Basing Tutorials(updated feb 28th)

[Starks333]

updated and completed the last tutorial

[LunchBox]

Urban Rubble:

 

For this tutorial, I wanted to use the display base for my Patriot Guard Veteran squad as the example. This way, you can use the techniques to create your own display bases, terrain, or shrink the ideas down to fit a single mini's base. I'll start off with materials. There is a huge variety of materials that can be used, so I'm including a couple pics of materials.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/basematerials.jpg

 

Some stuff to get or keep: clear plastic packaging makes great broken glass, or even parchment if you paint it. The plasticard can be obtained for free at Lowe's/Home Depot after they do a reset...I left it turned over so you'd see what kind of signage to look for. Ask a department manager, and see if they'll hook you up. The plastic baggies are sample bags from a local quarry...ask the shift/plant manager for samples of their different sizes...free, free, free. The spray texture is quite expensive, but if you are lucky enough to find a dented can, or one that's missing the cap, they'll usually sell them for a few bucks. The last thing I'll mention isn;t pictured here, but get yourself a $5 tub of pre-mixed UNsanded grout. It's used for tile repair, it's gritty, and paints great...I use that as a gap filler, and it's already textured.

 

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/baseaggregate.jpg

 

In the snuff cans (left to right, top to bottom): General sand/gravel...various sizes, and I use this as my catch-can for all other materials as I apply them. The top right can has light weight crushed stones that they use to clean up gas/oil spills at gas stations...and that's exactly where I got it. It also has some very angular stones I pulled out of one of the plastic baggies you see in the 1st pic. The bottom left can has roofing aggregate...that's the smal, angular aggregate that colors roof shingles, and collects in your gutters...also where I got that. The bottom right can has general crucshed stone in it, from the edge of a parking lot. The top, clear tub has old sprue that I ran through a $2 garage sale meat grinder...so far I've spent two bucks... The bottom, clear tub has slate chips from an Ebay auction I've won...I didn't even know they were in the auction with all the paints I bought! The loose slate below is left-overs from laying slate throughout my house...but you could buy a broken slate tile from a flooring store for pennies, then go home and smash it to pieces!

 

Building the base:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/squadmockup.jpg

In this case, I used a decorative wood base, and glued on the plastic board in the general shape of the base. From there, I planned out where to place each squad member, as a guide to building the rest of the base.

 

From there, it's a matter of building the rough topography using the palstic board...not to be confused with plasticard:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/base1-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/base2-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/base3-1.jpg

*That last pic is a little shakey, but you get the idea.

 

 

On the right side of the base, I added some plasticard to build a tile road later. To cut out the area for the model's base, I made a pilot hole then started shaving around until it was big enough to fit the mini in.

 

We now have the rough topography laid, and will start building on it in the next post.

[LunchBox]

After the rough topography is laid, it's time to start dressing the base. For 25, 40, & 60mm bases, you can skip the earlier steps, and jump right into this part.

 

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/base4-1.jpg

As you can see in this picture, I have created piles of rubble using the sprue debris that I have run through a meat grinder, random sized stones/slate chips, and a few vehicle bitz. The dark gray pieces are the slate flakes from a busted up piece of slate flooring tile. You can also now see, because the last pic was so bad, that I have scored the plasicard on the right side to resemble paving stones. Feel free to add chunks of GW ruined buildings, an IG helmet, a piece of plastic I-beam (one of my personal favorites), barbed wire, floral wire, cut up toothpicks or Q-tip shafts as pipes, etc. The idea is to pile on a bunch of crap to the point it looks like an urban wasteland, but it's not too distracting from the model...a concept with which I still battle. At any time, you can start adding the unsanded grout mix, but I'd save the filling out and smoothing for last. The grout mix is the white icing looking stuff, and as stated before, it's gritty, water based, and you can even tint it with some cheap FOlk Art paints before applying, if you think it will get rubbed on a bunch.

 

A close up:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/base5.jpg

 

After you get all this on, it's a good idea to let it cure out for 24-48 hours. On a smaller, individual model base, you can get away with 6-12 hours.

Now that I've added all the goodies, it's time for my favorite part...PAINTING! I start with a thin spray of Rustoleum Automotive Primer. I would not reccomend black, but it can be done...I just think it's more work, for less than impressive results.

