I HATE basing my models

[puck]

My army (what there is of it) suffers from a severe case of bare base syndrome. After putting in all the time painting a model, I get to a point where I just say "screw it" and throw it on a blank base. I've based a few of my models namely some vangaurd vets when I can come up with interesting ways to have the model interacting with the terrain but if the model is just standing there, I'm really unmotivated to base them. Especially since no matter what you use as a basing material in most situations, the base the model is on will not match the section of board the unit is on (grassy bases in a building and vise versa).

 

That said my question is the following: Those of you who experience the same apathy I do, how do you motivate yourselves to base your models?

[thade]

omg I loathe bases. That said, I can't bring myself to field a model without one completed (or in a state that I could flock it and call it completed). While I hate doing bases, I hate non-based models more.

 

So every night when I model, I take some clean bases (between four and six, various sizes), put a thin layer of Elmer's glue on em, then I stick em with some sand so they at least have texture. Every night when I model I also take some previously textured-bases and spray paint them the base color of whatever army they're for (my marines are on black/grey charred earth, so they get black; dwarves get ruddy red-brown; GK get Mars-colored dirt; etc.). Finally if they require any washing or dry brushing over their whole surface, I do that to a few. I've always got like four to six at any given state i this queue, and they end up in bags. I will listen to music or podcasts as I do it, and zone out. It's grunt work, haha. It really is.

 

That said, once they're done, I sometimes have a cool little bit that doesn't stick well to armor but would look cool on a base. On it goes, often dry-brushed with the color of the base (i.e. its got some dirt on it).

 

NOW I've got ready-to-go bases in stock that I can stick a model to. I don't have to get fancy with em all the time, and assembly-line style is the fastest way to get em done. Since I have a buffer of them, I don't have to do it all the time...so when I said "every night" I really meant "every night for a few days that I can stand it...then I skip a month."

[darth_giles]

With previous forces, I've usually just painted the base, then put a layer of glue down and turfed it with flock from Woodland Scenics. Which looks great... except for the fact that most dreads come with a scenic base. This time around, I'm starting by making the bases first, and sticking a pin out of them to hold the figure in place once I'm done, since that was the big problem I had the last time I tried doing it. When it comes time to paint, just drybrush the rocky areas, paint the flat ones, turf the flat spots and maybe add a little turf to the rocks for patches of grass or lichen.

[Bewlay]

I can't stand basing, and thats why I buy sculpting bases instead -_-

[Warsmith Aznable]

Fine sand is a wonderful thing for those of us who don't particularly care for basing but, like Thade, hate unbased models even more. Sand can be anything depending on what color you paint it, and it's a cheap and easy way to meet the very minimum requirement. For my Chaos Marines I use sand painted Graveyard Earth washed with black, and they're standing on dirt. For my Sisters of Battle I'm doing the same sand technique painted white and washed with thinned out blue, and it magically becomes snow.

 

For some models that I want to particularly make stand out I glue something from my bits box to the base, skulls usually. For a Daemon Prince I threw on some lengths of chain and an Aquila with a combat knife shoved through it, breaking it in half. Just rubbish from the bottom of the bitz barrel, really, but it even looks good if applied thoughtfully.

 

Extremely small amount of effort for a "passing grade", and you don't have the social or aesthetic hassle of bare bases.

[Watcher in the Dark]

Had a guy who I used to game with that based all of his models on Plexiglass circles he received from the place he worked. His reasoning was that the bases would fit the board no matter what.

[Jacinda]

Dragonforge

 

I just re-based my Sisters of Battle on these:

http://dragonforge.com/for%20sale%20images...set%202%201.jpg

[Larkyn]

I used to hate basing, until I discovered the Army Painter Brown Battleground basing material. It looks so beautiful against the dark color of my Alpha Legion. I'm not sure what I'm going to use for my Raptors yet.

 

From my experience, basing is as hard as you make it. Simple sand works decently enough, but if you want something a bit more striking, there's tons of other basing materials out there, aside from the Brown Battleground, I have a bunch of Gale Force 9's basing stuffs.

