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So, ever since I started playing 40k, I've fancied the idea that my armies come from an Ocean-World. As a result, I have always painted the bases of my models a shade of blue, more specifically the old Citadel Ultramarines Blue. 13-year-old me thought this made it look like they were standing in a shallow pool of water. I've employed this method on every model ever since. However, having recently completed another batch of Fire Warriors, I've come to realize that one simple layer of blue isn't nearly as engaging as I thought it was four years ago. I've been trying to fix this by painting "ripples" on the bases, to try and make the bases look more like shallow pools. As of yet, I've had no success whatsoever. From layering, to drybrushing, to simply adding lines with lighter shades, none of the methods I've employed have actually looked anything like the end result I'm trying to achieve.

Having used up every method I could come up with, and having looked around on Google finding nothing relevant, I figured dusting off my account here and asking might help. So; How does one do water bases?

EDIT: For the record, here's what my most recent batch looks like, sorry for the awful quality:

You could Base them with beachy sand. Maybe the odd sea shell or crab and coral, sea weed etc. Then, get some sellotape and stick it round the edge of the Base nice and tight up to about hip high on the model. This is essentially a mould for pouring in vallejo still water or any other water effects. Maybe rather than them all standing in water though, maybe have them around rock pools so some are in the water, some are stood on top of rocks and coral outcrops and even bits of ship wreck. Very cool idea for a tau army mate. Could be very impressive.

Lucas Radford wrote:
You could Base them with beachy sand. Maybe the odd sea shell or crab and coral, sea weed etc. Then, get some sellotape and stick it round the edge of the Base nice and tight up to about hip high on the model. This is essentially a mould for pouring in vallejo still water or any other water effects. Maybe rather than them all standing in water though, maybe have them around rock pools so some are in the water, some are stood on top of rocks and coral outcrops and even bits of ship wreck. Very cool idea for a tau army mate. Could be very impressive.

That seems viable, yeah. This does raise another question, though. Primarily, what exactly is used for "vallejo still water"? I've never heard or read about anything by that name before, and I'm wondering what it entails.

I'm actually using Vallejo water effects on my IG bases. I could do a bit of a step by step if you'd like?

Maybe give you some idea of what it's like.

 Snrub wrote:
I'm actually using Vallejo water effects on my IG bases. I could do a bit of a step by step if you'd like?

Maybe give you some idea of what it's like.

Yeah, I'd appreciate it. I did some 'research' (google'd it) on this stuff and found a shop that sells it in my city, so I'll definitely be making use of it. I feel by putting the stuff about thigh-high (waist-high is a little much) would really improve the overall feel of my army, especially the crisis suits.

Yeah, no worries mate. I'll take some pics of the next base I do.


The thing about the water effects is that is says it takes up 24 hours to fully cure and that to get best results you should only do layers of 2-3mm at a time. I've found that doing very thin coats (1mm or so) normally takes only a few hours 4, maybe 5 hours. But YMMV.

 Snrub wrote:
Yeah, no worries mate. I'll take some pics of the next base I do.


The thing about the water effects is that is says it takes up 24 hours to fully cure and that to get best results you should only do layers of 2-3mm at a time. I've found that doing very thin coats (1mm or so) normally takes only a few hours 4, maybe 5 hours. But YMMV.

Yeah, thanks a ton. I don't want to go through with the process and find out I've warped the plastic and stripped the paint or something. Either way, I can't wait for such a guide, and would gladly +1 the hell out of it. Cheers.

You've really tempted me to do a coastal theme for my eldar.

Lucas Radford wrote:
You've really tempted me to do a coastal theme for my eldar.

Can't say I blame you. All the bases I ever see are all about danger and destruction. Rubble, lava, blood, steel-- That's all been done. I've never once seen a base (besides what I've been attempting) that isn't supposed to be an inherently dangerous location.

It's true. my initial thought was for a forest theme but now I'm thinking of a brackish mangrove swamp feeling.

An old white dwarf (WD265)featured a lizard man army with a skink unit mostly submerged. It just used paint for water effect and the water height was the top of the base. Many of the skinks only had feet or an arm above the water surface. It looked good.
As a side note, the big feature of the army was that every single model was converted.

