Basing tutorial

Hey guys n gals. Just wrote this up in my blog but thought I would share it here for any of those interested, as it works pretty well



I am slowly building up a Malifaux Resurrectionist crew based around undead Samurai. Looking around I could not find any basing tutorials to create my own, as I did not want to go down the expensive resin route. Well after a bit of experimentation I created my own bases, and have done a tutorial below on how I made them. The theme is a rotting dojo or building, with planks and moss etc, simple but effective

Materials

First you will need to gather all the kit and materials you need for the job. It is better to have them to hand otherwise you will find the glue dries etc before you can start another stage.

Strips of Balsa wood (about 3mm thick)
Sand mix (my own creation, using builders sand and a little grit. Normal sand will work just fine as well, this just adds a little more texture)
Superglue (this needs to be runny. I buy really cheap glue from the pound shop which is exceptionally runny, and works a dream for the basing. The more thicker stuff may work ok but you want it to be easy flowing if possible)
Scalpel
Grass tufts (I use army painter tufts, but static grass will work fine. I just prefer the longer strands of grass)

Step 1

Cut your balsa wood into thin strips. Make sure the cuts are wonky, as this will give the wood a worn look and add more variation to the bases later.



Step 2

Grab your scalpel and start carving into the sides of the balsa strip to add more texture and indents to it.
Keep the shavings in a small pile to the side once you are done as you will need them later.



Step 3

Tear the balsa strips into small chunks. Don't cut these with the knife as you want the edges to be jagged and splintered.



Step 4

Position the chunks of wood onto the base until you are happy with the look of it.
Don't be afraid to tear and break the strips apart into smaller ones if you need. This just adds more texture.
Use the shavings to fill any gaps & superglue to bind them together and wait for it to dry.



Step 5

Squirt a load of superglue into the recesses of the planks



Dip it into your sand mix as quick as you can.



The superglue will naturally form nice clumps and set very quickly. You can't really get this effect with other glues as the drying times are too long. This method is quick and very effective.



Step 6

Your base is now ready for priming and painting. Here I sprayed it black and then drybrushed up from a dark brown, mixing in ushabti bone for the final brown highlight.

The green is again drybrushed, but only in selected places, to simulate moss & rotting boards.

Finally I paint the rim black before adding the mini on top.



Once the mini and base are assembled together I gloss varnish, then do a dullcoat on top to matt it back down again. You don't need to do this step, bit I like to protect my mini from the rigours of gaming, and the two varnishing steps give a slight satin finish that I am quite fond of, as I think it adds more of a depth to the colours.

When the varnishing is complete I finally add a few select tufts of the grass into recesses in the boards for the final effect.



The final result







I hope you have enjoyed this and found it useful. Let me know if so

SC

oooh these bases are beautiful Spellcheck. I think you may be are the best painter/model maker who's work I've had the pleasure of seeing.

Pretty amazing stuff as always.  I've been doing something similar - but it pales in comparison.  I've been using popsicle sticks though, which aren't as soft/easy to use as balsa but are free.  They do split and splinter nicely though, which is good if you are aiming more for rubble than naturally occurring decay.

I've also been using these wooden "screw plugs", inverted, as tree stumps.  

I'm basing a hundred or so (pygmy) cultists converted from gnoblars and gretchin - they're short and I'm tying to put most of them up on stumps/debris so that they reach "normal" height.

@Lord_Alino. Thanks dude, that is high praise indeed, much appreciated

@stilgar27. Thanks very much . I did think about using Popsicle sticks but they were a tad thin for the basing I wanted. Now you mention it though I will use some in my 40k building bases for rubble and building struts.

I like the little tree stump idea for your pigmies, they really do look like tree stumps

SC