I thought that I'd write up a quick toot on how I do my bases for 28-30mm games that I play.
Basically, I like to weight my figure bases with lead, which I find helps to keep them figures stable - important in skirmish-level games as there is often a lot more terrain than in more army-orientated games. Plus I can make cool poses and bases without worrying that they might fall over!
Step 1Turn the base over and using a strong sharp knife, carefully cut the slot out of the base.
Step 2The base should now look like this. I normally check the other side too, to make sure that the cut is neat.
Step 3For the weights, I use lead curtain weights. I got mine from
Merrick & Day a while back.
Step 4The lead weights will need trimming slightly to get a snug fit into a standard 30mm base. After a dry-test fit, I then use lots of thick superglue and stick the weight into the base and make sure it sits flat. Leave it somewhere to dry overnight.
Step 5After the bases are all dry, I mix up some yellow-grey Milliput and pack the underside really well. I also add a little bit to the slot on the top. After about an hour, rinse the base under some warmish water to give the putty a final smoothing, and to ensure you clean off any excess putty off the rim or top. Leave this to cure for a day at least - preferably two or three. This allows you to sand the bottom of the bases flat and smooth. The basic base prep is now done.
Step 6Meanwhile, mix up another quantity of yellow-grey Milliput and put it into a sandwich bag. Using a rolling pin (or a screw-top glass wine bottle filled with water if you dont have (permission to use) one), flatten the putty out to the desired thickness. I would suggest that about 3mm thick is good for flagstones, and 5mm thick is good for slate/concrete.
Step 7Once the putty is cured, you can break it up with pliers and shape it using clippers. For the flagstones, final shaping is done with a sharp knife and care!
Step 8Arrange the pieces on your base to make a slate-effect that is easy to stick and pin models to...
Step 9...Or to make flagstones that look really textured and chunky.
Step 10Or, ignoring making a sculpted top, you can go with the traditional sand/gravel.
For timber/wood effects, I get the best result from plastic styrene strip dragged over very coarse sandpaper. I then weather the parts with a very sharp knife (fresh blades really help here). I like the styrene over wood because I can stick it more easily and securely, because I can control the grain, and because I feel it paints up better than actual wood does.
I also polish the base edges with fine emery/sand paper before I put the final details on top, as they look much better (especially as I use a very matte finish).
Finally, after the base is painted and the model is attached (I paint the models off their bases), I stick a circle of black velour to the bottoms. This adds the final touch to the bases, and ensures that they don't slide about on most surfaces.
So there you have it; my overly complicated (but very satisfying) method of making bases!