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Ok so i've just bought a box of Cadians and after assembling and converting I am quite pleased with what I have come up with so far. I'm still waiting for the heads from Pig Iron to arrive (i love their heads, much better than GW's giant cadian heads) and when I looked at the models I noticed that a nicely converted and painted model ( i am hoping) would be let down by a plain black base.

Usualy I leave the bases as in the past my attempts at basing models have failed, however as I realy feel like putting all my effort into these models I guess i'll give it another shot.

My problem with basing is that as i have a lot of models (really I need a draw, 3 cases and 2 other boxes to hold all of the armies I have, sadly none of them are ready for playing but anyway..) so they spend most of there time in foam storage boxes. When I last based my army I glued sand to them then painted it, which looked great til I decided to look at them a few months later and found all the sand at the bottom of my case and none on my models.

I could realy use any ideas for ways to base my models that won't break off a few days later. As I the models are guard I would prefer if it were easy / not too time consuming- i'm already dreading painting soo many models and this although as a mechanized vet army i guess it should be that bad.

Anyway thanks..
The Devourer

Well, until I get ready to put some snow on my Eldar's bases, they're all (Vallejo Saddle) brown, and that actually looks relaly good. It's stupid easy, and looks good. Then you can just flock/base as you go along, while the brown bases look presentable until then.

Did you just paint the bases brown without anything else? I wasnt sure how that would turn out but if it makes the models look finished, doesnt take that long to do and being paint obviously won't fall off then its exactly what im looking for.

Thanks a lot

What kind of glue did you use? PVA glue is the best for basing, as it's archival and dries strong. Elmer's glue and superglue are not PVA glues.

The Devourer wrote:Did you just paint the bases brown without anything else? I wasnt sure how that would turn out but if it makes the models look finished, doesnt take that long to do and being paint obviously won't fall off then its exactly what im looking for.

Thanks a lot

Yep, just painted them brown. It's not a substitute for real basing, but it's a great stand in so that you can take your time basing them whenever you want, and I find it helps to bring out the colours of the model more.

Elmers glue works GREAT on basing. Dont some of these guys fool you on here. Ive used it on about a million Orks and have had GREAT success on making terrain and such with no problems.
Ive tested out a bunch of different things laying around the house. Ive found sugar actually works decently. Its weird because you have to let it dry completely before messing with it otherwise its sticky. Salt, I wasnt pleased with, to much glue and it melts like you wouldnt believe lol. Cat litter (the fine grain type) is probably the best bang for the buck. You get 10-15 pounds of the stuff for about 10 bucks. And it paints VERY well with a simple base coat and dry brush.
Id say if your wanting to experiment, use some left over bases so you dont ruin anything nice. Good luck man

Im also with Fafnir on basing bringing the colors out on a mini. Its really kind of crazy. Youll be suprised

Ok, first Pic, Large Base from an Eldar Wraithlord

and as you can see, its just a plain, boring base.
first you need some white glue... Elmers glue is perfect, but what i use was GW's over priced elmers glue, and i use an exaco knife to spread the glue around


Put a large dab onto the base and then spread it around


after you have it spread you grab your fine sand, and put it onto your base, and let that gak dry... 1-2 hours




After that its time to start painting. Get a cap of water, your paint, I am useing Scorched brown, and a large brush, I am using an old 0 brush.

Get a good dab of brown paint, then dip it into the water, not hitting the bottom, you just want to get a layer of water over your brown, and apply, then let dry. 30 min is good for that.






Next are the 2 highlight paints, I use Graveyard earth and bleached bone,

Get a good dab of Graveyard earth and wipe it on a paper towel, too much will seep into the cracks and cover your brown, all you want to do to high light the up surface, then let try and do with the bleached bone







After that is done you will notice you have paint on your model, lol dont worry, just fix it



Next is the grass. stadic grass is what i use, 8 bucks for a tub, still on the 1st tub too, use your elmers glue and put it where you want the grass, sprinkle it on, then tap the underside to get rid of the extra.




then after that dries, paint the side of your base the color you want, My eldars are green sides, while my orks are brown and imperial forces are black

you could try my teabag/coffee basing stuff
=D
i have a thread should be on the first or second page
the smell isnt that bad after a couple days

you could try my teabag/coffee basing stuff
=D
i have a thread should be on the first or second page
the smell isnt that bad after a couple days

Speaking about smell, I've used dog treats for basing before. Looks awesome. Just don't get too close. But it was a Nurgle model, so the smell actually helps the effect.

Sand with some 1$ store kitty litter is your best bet for quickie basing materials. I would score the bottom of your base with your xacto-knife before adding your basing. Add the basing BEFORE you primer your figure, then paint the basing materials whatever colour you want to. The primer adds another layer of sealant to your base to keep them attached. By scoring the base itself before you add glue, you give the glue something to grab onto.

Also, you might go to your local OSH or Home Depot and grab some cork board, it is very cheap and one pack is plenty to do an entire army with.

I use standard sand mixed with some larger-grained ballast I picked up from my FLGS (you'll find this stuff wherever they sell model trains). I mix this in my sand pot (always give it a good shake before applying it) - one bag goes a looong way. I use PVA to glue it on, then paint a 2:1 mix of water and PVA over the top once dry to help anchor it in place. I always do this before priming my model too, because it saves hassle later on.

I find the mix of textures looks infinitely better than just one size.

This is how it looks before painting:

Hmm all this pictures have really got wanting 2 base them with sand and grass. Does no one else have a problem with the sand and grass falling off? Maybe i'm missing an important step but I dont realy know

The glue I use is just the basic white PVA stuff. I dunno the brand but I think its just one of the cheap ones.

Deffskullz- yeah I think I saw that thread, I was wondering what it looked like with a model and if the smell would go away. I think I would find the coffee smell a bit off puting.

Basing addes atmosphere and mood to the character, witch ever theme your going with keep it in line with the fluff of your army, so for example - your cadians would probably working on an industrial based area, so lots of rubble and loose machinery would add to the model - along with the industrial theme keep the colour of the base (or whichever theme you decide) to roughly 3 paints. for example my base for blood ravens was an 'attempt' of industrial snow so i used only 3 colours, codex grey > space wolve grey > fortress grey etc. drybrushing is your friend. Good luck with your project and post up some picture of the progress since we'd all be happy to give advice and C&C.

Ok im going to try just the basic sand technique, and hope that the paitn and varnish holds in on.

I will post pics but it may be a while as im still waiting for heads and I also have scratch building 9 chimeras and 3 leman russ battle tanks to think about.