 

My first coat of paint is a custom mixture of a dark gray, using Folk Art Black, and Med. Gray mixed about 50/50, then dilluted with quite a bit of water. Other colors can be used, so the overall color theme of your urban base is up to you! The "street" was washed with thinned Komando Khaki.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/base6.jpg

 

Next, I picked out some of the details with washes: I washed the street area with Graveyard Earth, the metal debris with Vermin Brown, there's a cargo door for a tank that I washed Catachan Green, the slate flakes with Black, and the slate chips with that light Foundation color...D-something stone, but Bleached Bone or Fortress Grey would work as well. This picture is also a little shakey...sorry:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/base7-1.jpg

 

From here, it is a simple matter of drybrushing your gravel, which I did with Codex Grey, Fortress Grey, Space Wolves Grey, Bleached Bone, and Shadow Grey. Obviously, you want to go dark to light, and the other colors were added to random areas, but not too pronounced. The ruble areas were washed again with various grays, browns, and orange-browns, but after the first wash, these others need to be much thinner. The pics below are beginning the drybrush process. In the second pic below, you can see waht the completed drybrushing looks like to the left, and incomplete to the right.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/base9-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/base10.jpg

 

When all that's done, your basing rubble, and gravel should look like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/baserubble-1.jpg

 

For the pavestone pathway, I layered on Kommando Khaki over the Graveyard Earth. I then applied thinner Bleached Bone toward the edges. On the back sides, I traced the edges with Bleached bone.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/basepath2-1.jpg

 

After that's done, I glazed on some of the other colors I used, such as Liche Purple, Codex Grey, Catachan Green, etc. You can barely see the colors, but they serve well to tie in colors, smoothe the blending, and simulate natural tones that vary from stone to stone.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/basepathcomplete-1.jpg

 

For the wall to the right, it was washed with the gray/black, then drybrushed up with Codex and Fortress. Afterwards, I glazed Reaper Ghoul Grey into it a few times, to give it a greenish tint.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/basewall-1.jpg

 

When finished, the drybrushing, the glazes, and all the other good stuff comes together to create this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/basecomplete-1.jpg

 

Now, it's important to take an overview, and look for problem areas. For instance, this base looks pretty good, but look at it when I put the squad on it:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/done-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/lunchboxmtbr/100_0950-1.jpg

The squad disappears a bit. Part of the problem is the crappy lighting, and over-exposure issue. Still, the base blends in with the squad, which in reality would be more true...but it's not appropriate for miniatures. This being the case, I have gone back, and glazed on some black on some of the gravel areas, to distinguish the models from the base.

 

 

I hope this helps some of ya'll create your own urban bases, displays, or even terrain, and let me know if I left something out, or there is something else you wanted to see.

[LunchBox]

*Sorry Brothers...the little darlings at the school I teach at have bestowed their germs upon me in a most unforgiving way, and I've been sicker than hell for the last week or so. I'll finish out this tutorial in the next few days. I appreciate your patience.

[Corax_rg]

Cool tutorial(s) :turned: any more on the way ?

[Starks333]

ill probably do one when i do the bases for these nurgle marines...and depending on what we do with the ones on my friends chaos(swamp or just shaped lan) probably them as well

 

cant say when as ive got soooo many things to do!

 

 

Starks

[anggrath the unbound]

i can do i good one but i just wanna see how you do LAVA BASES ???

 

--anggrath--

[3vilX]

nice! i like these bases, looks like i have a few options for my dark angels now...

[LunchBox]

FYI, the Urban basing tut is finished.

[Starks333]

Swampy, real water bases on the way

 

to start

 

Materials:

 

-milliput

-wood bark or chunks of roots

-two part resin(liquid)

-dirt and whatever comes with it...aka nature (real dirt from outside..stick it on a tray and sit it in the oven at 200ish degrees Fahrenheit for about 2 mins to dry it out)

-plasticard(0.2 mm works)

-thinned pva glue or wood glue(I use wood glue thinned, its stronger and bonds better)

-water effects

 

will play around with them more..need to find the right mixes of stuff to make it look just right

 

 

Step 1

 

Plan your base!!!

