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Author Topic: Gilbear's other painted models...  (Read 12475 times)
Major_Gilbear
Jenta
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Posts: 45



« Reply #15 on: April 29, 2011, 04:10:14 pm »

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 1
Turn the base over and using a strong sharp knife, carefully cut the slot out of the base.



Step 2
The base should now look like this. I normally check the other side too, to make sure that the cut is neat.



Step 3
For the weights, I use lead curtain weights. I got mine from Merrick & Day a while back.



Step 4
The 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 5
After 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 6
Meanwhile, 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 7
Once 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 8
Arrange 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 10
Or, 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!  Grin
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Lost Egg
Lord of Engu
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Posts: 989



« Reply #16 on: April 29, 2011, 04:30:02 pm »

A cool tutorial. I be interested to see some painted examples of the slate and paving stones to see how they come out. Good job!

HN
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Grimmtooth
Jenta
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Posts: 41


Eat what can be eaten


« Reply #17 on: May 02, 2011, 05:41:49 pm »


Thanks for the tip on the flag stones

Cutting them out first looks much better than the ones I used a knife to mold from putty Il have to see what happens ?

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Major_Gilbear
Jenta
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Posts: 45



« Reply #18 on: May 02, 2011, 05:54:30 pm »

For the flagstone bases, I actually roll long sausages of Milliput out in different thicknesses and then flatten them out; it makes getting the widths even a lot easier, and helps with tessellation of the slabs on the bases. It is otherwise still the same process as the slate/concrete though.

I did find that sculpting directly into a layer of soft putty with a knife didn't give me the chunkiness and weight that I wanted, nor the right texture. Carving cured Milliput is actually fairly easy and controlled.
« Last Edit: May 02, 2011, 09:34:13 pm by Major_Gilbear » Logged
Grimmtooth
Jenta
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Posts: 41


Eat what can be eaten


« Reply #19 on: May 29, 2011, 11:48:48 am »



Thanks for the tip, I can see how you got the shapes !

Excellent work, I found the darkrealms minis allot of effort to paint due to the epic size but the

rules are good.
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