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.

Preparing to rebase my Chaos armies and am stuck finding the right theme. Wondering if the painters here can help by sharing some thoughts, inspiration or ideas on how to approach this.

Background: I recently built a Grey Knights army and put a lot of work into the bases. Each one is made in Magic Sculpt about 1/8 of an inch thick and carved to represent the floor of a ruined Chaos Temple. The bases become more complex depending on the unit; PAGKs stand on tiled stone floors, while the bases for more complex models like Dreadknights include things like summoning pools with Bloodletters crawling out. The bases themselves are very thematic and uniform in appearance. No recent pics to share, but I did start a P&M blog that shows where I started.

I've really enjoyed this project and should be done before the end of July. When it is complete, I would like to do the same for my Black Legion army. Part of my trouble is it's a large army I've worked on over a number of years, with a lot of subfactions. Planning for a project at this scale is new to me - it's about 400 models total. While I'm fine with the amount of work involved, what's important is ending up with a consistent theme across all the bases that's truly unique and eye-catching.

So I'm working through some of the challenges before I start. Currently, the models are based with a basic sand texture, along with some rocks and debris glued on. The bases are rather generic and don't really convey any kind of story about the models or their significance. Abaddon is based the same way as any other Chaos Space Marine and sometimes gets lost in the crowd (which can be a legitimate problem on the tabletop.) Also, I have a lot of Cult troops who I sometimes field as WE / EC / DG / TS / other legions. I'm looking to put a theme in place that can include some variations for different factions without them looking out of place.

My working concept is to create a set of bases that depict the army overrunning an Imperial force, incorporating prominent iconography to convey a theme of darkness, ruin and the inevitability of defeat. Unlike the Grey Knights, they are not going to be storming a Chaos temple, they are going to be on an open battlefield in an urban setting. I haven't really settled on where that battlefield is, who exactly they are fighting, or what kinds of iconography would be depicted.

I researched what other painters have been doing with Black Legion bases and found people mostly stick to outdoor scenes, rocky crags, and stuff that's similar to what I've already been doing. I looked at portfolios of painters I like and bookmarked a variety of styles that were interesting but would probably not carry over for an entire army. I came away with the thought I need to be planning out scenes for different unit types - i.e. a Chaos Space Marine might be shooting through some barbed wire, a Cultist might be charging over a cobblestone street, a Heldrake might be soaring over a ruined section of wall, a Bike might be veering off a piece of pavement, a Chaos Lord might be standing atop the severed head of an Imperial Knight.

What I know I don't want to do is as follows: lava bases, high-tech sheet metal panels, checkered stripes, and generic rock formations. I just see these too often and would like to steer away. What does get me excited is oxidized metal, rust, water effects, ruined statuary, pipes / support beams, inscriptions, and textured surfaces.

Anyways - it's been a long post. Would love to hear people's thoughts.