 

Step 2

 

cut out a section of the top

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Swamp/000_1224.jpg

 

 

Step 3

 

clean around the edges, BE CAREFUL, if you press to hard your break the rim

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Swamp/000_1225.jpg

 

Step 4

 

superglue the edges of your base on the bottom and place your base on your plasticard...let it dry...once dry cut out around it(doesnt need to be perfect yet)

 

(mines already cut out)

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Swamp/000_1226.jpg

 

Step 5

 

apply milliput in whatever shape you want, making sure your "reservoir" still exists(this is what holds your "water") bases look best when they dont fall over the edges, keep the edges of the base lined up with the edge of the base as seen in some examples(it gets painted same colour as the rim)

 

NOTE: a good thing to do is while putting on your milliput, to check and see how your model fits on the base...if doing squads its best to have a specific model lined up with its base

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Swamp/000_1227.jpg

 

Step 6

 

now after the milliput and super glue has dried, your base has more strength...so you can begin to take a knife and or file to shave away the extra plasticard from the bottom of the base...with little worry of caving in the edges

 

 

Step 7

 

apply your dirt mix(using your glue obviously) coveringh everything, even the reservoir(dirt exists under water after all :whoops:)

 

you can also apply some random things that look swamp like(tall grass, cat tails etc) to the area where the resin will be applied

 

let it dry

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Swamp/000_1228.jpg

 

 

Step 8

 

paint your bases...use colour, and lots, blue, red, green, brown, orange, yellow, whatever...use the same idea as Step 6 of the Plasticard Bases tutorial with the big wet blend mess...try to use colder or greenier colours where the water would go

 

also highlight your base with a drybrush of a brighter colour..i usually mix a yellowy colour and a beige

 

 

NOTE:

 

before doing this test with a piece of spure on a spare base, i cannot guarantee whether or not your resin will melt the plastic or not..resin's chemical reaction is a heat process...as it has not damaged my base...plasticard or anything else i fell comfortable using it..however your brand of resin MAY BE DIFFERENT

 

if you want your model standing IN the water, complete the entire model and base with paint...then apply the resin...when applying the resin be careful not to touch the model, because it will look wet and a bit thicker looking on him, might look weird...you can use gloss varnish to "wet" him

 

 

Step 9

 

MAKE SURE you have about 10 bases done before doing this

 

you need: two part resin, a cup to measure the mixes(preferably shorter, as resin is thick so you dont want glass ketchup bottle syndrome) a cup to mix the resin(i used the bottom of a pop bottle with the 5 bumps)....you need some water cup and paint, and a crappy brush

 

mix the resin as it describes(mine is a 1:1 ratio mix)

 

mix some colours you want the water to be...not toooo much..dip your brush in the colours and mix it in with the reasin...you MUST use the resin as soon as possible after mixing..dont let it sit too long

 

take your brush and apply the resin in dabs...let it settle...apply more...repeat until its deep enough for you

 

 

after doing all that set them aside to dry, and try and clean your brush up

 

(my base wasnt painted first..it created a few problems, but i had mixed resin for another base and had too much left to just throw away!)

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Swamp/000_1229.jpg

 

Step 10

 

apply water effects to give water a more natural look...if its calm water then just leave it

 

Step 11

 

If you had the resin "overflow" onto your original dirt or flock, simply let it dry and apply another layer of dirt or flock over top:

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Swamp/100_3953.jpg

 

You are free to do what you like after, applying a couple thin washes over the dirt will help tone down the realism and blend it into your model more...be careful not to get it on the resin it will look weeeeird :)

 

 

 

 

 

Starks

[manwithmachete]

Any chance of doing a lava base tutorial? I'd like to see if mine compare to yours. ;-)

[Starks333]

i might, not sure when though, ill try to

[Firedrake Cordova]

Nice tutorials - very useful :) (although the camera shake in a couple of the images is doing my eyes in :P)

[Cl4d]

I'm having problems with graveyard earth and black primer for my bases, it doesn't cover at all I need like 10 layers so it covers decently and I didn't thin to much. Does anyone have any idea?

