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I just made my first custom base using some foam and rocks, gravel, and sand I got outside. I gotta say, it looks amazing. I was going to spray the whole thing and then paint/drybrush etc., but I'm wondering: do you have to? I'm worried about things falling off, even though it feels secure now, paint would definitely help secure things in place. Also...it's dirt. Touching the base doesn't leave my fingers dirty or anything, and it hasn't rubbed off onto anything yet, I'm just a little hesitative.

Has anyone ever not sprayed over and painted a base made from dirt/rocks/gravel?

Its fine to use unpainted basing materials. It mostly done so you can take beach sand and make it look like city gravel, or martian soil, or something else. If you want the natural earthy effect though, common knowledge says to add these to the base AFTER painting the figure.

Is the mini on there yet, cause once it is it looks kind weird, or at least it did for my blood angels.

Also, painting will make it stay on better, and if painting knocks stuff off then you'll have it coming off in a game anyway.

But this is hard to figure out without a photo. How about a shot of your base?

The problem I had with leaving dirt/gravel bases as is is that the color palette of the real world is a lot more drab than that of miniature games (for the most part), and it can look a bit jarring. I use lots of natural slate, gravel and dirt for my bases, but I always spray and paint em too.

Sorry, this is the best I could get with my bad cell phone camera. It has a little more color than you can see, with bits of dark grey/black, and some green and red too.

The base seems to fit pretty well with the model, I did a test-fit and liked the result. The only thing is I really want to seal this first if I do use it. What can I use? Will watered down elmers leave a white opacity to it?

Spray clear primer on it. Dont leave it 'too' natural.

Don't pile it on so thick. A couple of big "rocks" are okay but the whole thing should only be about 1/4" above the top of the base when finished. Otherwise you end up with the base being most of the figure and diminishing the guy you're intending to glue to it.

Also, make sure you leave a spot to attach the figure. This can be on the base itself which is often done with grass flocking, or it can be on top of a couple of stones to give the figure a little 'gravitas'. Unless you have "a plan", less is more.

I always paint mine. It may feel solid now, but after a few months of wear and tear you'll probably want the extra protection of a layer of paint and sealer.

Also, painting it will ensure you don't run into problems matching the color scheme.

My suggestion is to leave the base as is.....finish the intended mini....place the mini on the base (before gluing)....see how it looks---take pics if needed. If you like what you see then leave it....if not then retouch the base with some paint.

I sometimes tend to take pieces of wood bark from my garden and use it for basing....instead of painting it...I use washes. You can dry brush before adding the wash if you want, but not too much

Here is an example

Personally I like the use of unpainted sand, and I use it both on scenery and basings. I guess my models are not painted a very strong pastel way either, so it all fits all right. I have not had much problem with gravel falling off, unless I used far to little glue and to big stones

On the other hand, reality moslty dont look like the reality we like. It needs to be tarted up a bit to really look real

My Orks are based au naturale - just GF9 basing grit and some static grass. It looks plenty desert-y.



I do drybrushed gravel for my other armies, but my Orks were all about speed.

The model is a Zoanthrope which is why the base is built up so high, although it's actually only about a quarter of an inch up. My smaller models have no build up like this, usually only gravel, grass, and sometimes a pebble. I think I'm going to try some clear coat over it.

Gravel and rocks can sometimes work unpainted. It really depends on the actual material.

Unpainted sand looks (IMO) like sand, which throws it all out of scale.

Always paint basing sand. Without exception.

If I was a good enough painter and had a hyper realistic and earthy toned painting style I would use 'au naturel' basing.

As it is, i'm not, so it just seems to look disjointed and unfinished imo.

Just my 2 cents.

I've based a figure with some old dog treats before, and in that case, it's best to coat it with white glue and primer to ensure that it doesn't rot. Otherwise, just go for it.