10.22.2012

How I Base Models

Every model in my army is based nearly identically. They all stand on a display board that is also based in the same manner. Here's how I base my models, as well as a brief review of the resin base I used.

The base was purchased from Iron Halo. It is their Generic Round Pill 65x90mm. They're reasonably priced, and fit attack bikes perfectly. I've found that other companies attack bike bases are either too large or too small. These fit beautifully and leave some room for basing decoration.
Iron Halo is a small family operation in New Zealand.

The bases come pretty standard from the shop.

Very smooth, and a minimum of air bubbles. The air bubbles that were present were pinprick small, and can be safely painted or glued over.
As always with resin, be sure to wash the bases in cool, soapy water before attempting to use them. I didn't notice any mold release agent on the bases, but better to clean them up just in case.
After the bases are clean and dry, I set an attack bike on the blank base and sketch carefully around the tires with a colored pencil. You can use a regular pencil, marker, or whatever you prefer. You're just getting the general location of the tires down.
I then cut small squares of plasticard and glue them to the center of each tire area on the base. This makes sure the bike doesn't look like it's sinking into the sand. A valuable tip from From the Warp (in the blogroll, to the right).
I also draw around the perimeter of the open spaces available for basing. This ensures i don't glue rocks or bitz under the body of the bike, which is both pointless and can prevent the bike from being glued to the base.

The next step is to grab a bottle of white glue, a cheap brush, and your base.

Pour out a good amount of white glue onto a smooth, disposable surface. I like to use the inside of a blister pack. Load the brush with a bit of water, and thin the glue ever so slightly. Then start slathering it onto the base, being sure not to drown nay of your detail bitz.


You then want sand. I have a pound of craft sand that I got for a dollar at the craft store several years ago. It's a lifetime supply. One pound will last forever. I then filled a plastic squeeze bottle with sand. It's a cheap bottle from the candy making section.


Pour the sand liberally over the base, making sure to cover every bit of glue.


Let this sit overnight. Doing so ensures the glue is completely dried before you start working with paint. After your overnight wait, you can pick the base up and knock off all the loose sand. Tap the underside with your fingers for a while to get any loose grains off the base. Pour the sand back into your bottle.


You'll invariably have some grains of sand glued to detail pieces and the lip of the base. Gently pick them away using the tip of a hobby knife, a toothpick, or other pointed object. For the base lip, just use your thumbnail to peel away any bonded sand. Be careful not to get too close to the base top, or you'll have small gaps at the edge. If you have good eyes, you can spot such a spot at the leftmost edge of the base above.
Now to start painting.
I first apply a very liberal coat of Reaper Master Series Muddy Brown.


I do mean liberal. You need to cover every grain of sand to make sure it tints to the correct color and hides the base from showing through. While you're at it, go ahead and cover the detail bits as well. it makes them easier to paint in the following steps.
Let this dry for a few hours. Do not attempt any further steps until this coat is 100% dry, otherwise the glue will not have reset (the thinned paint softens it temporarily) and it will pull off when you drybrush.
Once the paint is dry and the glue recured, I apply a heavy drybrushing of RMS Leather Brown.

Follow that up with a lighter drybrush of RMS Amber Gold. (Autolevels altered the following photo a tad too much).

Paint your detail bits. I used RMS Shadowed Stone, Stone Grey, Weathered Stone, and Leather White for my rocks; Stained Ivory, Yellowed Bone, and Creamy Ivory for the skull. The chainsword was done with black and silver and GW washes.
Paint the base rim your desired color (I always use black craft paint), and seal the base. After sealing, apply any static grass.
The result:

A nice, neat base.

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