[Brother Nihm]

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...t&p=1461829

[Starks333]

**note not everything is suited for every scale some things are too large for 28mm

 

VEGETATION

 

Birch Tree Seeds

Mint Leaves

Marjoram

Other spices and herbs(oregano, basil, tex mex etc)

dirt(from outside)

wood chunks/sticks(look for nice texture)

tree roots(again texture)

random outdoor things with nice shape/texture

pine needles

hay

horse hair

small flowers/seed stocks, from trees or stuff

 

LANDSCAPING

 

rocks

cork

plasters

sculpting putties

"stamps" to texture putties(rocks, cork, whatever)

paper mache

slate tiles(broken up)

 

WATER

 

two part resin

water effects

 

 

Finally got around to taking some pictures of a few things, more pictures later on when i get it all together:

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Supplies/100_4450copy.jpg

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Tutorial/Bases/Supplies/100_4452.jpg

 

 

 

Starks

[CarbonCopy]

Another dried herb that works very well for forrest debris is Thyme. It usually has a nice variety of tiny twig and whole (intact) tiny leaves, unlike most dried herbs which are broken or otherwise partially crushed leaf fragments.

[Atendarius]

These tutorials are amazing, I'll definitely be using the slate and mulliput for my HQs!

 

How would you add snow to a base? Actually, not just that, but how would you make a simple base to look best with snow?

[Starks333]

These tutorials are amazing, I'll definitely be using the slate and mulliput for my HQs!

 

How would you add snow to a base? Actually, not just that, but how would you make a simple base to look best with snow?

 

 

the only snow base ive done is this:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/Starks3333/Other%20Models/Sebs%20Piece/Libby.jpg

 

(most of the shadow on the snow is painted on, and not real shadows)

and in my opinion, without the powdered glass(which doesnt show in my mediocre photo) it doesnt look that great..and well powdered glass isnt animal/small children friendly either ;)

 

its just baking soda+water+clear glue otherwise....people say it yellows eventually, but im not sure if thats the glue, or just it soaking up the crap from the air(like walls that yellow when people smoke or lots of moisture gets on them and dries etc)

 

my dad had an idea of adding in salt(or another non glass rclear substance), its not as reflective, but its safer as far as i know

 

i havent tested it so i cant say

 

its pretty straightforward as to how to apply the stuff and mix it

 

 

shape landscape for extreme shapes(like my snowbank) with milliput...then mix your stuff, slather it on as you like, try to make it collect more in certain areas, the clumps of it add nice shape to your landscape...when painting use paint as diluted as your water pot....it might take a few tries to get just right but it can help add a bit to the snow

 

 

Starks

[Atendarius]

Thanks! So just mix powdered glass, baking soda, water, and clear glue and slather it on mulliput? How many parts of each though?

 

Also, another question, if I wanted to make a based just out of slate is there any glue that can stick slate and plastic or slate and slate together?

[Starks333]

Thanks! So just mix powdered glass, baking soda, water, and clear glue and slather it on mulliput? How many parts of each though?

 

Also, another question, if I wanted to make a based just out of slate is there any glue that can stick slate and plastic or slate and slate together?

 

 

you can play with the mix to make it goopier(better for clumping) or thinner (better for spreading) just play with it a bit

 

as for the slate...as long as the slate is clean(not dusty/dirty) superglue should work half decently...the reason i use milliput and slate is so i can pin into the milliput which wont dull my bits like slate does so i dont need to worry about what glue works

 

pinning is the safest when dealing with non flat bases

 

 

Starks

[turelhim vampire]

These are fantastic, thanks so much, just what I needed. Just a quick question for Lunchbox - you mentioned that you used sprue that had been run through a meat grinder - can you explain exactly what you did? Do you just put the sprue in the top then grind it for a bit, then take it back out the top? I've never really seen how a meat grinder works so I'd have thought that the sprue would get stuck in the "blades" of the grinder. Is that not correct?

[LunchBox]

The meat grinder is a basic, hand-crank grinder. You have to remove the holey cap that the meat would com out of. The blade inside is a sharpened corkscrew, so it forces whatever you put in it through the blade and out the side. You feed the sprue in the top, and it gets mangled as it comes out.

[Brother Plasticard]

Also important is that you want to use a meat grinder that you won't be using for other stuff (like grinding meat). Go and grab one for cheap at a thrift store, second hand store, or used stuff store.

[DarKHaZZ13]

these are sweet =]

im especially loving the water one and the urban one

 

does anyone know of a tile basing tutorial?

like marble tiles (not made out of real tiles obviously)

the kind you'd find on a church floor, or in a a very old building...

the kind of building that would have pillars eveywhere.

 

if not anyone got any ideas on how the'd do it?