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Made in gb
Fresh-Faced New User





As the title says, I'm wondering where people get their basing materials from. I'm new and I'm hoping to do my bases in mostly sand/rocks with some flock added on
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





I buy flock from woodland scenics. Their stuff costs the same at any model railroad shop or amazon. If you want sand or rock you can buy playground sand or regular sand from home depot/lowes (if you're in the US) at the rate of a 50 pound bag for under $5...it's all you would need forever. Or for even cheaper you can just go outside. In the northeast US, a scoop of whatever is on the ground has some nice variety: very fine sand, coarse sand, small rocks, small and larger pieces of slate.

Be warned, a bottle of woodland scenics flock will last a long time, you might want to ask if your friends have any you can borrow or if they'll want to split a bottle.
   
Made in gb
Rotting Sorcerer of Nurgle





Portsmouth UK

Sand from the beach mixed with 'ballast' from a model rail shop & static flock in the main.
I have also use slate (a smashed-up one from a building site) & cork tiles (from B&Q).
With sand you can mix it with PVA glue to make a paste & you end up with a different effect than PVA on the base then sprinkling on the sand.
I have also used barrels, the Tamiya 1:35 brick walls kit (great for Guard heavy weapons) & long grass.
See here for barrels & grass or here for slate.

Check out my gallery here
Also I've started taking photos to use as reference for weathering which can be found here. Please send me your photos so they can be found all in one place!! 
   
Made in us
Rampaging Furioso Blood Angel Dreadnought





Boston, MA

I use cork. Staples sells cheap rolls of cork, you can break it up to look like cement rubble or even rocks.

Then just sand and rocks from the beach and pva glue as others have said.

Old electronics too, I've got lots of great thin cables from them.

Please check out my photo blog: http://atticwars40k.blogspot.com/ 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut






Unless you have a fair amount that you are planning on doing - check for a local cement company. Call them up, and tell them what you are looking for. They will probably let you take a couple of cups full of washed sand, pea gravel and the like for free.

If you do have a fair amount - you can get bags of sand/gravel and what not from DIY stores for cheap (50 lb bag for about the same price as a small tub from some other companies...). Take a look at the landscape bark too while there, and see if they have any orchid bark too.

Pet stores normally sell raw cork. Almost as easy to work with as the tiles - but because it hasn't been processed, the edges look more natural.

For flock and static grass - Silflor, Heki, Noch, Busch, Woodland Scenics, Scenic Express... Hit up a model railroad shop. Again, much cheaper for a much larger quantity with a much larger selection than you get from those other guys. The Silflor tufts in particular work quite well for basing, since you don't have to mess about with trying to get static grass to stand up.

I think there are one or two scenics companies that are based in the UK as well that might be worth looking into, may be easier/cheaper to get your hands on. Check a newsstand for a copy of Railway Modeler and look at the advertisements to see what is available readily on your side of the pond. IIRC, Peco has some stuff under their brand as well as under the K&M Trees brand, though we don't see too much of it over here.
   
Made in us
Calm Celestian





Colorado

I use volcanic sand I got from Kauai Hawaii and some static grass from a LGS

"Go for Broke!" - 34th ID

*warning spelling errors may and will happen in my posts*
Fox-Light713 WIP thread - https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/802744.page
 
   
Made in ph
Utilizing Careful Highlighting





Manila, Philippines

River sand from a nearby river, some construction sand from a construction site, small rocks and gravel from everywhere, little sitcks from the forest nearby. The insides of teabags can simulate leaves and whatnot. Some spackling/filler and white glue I got from a hardware store, baking soda from the grocery, and other rocks from pet stores (the ones used for aquariums). Foliage I get from woodland scenics and static grass from hobby shops.

Almost everything is free except for the adhesives and foliage. Depending on your basing needs, you may not need to spend any money on basing materials.


 
   
Made in ca
Sneaky Striking Scorpion





Ontario Canada

you can buy flock and ballast from hobby railroad stores the selection is typically more than enough for wargamers.

Alternately you can cut open a Brita water filter and let the gunk inside dry out in a pan. the charcoal is irregular, and there are small white beads to keep it from clumping. I know in the one forge world book they talk about picking out all the white beads to use as rivets.


 
   
Made in gb
Morphing Obliterator




Medrengard

I use slate and barbecue ash mainly, I just save the ash from any barbecues I have during the summer, as for the slate, ive got about four tons of the stuff on my garden.

12000 pts
5000pts 
   
Made in gb
Thane of Dol Guldur





Bodt

Everywhere! I have a technical job so im always picking up knackered screws, random bits of junk from the floor, and scrap components from here and there. These make sweet 40k basing materials. i buy cork placements from home stores and sand from wherever its free. Other than that i buy the gw basing kits. Theyre pricey but its not too bad for me as i only model so they go a long way.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/01/02 17:33:59


Heresy World Eaters/Emperors Children

Instagram: nagrakali_love_songs 
   
Made in us
1st Lieutenant





Klamath Falls, OR

I buy sand from the dollar store, snag small amounts of clean kitty litter when I change the box, & look for fish tank gravel on sale. Besides that I bought pumice gel for my elysian drop troops & crackle paste for my steel legion. For wild west exodus I bought the agrellan earth gw stuff but that doesn't go near far enough for an army.

   
Made in gb
Fresh-Faced New User





Darlington

I have used Bicarbonate soda+PVA for snow this holds up well and lasts. Stones/gravel from outside. I have even gone out and swept a bit off the pavement/roadside before for finer dust/sandy stuff.

Ask at builders merchants they will probably let you have a handful of sand out of a bulk bag or take some samples of gravels and slate chippings.

I have also heard of people using herbs from the kitchen but I don't know how well this would keep and its probably not any cheaper than buying flock.
   
 
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