Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So like, my dilemma, as a painter of this hobby, is now having to do something with the base, like, I don't know what to do with it! like, a base is a base, I know some people have done cleaver things with it, but I'm stumped what to do with it. anyone else know or feel my feeling?

I hear ya.
My older models have black bases and it does not bother me. But now I am making my bases extra fancy and plan to go back and pretty up the old bases too.

Just paint the base in one color so it does not look black.
For example, ScopeMk2 painted his just gray. and it works.
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/801319.page

The black base already comes with a bit of (ground) texturing on it. So you can paint it one color and ink it / wash it along with rest of the model for uniformed look.

Hope this makes sense.

GW has technical paints for bases, like agrellan badland. Or you could just use the white glue for wood, and put sand on bases. Or do something else, there are plenty of youtube videos what to do with bases.

Try leaving the base unflocked (don't put no fancy gubbins on it) and do some wet blending with contrasting colours to the models paint scheme. Easy to do and no fussing about with fancy gubbins.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Here is a great example of what I'm talking about, plain unadorned bases with some colour. This thread is neat because you can actually see the artist getting better and better with the concept. These are spaceships, but the idea is the same.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/433215.page

What kind of board do you normally play on? The most simple solution is a block colour to match. Next step up is a bit of texture that allows a few different cooours to be used and blended together. Not all rocks are grey for instance. Then you can move on to more scenic stuff like mud or lava or moon rocks or city rubble or whatever.

The other route is to buy transparent Perspex circles and mount your minis on that. No effort required and your models will never have a base that clashes with the playing surface

 Flinty wrote:
What kind of board do you normally play on? The most simple solution is a block colour to match. Next step up is a bit of texture that allows a few different cooours to be used and blended together. Not all rocks are grey for instance. Then you can move on to more scenic stuff like mud or lava or moon rocks or city rubble or whatever.

The other route is to buy transparent Perspex circles and mount your minis on that. No effort required and your models will never have a base that clashes with the playing surface

I am not a player of the game, just a builder and painter, thanks for the advice though.

What is the model? Just saw that you're a painter rather than a player. I myself am also more into the painting that the playing side, and I look for aesthetic over most other considerations when painting.

I generally choose my basing based on the model and how the colours/themes work with it. My world eaters all have orangey red dusty wasteland bases that contrast the blue and white of their armour. My emperor's children are all based on shiny white marble floors with blue green marbling to highlight the purple pink of their armour. I like to base my lotr models in lots of wild foliage, woodland and flowers as that's how I picture middle earth.

Basically, the base should form part of the model as a part of the artwork for me. Have a think about where your model would be, and which colours would compliment the scheme. If you have a dark model, go for lighter base tones, and vice versa as a general rule.

I've included some examples that will illustrate my point and possibly give you some inspiration in the right direction

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
What is the model? Just saw that you're a painter rather than a player. I myself am also more into the painting that the playing side, and I look for aesthetic over most other considerations when painting.

I generally choose my basing based on the model and how the colours/themes work with it. My world eaters all have orangey red dusty wasteland bases that contrast the blue and white of their armour. My emperor's children are all based on shiny white marble floors with blue green marbling to highlight the purple pink of their armour. I like to base my lotr models in lots of wild foliage, woodland and flowers as that's how I picture middle earth.

Basically, the base should form part of the model as a part of the artwork for me. Have a think about where your model would be, and which colours would compliment the scheme. If you have a dark model, go for lighter base tones, and vice versa as a general rule.

I've included some examples that will illustrate my point and possibly give you some inspiration in the right direction

*Groans in frustration* more work!? aaaoowwww, no fair.....ah well, guess I just gotta do something that reflects it. also, its an Ork Warboss in mega armor.

This looks lovely, and deals with the issue of how to base spaceship minis (as any of the usual "gubbins based" approaches for "infantry" minis would be a terrible fit, thematically and aesthetically). However, I'm not sure it makes much sense for infantry minis. I see your point, and I agree it may look gorgeous, particularly if playing off the color scheme of the mini. Aesthetically, it can probably work great. Thematically, however, it feels like a sub-par solution (in the same way that sticking a bunch of gubbins to the base of a spaceship would be heavily "WTF")

 Hairesy wrote:
Try leaving the base unflocked (don't put no fancy gubbins on it) and do some wet blending with contrasting colours to the models paint scheme. Easy to do and no fussing about with fancy gubbins.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Here is a great example of what I'm talking about, plain unadorned bases with some colour. This thread is neat because you can actually see the artist getting better and better with the concept. These are spaceships, but the idea is the same.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/433215.page

Haha, indeed. Bases are a hugely important part of the model if you want something that's visually pleasing. It sells the illusion that the model is real, existing in a real place. imagine the Mona Lisa with just a blank space behind and not the landscape scene.

Based on other responses to this thread, I see you paint for the sake of painting, not really to play any specific games. Not too different to myself: my main goal is just painting, and trying to get a bit better while I'm at it. I'd love to play, but I don't have much time to do it -or people to play with, for that matter. So painting it is.

Considering that, I wonder... why would you see decorating the base as a burden or a chore? I suggest you try and see it as a way to get more bang for you buck, more beauty out of every mini, more hobbying fun. I'm not a great mini painter, and my mini basing skills are even below my mini painting skills, but I can't say I don't enjoy doing the bases. They are a chance for you to enhance your paintjob, to try different techniques, to add interest to the mini...

Some examples of things I have done:
-I based my necrons with a dark grey-blue non descript "soil" (is it a remote asteroid? a nuked plain? you tell me!). But then added some "crystals" (just shaved-off bits of sprue) protruding from the ground, which I painted blue. I think that created a very nice contrast with the orange tones of the minis. I even attempted some (very) poorly executed OSL effect to the crystals!
-For my human nobility BB team, I went for a "beaten down BB field"... muddy dirt, patchy grass, and white chalk lines.
-For my black orc BB team I was extra lazy... just a gray, grainy surface (astrogranite)... texture paste, base layer, couple drybrushes, done. To add some interest, I decorated some of the bases with mangled body parts... a severed arm here, a bloody liver there... it's called BLOOD bowl for a reason, you know?

My point: obviously, you do you, and if decorating bases doesn't appeal to you, that's fine. Nobody says you have to! But it can be a fulfilling, fun, creative exercise, that enhances the painjob and the overall look of the mini. It is also very flexible, so you can be as basic or as ambitious as you want. Glue, sand, baking powder, pebbles, chunks of cork, static grass, basing pastes, mini bits... washing, drybrushing... anything goes, really.