It sounds like you may be condisering rebasing them all anyway, so I'll throw his out there. To make life easier, various companies make bevelled edge bases, which have a slight lip, like those made by Secret Weapon Miniatures in the link here:

http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=79_30_59&products_id=241

They allow you to fill the base with a little water effect paint to get the 'standing in water' effect you want. I have used them for some of my own models and they are absolutely fantastic.

First of all, what colour should the sand be? Cause the easiest way to do this is to use some Texture paint (I'd recommend Stirland Mud or . Armageddon Dust), highlight them, and then cover all areas of the base that's supposed to be water with PVA glue. When that's dry, use some Drakenhof Nightshade to get a nice, blue colour.

Woodland scenic diorama has a great water effect kit that includes a base primer and ripple effects. That is what I am using for a rain themed army I am doing.

Thanks again to all for the suggestions and advice. I've already started work on experimenting with various methods. Those "blasted wetlands" bases, along with the paint and still water could possibly be the coolest damn thing. One possible issue, though-- do those bases come in sizes any larger than 25mm? I'd like to get something like that for my Battlesuits (XV8, XV104), Ogryns(IG) and Terminators (GK). I'm absolutely terrible at terrain, so I don't mind paying for premade bases.

This is going to cost me a small fortune, but I'll be damned if this isn't more than worth it.

EDIT: Found the other base sizes, and all is well.

 797th Red Tigers wrote:
Thanks again to all for the suggestions and advice. I've already started work on experimenting with various methods. Those "blasted wetlands" bases, along with the paint and still water could possibly be the coolest damn thing. One possible issue, though-- do those bases come in sizes any larger than 25mm? I'd like to get something like that for my Battlesuits (XV8, XV104), Ogryns(IG) and Terminators (GK). I'm absolutely terrible at terrain, so I don't mind paying for premade bases.

This is going to cost me a small fortune, but I'll be damned if this isn't more than worth it.

EDIT: Found the other base sizes, and all is well.

I'm also a sucker for detailed resin bases.

Oh man, I'm really sorry. I completely forgot about the bases. I took pictures and everything and then it just slipped my mind.



Ok so I took a standard 25mm base, flipped it upside down and poured in water effects so it was just at the rim. Added a few drops of paint for visual aid.

It's hard to gauge depth in the picture, but you can if you're looking at the actual thing. The 2nd picture shows it after it's dried. You can see it shrinks a little and creates a slight crater like effect.

Did another one as well.

Get some sticky tape. The higher quality, the better. Wrap the tape around the base. Make sure it's stuck firmly and with no gaps for the still water to leak out from.

Pour the still water in to the desired hight.

Leave it until it dries completely.

Peel the tape off gently.

It will shrink quite dramatically. So trim down any excess or erroneous bits of still water.



I know this is a pretty slapdash view of how the stuff works. It's one of those things though that you have to try yourself to get a feel for it.

Budget version that has been mentioned once or twice: Paint the base blue (or green if you want a swamp, red for lava ect), then apply a layer of PVA, which will dry shiny and allow the colour to show through. Cut the figure at the ankleknee if you want it to be wading, and glue it down. Won't look as good as the proper Still Water stuff, but is a heck of a lot cheaper/faster.

 Snrub wrote:
snip

Sorry for getting back so late, but this is extremely helpful. I've been rather busy IRL, though I have had a chance to work with the stuff a little. I basically found a few spare bases from an old box of guardsmen and tried it out. The first one was a disaster, didn't expect it to dry the way it did. However, the next few have gone rather smoothly and I'll try it on some actual models soon.

The shrinking can be an issue sometimes. The recommended way is to apply as many 1-2mm coats as needed. Which makes sense I guess. You can control it to a greater degree that way at any rate.


I've found that a good way to apply it (and this is very situational) is to brush it on. It runs less this way so you normally don't need to tape off the base. It will how ever ruin the brush you use. And I do mean it ruins it. Brushing it on is only viable if you're using a very small amount. Say for a pool of water in a crater or some such. This is pretty much what I use it for though so it works for me quite well.

Another product that is very easy to use and doesn't suffer near as much from shrinking is Envirotex Lite. It's designed to be self leveling and is crystal clear.