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My first exposure to 40k was in the heady days of the early/ mid 90s when EVERY model, regardless of army, was based in this manner. This goes for 40k, WHFB & all of the standalone games with- as far as I recall- no (or some very rare) exceptions. Please excuse me if I'm wrong but it's certainly how I remember things.

Since then, 40k has become all the more dark & macabre and, as a newcomer to actually collecting models & playing the game, I can't help but remember with a wistful smile the days of green bases, glaring paintjobs (static Ultramarines that were BLUE BLUE BLUE) &, even in official GW material, terrain that was scatch built from old tin cans & hills made of three layers of green-sprayed styrofoam.

Now, after a 20-year hiatus, maybe I should thrown my rose-tinted goggles away. But I can't help thinking my first army (Imperial Fists) should be neon yellow & have old-style green bases. Purely as a nod to my childhood when I first came across the game, you understand.

So...should I do it? Or would my army be laughed off of the table against anyone who isn't in my immediate social circle and recognises me for the nostalgic, now-balding romantic that I am?

Do it. It's no sillier than half the stuff I've seen. They're your models, paint them how you want to.

Basing an army = Choice of the individual..(I personally do a bit of Sand an earthy looking brown paint then a partial flocking myself and mabey add in a BB sized pebble or two ..)

Not a big fan of the pool table green flocked bases but to each their own ..So Long as it is based and basing is the way to tie an army together..

Most of my terrain is scratch built thou I do tend to toss in some bits ..(nothing wrong with well done Tin can and HD foam (only cause it works better than the white pebbly stuff) Some of my hills I use I made in the 80's outa paper mache..

I green flock my Eldar and Scouts. Not quite the goblin green of yesteryear, but not that far off the mark. I do however use tufts and flowers. Not every world has been churned to mud and ruins yet.



A slightly modern twist on a classic.

Nevelon...respect! I appreciate your sentiment. In the lore that I've read thus far it's always stated the 40k experience covers thousands of planets. I've always thought how refreshing it would be for the odd battle to be fought on an idyllic world of non-threatening grasslands & picturesque woodland...not very fashionable, I admit, but surely a welcome break now & then from the average setting of ruined industrial hell or a daemon world. I salute you!

If you go simply green, painting the rim of the base "black" is more modern, and makes the mini pop.

SaltySeaDog wrote:
Nevelon...respect! I appreciate your sentiment. In the lore that I've read thus far it's always stated the 40k experience covers thousands of planets. I've always thought how refreshing it would be for the odd battle to be fought on an idyllic world of non-threatening grasslands & picturesque woodland...not very fashionable, I admit, but surely a welcome break now & then from the average setting of ruined industrial hell or a daemon world. I salute you!

I have a scout exchange program. My Eldar are defending a pristine maiden world from imperial/other interlopers. My Ultramarine scouts are infiltrating there (hence the flowers and greenery). My Eldar rangers are in arctic camo, sneaking around the polar fortress of Macragge, where my snow-based Ultras are mustering.

It’s all just tufts and flock in different colors, and one of the simplest ways to base. It’s also an easy one to retrofit onto already painted minis. Many of the bases these days work best when done before the mini is painted, or at least at the same time (as they require glue, primer and paint). As I was going back to already completed work, I took a easier path.

It's perfectly fine.

You do you, dude. Paint your models however you like. I run the flipping Black Light Marines with how vividly and clashingly they're painted.

Your models, your army, your way. I mean, you are the one spending the money and the time and effort painting and assembling all of this. DO what makes you happy! I mean, just follow my signature!

PERSONALLY, I hate that feeling. I like cheesy, but 40k has a very different kind of cheese. It's so dark it's cheesy, but not bright and silly cheesy. The goblin green bases feel more like 90's cheese.

But really, what makes ya smile and enjoy the hobby? Do that.

Retro is cool. Do it. Just by basing your models at all you'll be doing better than 80% of 40k players.

It's as dated as shoulder pads and fluoro-hypercolour.

That said, even dated paintschemes are better than bare metal.

I would love it f you showed up with goblin green bases + flock.

Now on a more serious note, where do you get your goblin green pots. Mine are all dried up and the store sells em stuff.

 oldzoggy wrote:
I would love it f you showed up with goblin green bases + flock.

Now on a more serious note, where do you get your goblin green pots. Mine are all dried up and the store sells em stuff.

I get my pot from the back of my workbench, where it’s been living for a long time now. But that’s not very useful information.

