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.

I wonna make cool Necron bases by using sand and painting it grey but im not the best painter so i searched for grey sand and i found some
this is the webside, its german but you can you tell me if i can use just any sand to customize my bases or does it has to be some speccial sand
http://www.kerzenprofi.de/farbsand-0-5-mm-anthrazit.html
and do you ugys think this would look good on my necron bases?

You can use any sand really, so long as you seal it with a primer or varnish.

Honestly, most folk will push you to paint the sand, as it helps fit with the scale of the model.

okay but what do you mean with primer
im new to warhammer (just bourgt my first minis)
my friend got me into it

and he has bases with painted sand and his fiends who play warhammer too so i wonna be "special" and try something new

Primer is the paint you lay down first on a bare miniature.
It allows the coloured paints to stick to the model properly. Think of it like the tar on a road, it makes sure that the grit sticks.

You can either use a spray can or brush it on.

so you say that i should spray paint my sand with spray paint
but that defads the porpous of the rocks being coloured

You could just use the colored sand and dry brush a lighter grey or a little white over it. You likely wouldn't need to prime it as the top of a base won't see much wear, and what little you might get wouldn't be noticeable on drybrushed sand.

You will want to seal the sand though or you will be forever losing it off the bases. Water down some PVA glue (basic white school glue/elmers) and slop it over the painted sand. Or seal it first and then drybrush it. Either way will work, but the seal and then drybrush will be less messy.

And use cheap craft acrylic paint for the drybrushing. Save the good stuff for the minis

Keep in mind a lot of people will buy basing materials like sand, then paint them because a real tone (sand/rock) with a painted tone (models) can look out of place because they dont look like theyre from the same world. Painting the base, while it looks less real than the sands tone, adding a wash and highlight will fit the tone of the models and actually look more fitting.

Yes thats absalultly true but the problem is
let say i want a necron base, i go to youtube watch the video form eonsofbattle ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTgmaWPa-20 ) i come to the part where he colours:
he sprays the base black then i donk know what he does/ i dont know how to "heavy cote" something and even with i probably do the same he does but ill look terrible

He is basically doing a heavy grey drybrush over the black primer. Instead of wiping all of the paint off his brush, he just wipes most of it off, but the brush is still a little wet with paint. That leaves some of the black primer showing through in the recesses.

hey thank you dude
im gonna try that out, now that i know what coating is
thanks to all that helped me here

To be honest, I mostly steal my modeling sand from the playground around the corner. All I need is just a cup full, so noones going to miss it. Mix some gravel into it and Bob´s your uncle.

Bird sand is good and cheap (pun not intended)

just normal bird sand from the pet store?

I generally find sand alone makes for a very flat base, which is fine if the model in question is walking on a beach. Normally when I'm gluing I use a toothpick to jab the sand before it dries, break it up and make it clump slightly so it looks like a more varied surface.

Eventually I just ended up mixing in a handful of kitty litter, it had about the same effect since it mixes in slightly larger bits with the sand.

Model railway shops are a good source of sand. Basic sand like you are 'borrowing' from round the corner are ok but as others have said you need to paint them them otherwise they look flat. Personally I'd advise against spraying sand;you'll find that the sand is blown onto the figure and it will look grainy! Buy some vallejo primer(variety of colours available) and brush paint the sand first THEN spray the figure;the primer will seal and hold the sand in place.

Slipstream wrote:
Model railway shops are a good source of sand. Basic sand like you are 'borrowing' from round the corner are ok but as others have said you need to paint them them otherwise they look flat. Personally I'd advise against spraying sand;you'll find that the sand is blown onto the figure and it will look grainy! Buy some vallejo primer(variety of colours available) and brush paint the sand first THEN spray the figure;the primer will seal and hold the sand in place.

I've been priming the sand on my bases before painting for decades and have never once had the sand 'blown' onto the figures. The watered down PVA glue used to attach the sand to the base sees to that.

but if you paint over the sand does it have the same effect as putting pva glue on it? or do i have to paint the sand and put pva glue over it?

Necronomic wrote:
but if you paint over the sand does it have the same effect as putting pva glue on it? or do i have to paint the sand and put pva glue over it?

Basic basing tip is to glue the sand to the base and once that dries, "paint" the sand again with really watery PVA/White glue. This will seal the sand onto the base much better than primer will.

I've switched to artist's course pumice gel for all my basing about 5 years ago due to ease of use, but sand is perfect for anything, just don't be lazy and skip the prep steps.

okay so
glue sand to base
put a glue mixed with water over it
paint it
is that how to do it?

Necronomic wrote:
okay so
glue sand to base
put a glue mixed with water over it
paint it
is that how to do it?

You have nailed it.
Prime then paint to be sure.

nice thanks for the tips guys