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.

1. textures on bases:
How do you get material for this? Do you have any advice for making your own/sterilizing or cleaning material you find outside?

2. basecoating models:
Where do you buy non-GW spraypaint? And what color do you use (and why)?

I used black for the longest time, but I'm considering using grey now. Any good places to pick up grey spraypaint or any suggestions for a better color?

thanks!

1) I'm currently using a small amount of my daughters playsand to base the majority of my traitor guard, and small rocks that I hit a few times with a hammer to make them into a variety of large/small chunks to mix in with the sand, it gives off varied textures and goes well into a desert theme without looking too uniform. I didnt sterilise them in any way but they were new when I used them (the rest went outside after I borrowed what I needed)

2) Being in the UK I use Halfords Black spray primer, I've always undercoated black so it was just a natural step when I found the primer.

1. We actually have a sandbox at our house and I just get a ziplock bag full of it and sift out anything that isn't sand.

2. In my area there is a auto store called O'Reilly's and they sell Dupli-Color Sandable Primer. I have have their Black, two of their reds, Grey, and White. They all work really well. I have started pretty much priming everything in white but I guess it just depends on what you are painting. This kind of Spray primer hasn't ever blocked any details so I really recommend them.

I use a mixture of (mostly) builder's sharp sand and a bit of fine/medium talus for variation in texture. You can get the sand in large bags that'll last for ages (I'm still on my 1st bag after 2 years!) and it's pretty cheap. I base coat my bases scoreched brown and highlight bronzed flesh then add a couple of patches of static grass...

I don't prime my bases or give them a basecoat. But I use a bag of decorative sand from Micheals, give it a heavy wash of devlin mud and then drybrush it bleached bone. Looks pretty good and the sand lasts forever

Viti wrote:1. textures on bases:
How do you get material for this? Do you have any advice for making your own/sterilizing or cleaning material you find outside?

I have both GW basing kits (mostly for the shale), a bunch of gravel from our drive which I just washed in hot soapy water and let dry, and birdsand and birdgrit. I mix the latter two in a plastic takeaway tub after sticking down any bits of gravel, shale, bitz and et al. that I want on the base. Then the usual PVA glue and cover (with an old plastic spoon).

2. basecoating models:
Where do you buy non-GW spraypaint? And what color do you use (and why)?

I actually use the Vallejo Polyurethane Primer in Black, really pleased with it so far because I can brush it on for a great "shrink-wrapped" effect and don't have to bother trying to find a day with low enough humidity to use a spray. I use Black because my army is Shadow Daemons and it saves a lot of work in the long run .

If you want to get the grey from Vallejo (it airbrushes too), then I'd go for either the Grey, as a very light, almost white colour, or Panzer Grey which is a starker midgrey. There's also a range of muted military type colours which can help to get those hard to do colours like yellow or red.

You can get all sorts of sand/ballasts and use different glues for different effects on the bases. Super glue will dry faster and tends to rise up a little more, while Elmers will spead out as it dies, and takes longer. I also found a brick that had cracked from weathering, and have found as mentioned above breaking rocks or bricks into neat shapes with a hammer can be used to good effect. You also don't have to cover the whole base, obviously; by only putting glue here or there, the bases can look much more dynamic.

Other common materials include tree bark (make sure it's insect free, dry and sealed), small scraps of plastic cut into pieces for armor wreckage/rubble, Pink Insulation foam cut into flat looking rocks (Paint/spread thin layer of Elmers or PVA glue over it to protect it if you're spray primering). I've also used Plates I've accidentally dropped and broke as ruins basing material, for stuff like Eldar. (usually file down sharp edges first, and scuff the glossy surface so it takes paint). Reuse everything!

I really like to apply basing materials to my models before priming, and usually paint the bases after I've finished painting the models to mask over any splatter on the base I may get while painting the model. Usually just a basecoat/wash darker /drybrush lighter combo works great for giving depth to bases, grass or flock can look great too (applied with a little white glue). I have done grey, brown, and Snow all with the similar effect:

Grey/rocky: basecoat Codex Grey, wash Badab Black, Drybrush Codex Grey/Skull white mix (just a little lighter)
Sandy/brown: basecoat Bleached Bone, wash Vallejo Game Color Sepia Ink, drybrush Bleached bone (this looks really great and sandy)
Rocky Iceworld: basecoat a dark brown basecoat color, heavy drybrush Skull white/any flat white paint.

I base my Nurgle daemons and Death Guard a lot differently then i have based my other previous projects. I use Testors Clear Parts Cement, into which ive added a couple drops of different paints (one bottle is camo green, the other bottle is a dark brownish). I just glop the two glues down on the base of the painted models and let em dry...this leaves a really slimy look that i quite like, almost as if my models are wading through sewage...which given their Nurglesque disposition, seems quite appropriate. After the glue is dried, i usually paint on a thin layer of wet effects gel too, just to a) protect the base, and b) increase the wet look.

http://www.testors.com/product/0/8876C/_/Clear_Parts_Cement_Window_Maker

Main thing is find any kind of base that you think looks good and fits the character of your army and go with it. I always thought the green grass bases and the plain sand was a bit too boring myself

1. sand, rocks, spare bits and whatever I think would look cool on a base.

2. it really depends on the theme. (IE open field, urban rubble, swamp, etc.)