Hi James, I think your basing looks brilliant (and I bet it takes half the time of mine!).
Alas I'm not at any more shows this year. My next shows are Salute and Partizan, and I have a lot of modelling to do before then! Will you be at either? It would be nice to meet up.
Hi Simon, Partizan is a possible. Salute is out of the question because my wife sees any possible excuse for a London trip as too 'shiny' to pass on. The last time I went to Salute (as a guest) I spent less than £100 at the show but the trip cost over £1000!!!!!
Monty, the gunk will be shown "in action", in part 2, tomorrow.
Best, Simon
23 October 2013 at 19:50
This is an article that was originally published in Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy Issue 64, which explains my approach to basing miniatures, and which I've reprinted here with their kind approval. It is an extended version of a very old post on this blog.
When I started
gaming back in the early ‘70s, wargaming was generally conducted with un-based miniatures,
and the few bases one came across were rudely cut from a cornflake packet, and
painted with lime-green gloss enamel. In
these more complicated times, bases are precision cut from a wide range of different
materials, often magnetic for storage reasons, and are textured and covered in
more foliage than you’d see at the Chelsea Flower Show!
So why do
we base, today? I believe that the
principle reason is that, as armies have got larger, bases (and recently bigger
Impetus bases) have been required in order to deploy our regiments quickly from
storage and onto the table. Other
reasons include the usefulness of basing in supporting rules systems, so that
strangers can game equally against each other, the need to protect miniatures
both in handling and in transport/storage and, finally, the fact that good
basing makes great miniatures look twice as nice!
In
comparison with most gamers, I’m unusually fussy about my bases. They must all be exactly the right size, standard
colour and finish, flocked and highlighted, matt varnished, magnetic and
without any hint of warping. Nothing else is acceptable! In this article I’ll describe the tools,
materials and techniques that I use with my system.
[Image]
Some of
the tools and materials you’ll need for great basing:-
Prepared
bases, with magnetic strip underneath
A palette
knife
A small
Palette knife or old brush
A steel
baking tray
A good wood
glue
A tub of
pre-mixed dry basing “gunk” (a mix of plaster, sand, grit and possibly pigment)
A small
tub of Static grass and a puffer bottle
Lots of
tufts of different sizes and colours, including weeds and flowers
A pair of
tweezers; these will get glue on them, so best not use the wife’s!
A pot of medium
earth-shade acrylic paint, such as Games Workshop Steel Legion drab
A pot of Buff
Titanium acrylic paint
A bottle
of Testors Dullcote and a tube of Raw Umber oil paint, or alternatively a matt
acrylic varnish, such as Windsor and Newton Galeria
A peaty-coloured ink,
such as Games Workshop Agrax Earthshade or Windsor and Newton Peat
I make my
own bases from card and magnetic sheet, in big batches. They
are magnetic underneath, and sealed with spray paint on the top and sides,
which helps to avoid my deadly foe, warping. I also often use laser cut ply and MDF bases, especially the circular
ones, and sometimes the excellent Renedra plastic bases.
It is particularly
important to invest in a decent palette knife, with a springy tip that comes to
a fairly fine point, than can get right between the feet of the miniature. Do please clean it carefully after use, and don’t
leave it in water, or it will rust! Ideally you’ll also have a smaller palette knife or old paintbrush to
work the basing gunk into difficult-to-reach corners. A spare, clean brush comes in handy in case you
need to wipe away any gunk that gets onto a miniature, rather than onto the
base.
I keep a large pre-mixed tub of what I call “BigRedBatGunk”, which is a mix of
plaster and sand/small grit/railway ballast, with added pigment, of my own devising. This provides an instant base coat which saves
a good deal of time later on, at the painting stage.
I also own a tub of static grass, a trusty Noch puffer bottle applicator, and a
dozen or so different sizes and colours of Silflor-like tufts and also the weeds
and flowers which I find add a lot of interest to the bases.
11 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formLooking forward to the rest of the article!
23 October 2013 at 13:04
Your attention to all of your work is readily apparent, Simon. You indeed do go that extra mile - and it pays off well. Best, Dean
23 October 2013 at 14:09
Hi Simon, I've always been an admirer of your basing. It is so much better than my sand and grit efforts - though perhaps more time consuming.
BTW, will you be going to Fiasco this Sunday?
23 October 2013 at 15:09
Hi James, I think your basing looks brilliant (and I bet it takes half the time of mine!).
Alas I'm not at any more shows this year. My next shows are Salute and Partizan, and I have a lot of modelling to do before then! Will you be at either? It would be nice to meet up.
23 October 2013 at 15:36
Thanks Dean, you are too kind! Simon
23 October 2013 at 15:37
Very interesting. I also look forward to part two.
23 October 2013 at 17:12
Hi Simon, Partizan is a possible. Salute is out of the question because my wife sees any possible excuse for a London trip as too 'shiny' to pass on. The last time I went to Salute (as a guest) I spent less than £100 at the show but the trip cost over £1000!!!!!
23 October 2013 at 18:42
LOL! The non-wargaming shopping opportunities in Newark are happily somewhat limited, by comparison with London. ;-)
23 October 2013 at 18:51
Surely not Gunk, Simon? Big red bat "Guano" :0)
23 October 2013 at 19:06
Great start, looking forward to the rest. I might have to try the BigRedBatGunk.
23 October 2013 at 19:48
Bat guano, LOL!
Monty, the gunk will be shown "in action", in part 2, tomorrow.
Best, Simon
23 October 2013 at 19:50