 

I'd never field a model that's unbased, unless it's also unpainted.

[chromedog]

Generally, beach sand. Sealed and painted, with a sprinkle of static grass.

 

Simple matter of:

1) Smear glue on base, upend into tray of sand and press down. Remove and turn right-side-up and leave to dry.

2) Apply paint (chosen colour. My Marines have a desert themed base, so bubonic brown with a bleached bone drybrush).

3) Apply grass where needed.

4) Apply protective coat to lock it all together.

 

When all are dry. and model is ready to base, glue to model.

[Mac_Atk]

What should I do with models that are already gluded to the bare bases?! I've got a handful that are pinned, namely terminators, or have some stuff on the bases, they just need something to tie them together!

[Octavulg]

Well, with Epic miniatures I have to base, or they look really, really, weird.

 

With 28mm, I don't base. I've been thinking of painting squad and individual heraldry on the bases - sergeants and higher get individual heraldry, squads get something derived from the sergeant's.

[cathar the great]

If you need inspiration for building bases, head over to the Massive Voodoo blog (google that right now ^^) and check out their tutorials on basing.

 

Ever since I discovered them, I like basing as much as I like building the actual model.

 

Mac AtK, even with minis already glued to the base, you should be able to apply chromedog's method quite nicely. The Marines might look like they are "sinking" into the sand, but they are beefy guys after all ;)

[thade]

With 28mm, I don't base. I've been thinking of painting squad and individual heraldry on the bases - sergeants and higher get individual heraldry, squads get something derived from the sergeant's.

This bring something interesting to mind. Virtually all bases I've seen on mini's show the army depicted as if standing on some kind of consistent scenery (dirt, brush, a space hulk deck, whatever)...i.e. all bases are scenic. Has anybody seen (or made themselves) any example of bases that are not strictly scenic, but purely decorative (as Octavulg here alludes to)?

 

For instance, each base decorated as if purely a trophy base or with some kind of non-scenic design/scheme on it.

 

I can't really imagine an alternative to scenic bases (other than non-decorated ones). So...I wonder if there are any? ;)

[Warsmith Aznable]

even with minis already glued to the base, you should be able to apply chromedog's method quite nicely. The Marines might look like they are "sinking" into the sand, but they are beefy guys after all ;)

 

That's how I do it, mostly because I didn't know anything about basing when I first started assembling models. Now it's just part of the process that I've developed, and every time I think I might try something different I forget about it until the glue is dry. I've seen some people put little green stuff spots to make raised areas on the bases so the sand will be level with the bottoms of the feet, but that seems like too much work for a simple process.

 

I haven't had much luck with gluing thing directly to the sand, so I doubt I'll change my process unless I get into buying the pre-made scenic bases like Jacinda mentioned. In fact, I thought about those very same bases for my own Sisters at one point, but I don't like waiting for things in the mail when I have 99% of everything else ready to go. I'm impatient that way.

[Spacefrisian]

I can't stand basing, and thats why I buy sculpting bases instead ;)

 

 

Thats youre 1 and only solution. Dont look further.

[Coopervisor]

Once assembled and attached to the base, I glue some sand on the flat parts of the base before I undercoat the whole model. I then paint the base in scorched brown and when finished glue some static grass to the base.

 

Fairly quick and simple. For my larger figures, I will use a resin base, but still add some sand and static grass.

 

I've been tempted by going further and trying swamp/water effect bases, but never got round to it so far.

[Zincite]

As from older Editions!

 

1) PVA glue onto the base, before slapping down some flock, and a bit of Static Grass.

2) Slather with Knarloc Green.

3) Paint over with Snot Green.

 

Simple, but hardly the most scenic way of doing it. Nonetheless, it's quick and provides a acceptable base.

[darth_giles]

Thats youre 1 and only solution. Dont look further.

Unless you want to sculpt existing GW bases. Isn't *that* hard.