Tenacious Techniques #2 - Basing

  I have seen some awesome bases, that people have done over the years; I have always wondered how they did that. Hardcore hobbyists have put a lot of time and effort into making their scenic bases. I wish I had the time to practice sculpting and basing techniques, but life would have me take care of the more important things in life.
  Today I am going to go over how I do bases for my minis. It saves a lot of time, but it is in no way a masterpiece winning technique. So let's get started:

Preparing, Flocking, and Painting Bases

Step 1: Preparing the base for flock/sand

  I usually do basing when the model is still bare metal, and then i'll prime it after it is based.When assembling your models, you will notice in the slots there is always empty space. This is the first thing we need to take care of. I use mostly modeling putty to fill in the holes, and then take a sculpting tool to make the surfaces flat. Make sure you have no excess putty on the bottom of the base, or it will be lop-sided. Once that is done we can move onto the next step...

Step 2: Putting flock/sand on the base

  After the putty has solidified, we then take a white glue and brush it onto the base. I prefer Elmer's glue, and I'll take one of my paint brushes, and 'paint' the glue on the base. The key is to cover the entire base in the glue; Leave no spot on the base empty of glue. Then wipe away the excess glue where you don't want to have sand/flock. Finally, dip the model in the sand/flock, and shake off the extra stuff from the base. Let it dry for a full 24 hours, so that the bond is strong enough, when you begin painting.

Step 3: Prime the model

  Self-explanatory. easiest part of the process.

Step 4: Base coat

  This is where we start painting the base. Do some research on some different terrain types, and their colors. Study carefully where you need to have your lighting, what your shade/highlight colors need to be, grass/rocks/bushes/etc. For the Kayazy Eliminators I started with a Idrian Flesh base coat.

Step 5:  Highlight the sand/rocks

  I usually dry brush on this step with as little paint as possible, and then I do the next step up in the color scale. In the examples below, I did different colors for the larger rocks than I did the sand.

Step 6 (optional): Add bushes or grass 

  This part is totally your discretion. I added bushes for pMadrak's base.

  That is it! Along with painted models, you will have painted bases too. adding front arcs to the base is completely up to you. You can put tick marks and leave the bases black, if you wanted.

  Next week I am going to paint more of Borka's tier list, and see if I can get these guys finished. Tune in next time.