By: John ‘Scarab’ Salmond

 

Date: October 3, 2008

 

This is yet another quick tutorial on basing a miniature. Why not take some pictures and go into some minor detail on basing a fig. Most of the time, if not all of the time I attach my figure to the base and paint it before finishing the basing process. In the case of the Gators I wanted some water on the bases but wanted to keep it simple because this is my table top army.

The first step is to glue some fine sand onto the bases. I purchased some playground sand and sifted it with a kitchen strainer. I apply some white glue to the area that I want the sand and spread it around with a toothpick. I throw some larger rocks on there before putting them into the sand.

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After that sand is dry and start the painting process. My first coat is dark brown. I water it down a little so the rocks show through and give it depth.

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I then start to apply some dry brushing. I do about three different colors of light browns on the dry brushing. Always starting with the darker of the three.

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Next I will prep the bases by painting the bottom green where I want my water. I will also paint the edge of the base black at this time so I can clear coat my fig before moving on to the next step. I don’t want to put on clear coat when I have grasses and water on the base.

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For the water I am using Acrylic Medium. If I had some Envirotex laying around I would use that instead. Using a paintbrush I dab the Medium where I want the water. I will fill it to the top because it will shrink when it dries.

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After I apply the Acrylic Medium I have sprinkled some foam turf on it. This will absorb into the Medium and give it some texture.

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The last step to the water is one final coat of Acrylic Medium over top of the foam. Make sure the first coat is dry before doing this step.

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Once my water is in place I apply large grasses and bushes to the bases. I have several different colors of grasses that I mix together so it is not all one shade.

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Next I will apply static grass, roots, foam bushes and a mixture of whatever I have laying around. I will also mix stuff in with my static grass from time to time depending on the look I want. If you want a complete list of materials I use you can refer to the ‘Basing Tutorial’. I gave a complete list in that one. These tutorials are just follow up tutorials.

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The thing to think about is put your base together like nature would. Dirt first, things that grow next and things that are on top of those two layers.  Hope you enjoy.

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Later,

John…

Filed under: Painted Figs, Terrain Tutorials