Basing and foliage/grass

Quintus · Post by **Quintus** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:21 pm

Can anyone recommend turf or foliage to use on my bases?

I usually just paint the bases but as I will be using 1/72 plastic on 25mm scale bases I thought I ought to make a decent job of the bases. I intend to use polyfilla-type material mixed with brown paint to form an uneven base then glue some patches of grass to them.

I will be modelling Ancient Spanish and Republican Romans so Mediterranean colours would be best. Any advice would be appreciated.

(When I work on my 15mm figures I will probably just paint the bases.)

In addition I have heard that Woodland Scenics "liquid adhesive" makes a good sealer for plastic figures, better perhaps than PVA. I assume is is the Woodland Scenic Cement that is being referred to. Does anyone know for sure?

Fenton · Post by **Fenton** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:44 pm

For my bases I cover them in sand ( sad to say I bought the GW packet), then paint it brown, I use wateres down brown paint or sometimes ink then drybrush it the colour of the earth I want, for flock I use a 50/50 mix of flock and static grass ( I put some from each ina container and give it a good mix up), then PVA certain areas of the base and put the flock on.The rest is personal choice of how much flock to brown earth ratio you want

I do believe bases make the figures, and in my own case a good base can hide an awful paint job

thabear · Post by **thabear** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 4:44 am

i pre-coat the bases in half sand ( painted and drybrushed ) and the other half in flock . Once ive painted the figures i flock each indidvidual base and glue him down with a dab of PVA glue ( cheap , and as long as the whole underside of the base is coated provides a very good seal and bond ) once a row of figures are glued down they look great .

sand is a great medium to use especially for mediteranean bases , it can be drybrushed up from black to look like gravel and earth , or from a light brown to look like sand , ive even used it to model snow very successfully

and its free

cheers tom

Sherman · Post by **Sherman** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:52 am

I'm pretty sure the Woodland Scenics sprayer glue would make a pretty poor sealer on any kind of miniature with any sort of decent paint job. It does dry pretty smooth, but it definitely comes out in far heavier droplets than an aerosol can of sealer. They would have to leave little rings I would think... Plus it's not really that cheap compared to a regular sealer, so I don't know that I'd be tempted to even try it. It's not like you're going to get any better protection, I've been using plastics for years and they almost never chip.

Woodland Scenics makes an awesome assortment of folliage colors. I'd just find a picture of what you think the ground should look like and bring it into a store or compare it to WS's online store. You should be able to get near perfect match just by comparing them side by side I would think...

Phaze_of_the_Moon · Post by **Phaze_of_the_Moon** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:12 am

I use sand (frome the beach), "kitty litter", and grass (from my lawn).

Ironhand · Post by **Ironhand** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:17 pm

I use sand, painted and drybrushed, with patches of flock on top for my 15MM. For 25/28 I use spackling compound, appropriately painted, and static grass in various colors.

ethan · Post by **ethan** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 1:17 pm

I always have gone for fast and easy on basing.

I use Wargames Accessories metal bases, primed in dark brown.

Superglue figures onto bases (I like superglue as they are easily removed from the bases if you decide to rebase, just twist the base a bit and all the glue breaks).

Then coat base with dilute PVA/Elmers and flock.

for flock I use a mix of Woodland scenics "grass" (I buy one of the pre-mix packs of varying green shades) with some Woodland scenics mini-rocks (Tallus I think it si called) mixed in. Gives a decent fairly neutral looking base and is very fast to do. Not as nice as some other people's bases, but I am find with it.

Montagu · Post by **Montagu** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:58 am

ethan wrote:...

Superglue figures onto bases (I like superglue as they are easily removed from the bases if you decide to rebase, just twist the base a bit and all the glue breaks).

I was trying to find a post to ask this question...

I used super glue and Litko's Insta-set to base my HF in sets of 3 on metal bases. I even based 1 horse cav model backwards!! For the life of me, they do not 'twist' off with this combo. Damn you Insta-Set!!!

Any suggestions on how to get these bases unglued?

Brainsnaffler · Post by **Brainsnaffler** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:08 pm

I used super glue and Litko's Insta-set to base my HF in sets of 3 on metal bases. I even based 1 horse cav model backwards!! For the life of me, they do not 'twist' off with this combo. Damn you Insta-Set!!! Any suggestions on how to get these bases unglued?

Short of a chisel..... Nah, seriously, it depends on if your trying to salvage the paint job. If not, then I would be tempted to dab some superglue remover on the base area and see if it softens it up enough. Otherwise, try to slide your knife under it and lever it off (carefully though - fingers are more precious than lead figures)

As for my basing, I just use sand right from the beach stuck down with PVA. I don't see much point in painting it, but I'm sure there's a valid reason why people do. After the sand has dried, I use a summer mix of static grass (I think it's woodland scenics). At the moment, I am out though because my young daughter found the packet and emptied it over the carpet!!!!

lpgamble · Post by **lpgamble** » Fri May 02, 2008 3:07 pm

I use some vinyle spacle with brown paint mixed in on the base, then set the figures in the spacle. I apply some watered down pvc (elmers) glue where the bases touch the stand. Wait for that to dry and then put out some clumps of pvc glue (I mix some green paint in with this batch) and dunk them in woodland scenics flocking grasses. Then if you want to add extra's there is cork for rocks, static grass for high grass, moss and lichen. Sticks from the yard etc. I never have liked using sand. Every base I have ever had with sand on it winds up spilling sand for the next 10 years. I'm sure there is a trick to keeping it on but I havent found one.

