

[LunchBox]

Urban base tutorial will be here this weekend. I'm going to create the dsplay base for my squad entry, so it will be a multi-tutorial where Brothers can pick what they want from it to greate their own urban bases....from plasticard to "meat-grinder" rubble...seriously.