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I have recently finished all my current minis and now I want to base them. But I'm not sure what glue to use!
Whenever I look it up they say white glue. Does that mean PVA Tacky glue or any other type os craft glue?
So what is the best glue to use and the best way to base minis?

It sort of depends on what you're basing them with.

If you're going the traditional sand or flock route, then yes, PVA glue is the way to go, although superglue also works in a pinch.

Just paint a layer of glue over the base, sprinkle your and over the top (or dip the base into the sand) let it dry, and then shake off the excess. Some people like to apply another layer of glue over the top to help bond everything in place.

If you're adding larger stuff like rocks and such to the bases, then superglue is generally better. And, obviously, if you're adding plastic parts to the bases, use plastic glue.

PVA=White Glue=Elmers.
Its all pretty much the same stuff.
For sand, grass/flocking, cork, etc this is the stuff to use.

If your glueing a plastic cover piece (like the tile sheet from plastruc) over an entire base then go with a model airplane glue to chemically weld the plastic sheet to the base.

For small plastic bits on the base (like ammo crates or skulls) use a dab of Plastic cement of CA (superglue). For metal bits use CA.

Thanks guys!!!
just wasn't sure if tacky glue works the same as PVA because thats all I can find!

Once its dry, you can use paint to glue it together from the top. I do this all the time. Just.... go to your local walmart (don't know what the equivalent is down under, but i think you catch my drift) and buy the paint from there. The acrylics come in nearly the same colors as from GW, and you won't feel as bad about using it. Just, for the love of the pantheon, be cautious when applying glue or painting your bases. (basing them at start and putting the model on top is the way to do it, harder to gak stuff up. I have known this for a while, and sure enough, 200 models later I still haven't done it....)

I just looked it up, and it appears that it'll work. PVA should be pretty easy to find, though. Bunnings, Masters, Spotlight, any Art and/or Craft shop - you should be able to find it somewhere in any decent sized suburban shopping centre.

After the glue under the sand/flock is dry, I usually give the whole base a heavy wash of Devlan Mud, or my own Dark Sepia Wash. This locks the basing materials down and gives the whole base a very natural feel, even before I start working on it.

Cheers,


IK-Painter

Pretty much any white glue will do for flock and sand. I tend to use wood glue just because i always have it around.

Some people swear that wood glue gives a stronger bond, but I've never had issues with plain old Elmer's Glue-All (perhaps the quintessential white glue). I spread a layer over the base, bury it in sand, and leave it for a while. After it's had a chance to dry, I shake off the excess, then give the base a light once over with a pliable, but not feather-soft bristle chip brush to knock off poorly secured but not entirely loose grains. Since the spray from priming never seems to get all the way into the cracks, I give the basing a heavy wash of color and sealant - roughly equal parts PVA (Elmer's, again) and black craft paint (or white, if that was how I chose to prime), diluted with a bit of water. The result takes some serious effort to knock loose and it's bonded to itself well enough that if you take any off, you're likely to take off a whole chunk which can probably be glued back in place, whole.

I buy some stuff called Aileens, it's a white craft glue & you can get a pretty good size bottle of it at wal-mart for like $3. I cut it to about the consistency of milk, paint that onto the top of my bases & then sprinkle a little cat litter & sand on them & leave them to dry. Some of the bases (quite a few actually) I add various pieces of rubble/detail such as discarded enemy helmets, empty ammo clips, damaged vehicle components etc & then add the sand/gravel around them. Once the texture is dry I add another layer of the watered down glue over it to seal it before painting. I'm currently building Iron Warriors so for them I begin the painting w/ a thinned coat of black, then astronomicon grey, then a thinned coat of of a dark grey mix, let that dry & drybrush w/ codex grey. It produces a nice scorched earth look that complements their predominantly boltgun metal armor well.