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I've been looking for an easy way to make a muddy base and it seems the sand-like GW citadel paints would do, but what are the differences and why would i buy one over the other? can't you just paint over the predefined colour, or is what you put on what you get?

Also, what is an inexpensive way to add standing water and mud to a base?

You can paint over it, even mix colours into it before applying; its just paint with grit in it. However I'd suggest looking at Vallejo's basing ranges. You get more for your money and they come in a variety of colours.

You can paint over it, and the texture of the paints are all the same, but I find it easier to just match the paints together. For example, on my Salamanders I like to have a stony, ashy surface, with sulphur deposits. Hence, I put down a layer of GW's Astrogranite, followed by a wash of Nuln Oil to shade it, then dry-brush over with one of GW's dry paints - Tyrant's Skull. It's this type of matching that i'm talking about and, with the addition of some static grass and bitz, you can get a decent looking base.

Like Slipstream says, basing kits like Galeforce 9's are better and add a bit more variety, but for an inexpensive alternative a GW texture, GW wash and GW dry are pretty good, and they do last for a while. Hope this helps.

 Warpig1815 wrote:
You can paint over it, and the texture of the paints are all the same, but I find it easier to just match the paints together. For example, on my Salamanders I like to have a stony, ashy surface, with sulphur deposits. Hence, I put down a layer of GW's Astrogranite, followed by a wash of Nuln Oil to shade it, then dry-brush over with one of GW's dry paints - Tyrant's Skull. It's this type of matching that i'm talking about and, with the addition of some static grass and bitz, you can get a decent looking base.

Like Slipstream says, basing kits like Galeforce 9's are better and add a bit more variety, but for an inexpensive alternative a GW texture, GW wash and GW dry are pretty good, and they do last for a while. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the help!

Now, for the mud question I'll just do a bit of research.

For the amount you'd want for army basing, or even terrain basing, theres better value options out there than the 12ml portions from GW, Theyre great and all, but in that size I think theyre best used for adding small scale mud effects and such to figures, tank tracks spring to mind.

http://www.artsupplies.co.uk/cat-texture-gel-mediums.htm

These things mix with any acrylic colour you care to get and come in much larger bottles, Windsor & Newton also offer some of these mediums, I use W&N Mineral Texture gel at the moment, a 500ml bottle of the stuff was under £10.

If thats too grand a price, perhaps sand + pva is the way, in multiple layers, it can arguably look better than the texture gels...it just takes way longer to dry and paint up.

I just bought a pot of the dark brown texture paint from GW. I wish it had a bit more grit, but after a wash it actually looked pretty good. It was MUCH easier than my old method of painting the base in PVA glue and dipping it in fine gravel before priming the entire model. Such a waste of time, and the gravel would always fall off and get all over the place.

I haven't tried Vallejo's texture paints yet, but if they are anything like the rest of their lineup, I'm sure they would work just as well.

For mud, use gloss varnish over your painted textured base - using acrylic paste from an art supply place - $10 or so for 250ml tub, or maybe the slightly more expensive Vallejo ranges.

For standing water, either a bunch of coats of gloss varnish, or Vallejo Water Effects/Woodland Scenic Realistic Water (both much cheaper then the GW version).

HairySticks wrote:
For the amount you'd want for army basing, or even terrain basing, theres better value options out there than the 12ml portions from GW, Theyre great and all, but in that size I think theyre best used for adding small scale mud effects and such to figures, tank tracks spring to mind.

http://www.artsupplies.co.uk/cat-texture-gel-mediums.htm

These things mix with any acrylic colour you care to get and come in much larger bottles, Windsor & Newton also offer some of these mediums, I use W&N Mineral Texture gel at the moment, a 500ml bottle of the stuff was under £10.

If thats too grand a price, perhaps sand + pva is the way, in multiple layers, it can arguably look better than the texture gels...it just takes way longer to dry and paint up.

Thanks for the link. I will definitely be trying these out.

I'd also recommend looking at fine arts supplies. Texture pastes and gloss gel (for standing water - plain old varnish is more than enough to make dirt look wet) from Liquitex and Golden are both pretty widely available. If you have a Michaels, A.C. Moore, etc. nearby, you can avoid having to order online, as you might for W&N or Vallejo's offerings. Regardless of the brand chosen, the price per volume is a steal, compared to the Citadel texture paints.