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.

For my new Imperial Guard project I'm thinking of making the basing have a sort of swamp or bog look to them. Trying to figure out a way to carve off some of the top flat surface of the bases to create a recess while leaving the side of the base as intact as possible for both looks and to keep is water effect in place whilst it sets. Anyone have any ideas on how to do this effectively so I can semi-mass produce this?

There are a few ways to do this, one of which is buy premade hollow bases. These are available from a bunch of companies, but I would recommend the ones offered by Secret Weapon Miniatures; excellent quality and reasonable prices. You can also make your own which is not too difficult but is somewhat labor intensive if you need a bunch of them.
Here is a good video explaining how to make them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqajbi2njww

Thank you, that's what I figured but I guess I'll use a bigger drill bit than before.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Just gave it a go, and standard GW bases are a bit too thin to go at it with a pin vise and clippers. Trying to keep the base intact, and buying pre-made bases isn't an option.

How about glueing two bases together in an hourglass shape?

Bam!

http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=79_80&products_id=337

Ashton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjKx08dpkzo

Google is your friend.

I'll see if I can scrounge something up, and as stated before I'd rather not buy bases.

Buy some plasticard and stick your bases onto it with superglue when it's dryed cut around the bottom of the base and cut the top off the base to leave a hollowed out base and fill it with modeling putty like green stuff or miliput then paint it and fill it with water effect

Depending on the specifics of what you are after - I have gone through and just used a drill bit of the proper size...a simple jig to hold the base so as not to loose my finger tips...and a drill press in order to "cut" the top off from regular bases. This leaves a ring. After that...take a large hole paper punch and punch out a bunch of blank discs out of plasticard. Use plastic glue to stick the rings onto the blank discs.

Once you have that - use a bit of putty to build up your muddy areas of dry ground. After that - fill in the recess with your chosen water effect material.

You can get another effect using clear casting resin and something like packing or Scotch tape. The tape is used to create a ring mold. You pour the resin, let it set and then strip the tape off. This leaves the edges of the water exposed so that you can see it. In order to make it go a bit faster - when I am doing a bunch of them...I use a dowel that is the correct size in order to make my tape rings. You can wrap dozens of rings of tape around it quite quickly. Slide them off and then over top your molded muddy bases. Pour the resin and have a let set.

As a muddy base, I definitely took soil from outside, sifted it to remove the rocks (optional), dried it out (also optional), and tacked it down with PVA. Then, whilst still wet, I added a few drops of Clear Gloss Acrylic Polyurethane (enough to fully saturate the messy little project).

Looks like fresh mud ALL THE TIME. Add flora and you're rockin'

I'll add pictures later if you're interested, but it's super cheap and super effective. You can Greenstuff "dry-land" if you so choose and whatnot.

This sounds interesting. Any pictures or sample shots to give us an idea of what its supposed to look like?

I apologize for the photos, they aren't great (taken with my cell), but it should suite your needs just as well

Nicely done. A little dark to my taste (I'd prefer a grey-er base to bring out the black Vermin Lord) but definitely well-done!

You're talking about taking something and lowering it to make boggy areas. Two problems, one this is difficult and two it adds an extra few millimetres to your guys making them bigger targets and less puny-guardy. IMHO you should glue the guys down, prime, paint, add mud (probably use the method fenrir1997 suggested (although I personally would use play sand) and then build it up with a dry (simply glued down) layer of the material previously mentioned. Then add foliage. This is your choice but here's something that my friends dad, who plays FOW, showed me: take and old hairbrush and, pinching one of the sections of fiber together, snip it off. Glue it on to your base and, Pa-Pow, you got some realistic looking reeds. You could then glue on a little flock on top to make it look more alien. Usually I flock before I paint but since your guys have been tramping through a swamp I would do it after to make them look dirtier. Remember to take into account them sinking into the mud. Remember (which I did not do with my dark elf army back in grade five) that your men are not jesus and can not walk on water.