Here is a paint compatibility chart:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart

The “Goblin Green” of yore was made for GW by a company called Coat D’Arms, which is still making paints. You can order them from a few places, if you look. (sorry don’t have any links handy)

 Nevelon wrote:

The “Goblin Green” of yore was made for GW by a company called Coat D’Arms, which is still making paints. You can order them from a few places, if you look. (sorry don’t have any links handy)

Do they actually make the same paints, as in with the same ingredients etc?
Just having the same inks back would be a lot of fun.

 oldzoggy wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:

The “Goblin Green” of yore was made for GW by a company called Coat D’Arms, which is still making paints. You can order them from a few places, if you look. (sorry don’t have any links handy)

Do they actually make the same paints, as in with the same ingredients etc?
Just having the same inks back would be a lot of fun.

That is my understanding, but I’ve not tried any of them personally. It’s something that comes up when talking about the old paints. But I can’t recall actually hearing any feedback form people who used the old stuff and are matching colors with the new. It’s always been “here, try these guys, they should be it” and then nothing.

So in theory they are the same formulas. In practice, I have no guarantees.

Wargaming doesn't bend to fashion trends. There are "trends" but it shouldn't impact anybody's pursuit of the hobby.

The 90's were full of simple green bases. They worked brilliantly well on (gasp) matching tables. Far better than most of the silliness you see today.

Here is a perfect example:


The majority of simple gaming tables used to be those flocked rolls you could buy (or you may have flocked your table itself). This colour was close to goblin green, and people often flocked their miniatures with the same material they did the tables.

End result? The miniatures look like they're damn near standing on the table themselves and blend seamlessly into the tabletop gaming surface. To me, this is what basing should do. Your miniature should blend into the tabletop and not appear to be standing on a base (one of the reasons I absolutely DESPISE black rimmed bases, etc.).

Nowdays there are so many mats/table surfaces that it's far harder to narrow down how you should base your minis. I do mine in a light brown w/ grass which kinda/sorta blends into my favourite gaming mat.

There is no "wrong" way to base your models...depending on your opinion. For me? Subdued, simple, small, and blending into the tabletop is the way to go. The current style is definitely black rimmed bases and everyone leaping off 17" of cork tile.

In high school my 40K models were a bit oddly based because I didn't have goblin green, only emerald green - so I used that. It sucked. I found a picture of it recently. But, a poor high schooler...take what you can get!

Elbows...your photo epitomises how I remember GW games!

Wow. That's old and... That looks like a hellish colour scheme...

 Elbows wrote:
Wargaming doesn't bend to fashion trends. There are "trends" but it shouldn't impact anybody's pursuit of the hobby.

The 90's were full of simple green bases. They worked brilliantly well on (gasp) matching tables. Far better than most of the silliness you see today.

Here is a perfect example:

Spoiler:

You just convinced me to rebase my entire army with goblin green equivalent and flock : D
It is so much fun to look at that.

SaltySeaDog wrote:Elbows...your photo epitomises how I remember GW games!

jhe90 wrote:Wow. That's old and... That looks like a hellish colour scheme...

Howling Griffons are (IIRC) the original quartered color scheme marines. And the crisp, clean, bight marines of the early years were quite iconic and eye catching. Of course the grimdark modern ones are also quite nice. I hope he doesn’t mind me dropping his marine here, but I remembered Paradigm did a nice gritty one not that long ago.



We’ve come a long way over the years. Both are good, but capture a totally different feel.

Howling Griffons and the old Nova Marines (in fluff pictures, I don't think I've seen a Nova Marine painted army) were the quartered guys that I can remember best.

EDIT: By the way SaltyDog - if you're just now returning to the genre, look into some Oldhammer forums etc. There is a large nostalgia movement going on with old school 80's-90's 40K and fantasy players, simply called "Oldhammer". Some folks are using old models for new armies (like myself). Others are playing old games, ala 2nd edition rules (something I'll do when I find opponents). It's a nice atmosphere and the people tend to be a bit more mature and concerned with the fun/hobby aspects rather than tournament gaming etc. It's a pretty good crowd and might help inspire you.

The unfortunate part is that old models now sell for more than they used to because of this.

I agree with what most have said here, basically it's your army. You should base them how you want to.

If done well, no one is going to make fun of you because of your colour scheme, unless they are a jerk. You've got a cool reason, and you're doing it to a theme. I say go for it.

My Harlequins are on the old-school green and flocked bases, but my idea is that they're defending ancient Eldar sites where life springs up, like Garden Worlds.

Truth is that, as others have stated, do what makes you feel good. Sometimes it's nice to break the gritty realism of modern times and go completely campy. Embrace it! Those were, after all, the glory times.