Make a Base

Hi, I’m Pete,

Today I want to share some tips and tricks on how to base your models.

Some of these techniques require heavy duty equipment, but every one knows some one who has some thing you can use. !!!WARNING!!!  if you’re a young person with no elbow grease you can get hurt but then you learn.

I hope this will give you some ideas on how to make your own basing style.

 This sand is special for being used by a water jet metal cutter; try to get the finest sand you can, for miniatures are small and this needs to look realistic.

First thing if your doing a desert theme or snow theme: you need to make the ground look like there was wind that blows and shapes dunes. For this, I use putty for walls that painters use.

Now I add some Styrofoam rocks and some "miniature" sand that you can get at any miniature store. This is the basic stuff.  

Base coat everything.

Add watered down PVA glue "normal wood glue", and also add your super fine sand.

Let the sand dry and shake the extra sand back to the sand box to save your sand.

 

Sand is dry and now lets start playing with Valeijo Pigments. For this desert theme I used two different colors

and spry varnish. First you add the pigment and then you go through the whole thing with a wet brush.   

This is my small trick that I use to make Styrofoam lock like real rock. I use a hot air blower. A normal hair dryer is good but its slower. I melt the Styrofoam just a little, and at the same time the watered pigments dry as well. But be careful, it might catch fire. 

 And this is the finished base. Looks good and you don't need to put a ton of stuff on the base.

Now this is the heavy duty stuff where you can get hurt!

 First you need to have some tools to make what ever you want. This is computer Chipboard from some old computers. Use a face mask and eye protection. And I mean this
Computer chip is made from copper and plastics, so the smoke is not good.

The chip bases are for an industrial theme, but can be used for TRON theme as well. It is easier to drill with a cup tip that has a small drill inside that makes the hole in the middle that you can full with Green Stuff or some bits from the bits box. The aluminium ones were made by having the aluminium sheath clamped hard, that way it wont start spinning with the drill and killing every one.  

 Here is some of the finished bases on my Fiends of Slanesh.

When you have the imagination you can make a base out of everything you like. And if the material is limited make one and make a mold out of Instant mold. I'm going to do a thing on how to mold weapons and models next time. Have a nice day!