I was forced to wait in the bead aisle one day and fond some cyclindar type beads that work well for casks in camps and such. Also fond a gong for my Han army there.

Probert · Post by **Probert** » Fri May 02, 2008 5:46 pm

I base all my minis the same.

Combine Woodland scenics small brown gravel (it is so small it is almost sand), dark green fine flock, light green fine flock, small amounts of medium green flock, and I buy he long grass in 3 shades and use scissors to cut it into tiny pieces. I combine all of this stuff in a bag and shake it up.

Paint bases dirt brown. Then paint on some elmer's glue mixed with water and dip it into the above mix.

Looks great.

flameberge · Post by **flameberge** » Fri May 09, 2008 3:48 pm

It sounds to me like you want the simplest way possible since your normally happy with simply painted bases so I would just glue the figures to the bases, put some watered PVA glue on the bases, dip it in flock, shake off the excess and your done. Even with 15mm figures you should really at least do a simple flocking job IMHO because it increases the visual appeal of the figures dramatically. I think the smaller the figures the more important the bases are.

hazelbark · Post by **hazelbark** » Fri May 09, 2008 5:53 pm

Montagu wrote:I used super glue and Litko's Insta-set to base my HF in sets of 3 on metal bases. I even based 1 horse cav model backwards!! For the life of me, they do not 'twist' off with this combo. Damn you Insta-Set!!! Any suggestions on how to get these bases unglued?

2 consistent methods.

1) Soak in water for at least 6 hours. Granted this is really for wooden bases.

2) I have a set of electircal wire cutter. Some descirbe it as a sharp needle nose pliers. You then get a cutting edge at the base of where the stand is glued to the metal and pop the figure comes off. Exceptional glue sometimes results in the base of the stand being marred by the cutting edge. But i haven't lost a figure yet with this process. I have had to trim and repair some bases.

As for flocking, the best lesson I was told is most figures look better on lighter colored bases. Which is why so many prefere sand or ligth green bases i suspect.

Strategos69 · Post by **Strategos69** » Thu May 22, 2008 10:30 pm

As it has been said, I usually use PVA glue (lot of it) and sand. If you are using wooden bases, it will remain there for decades (when I had to retire the base I had to destroy it in fact). Then paint it but not with plain colurs, I mean, use an acrylic wash (in GW terms) or a paint with lots of water. The paint will get into the sand leaving the surface in a clearer colour. No need to apply dry brush then.

I love to try new methods. Sometimes it works, others, don't.When I ran out of beach sand, I have used sugar instead. Here you have the result:

People usually buy flock or static grass but it does not always fulfill your needs, so you can make it on your own. I have used old brushes and even human hair, changed its colour with my paints and used it as commercial static grass is used. If you can tolerate your friends jokes, there is no problem. If not, keep the secret. Here you have the result:

The base is a mixture of sand an gravel, painted in darkened ocher and with a slight drybrush of light ocher (GW Bleached Bone). I think the result is very effective for semi desertic or rocky lands as some places in Spain and North Africa.

OhReally · Post by **OhReally** » Fri May 23, 2008 12:54 am

Quintus wrote:Can anyone recommend turf or foliage to use on my bases?

I usually just paint the bases but as I will be using 1/72 plastic on 25mm scale bases I thought I ought to make a decent job of the bases. I intend to use polyfilla-type material mixed with brown paint to form an uneven base then glue some patches of grass to them.

I will be modelling Ancient Spanish and Republican Romans so Mediterranean colours would be best. Any advice would be appreciated.

(When I work on my 15mm figures I will probably just paint the bases.)

In addition I have heard that Woodland Scenics "liquid adhesive" makes a good sealer for plastic figures, better perhaps than PVA. I assume is is the Woodland Scenic Cement that is being referred to. Does anyone know for sure?

For simple and commercially available I use GW stuff (god I hate them, but they make great stuff).

I use the GW sand because I make allot of money and I'm not going out in the yard to get it. It also has fine sand and some kind of larger piece which helps. I use PVA glue kind of watery all over the base and dip the stand in the sand several times then let it dry over night.

Next take either Citadel Black or Brown Ink and apply it, all over.

For stone I do the black then drybrush Space Wolves Gray (this is a blue gray and looks really nice for terrain) then Fortress gray, with a light final highlight of white. For earth I do Brown Ink, Snakebite Leather, Bubonic Brown then highlight with bleached bone.

After this step I strategically place flock and static grass. Once dry I will drybrush the static grass with Snakebite Leather then with a 50/50 mix of Snakebite Leather and Bleached Bone.

It seems like a pain, but if you do a bunch of bases at one time it flies.

I've never had to use any sealer beyond the spray Matte Varnish that I use to coat my models.

Basing and foliage/grass

Basing and foliage/grass

Re: Basing and foliage/grass