Making Simple Desert Bases

[BKZer0]

Introduction:

 

This is a very picture heavy tutorial for all the steps it take to make the simple desert bases that I use on my army.

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/272170-blood-ravens-5th-battle-company-wip/

 

A lot of people asked me how they are made so I figured a nice how-to

was in order. I can’t take 100% credit for these bases. I was originally

inspired to make these bases by some pictures I saw online a long time

ago. I can’t remember where as it has been years.

 

The tutorial will show you how to make the desert themed bases. However, at the bottom of the tutorial, I will go over how to use the sme technique for my Blood Ravens volcanic ash bases.

 

Supplies:

 

1 Old brush (This tutorial literally shreds brushes, use an old one)

1 or more Bases (25mm, 40mm, 60mm any size works accept flying bases)

A sheet of 1/8 inch cork board

A bottle PVA (white) Glue

Tub of course grit sand

A bottle of Vallejo English Uniform (70921)

A bottle of Delta Ceramcoat Flesh Tan

A bottle of Delta Ceramcoat Palomine Tan

A Can of Flat Brown Spray Paint (Rust-Oleum)

 

Notes:

 

1. Palomine Tan is a discontinued color however it is easily made by a 2:1 mixture of (2)Delta Ceramcoat Spice Tan to (1)Delta Ceramcoat Drizzle Grey.

 

2. You don’t need to uses the colors I used, You just basically need 1 Dirt Brown, 1 Flesh Tan, and one Orangey Tan.

 

Tutorial:

 

Ok enough reading, on to the pictures.

 

Step 1.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step1.jpg

Grab a base, any size will due. I used a combination of 25mm and 60mm

bases in this tutorial. Flying Bases wont work because the cork has a

hard time adhering to their convex shape. Make sure you clean the sprue

burrs off the bases before continuing.

 

 

Step 2.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step2.jpg

Rip the cork with your fingers until you get shapes that make a pattern

that you are happy with. Be random, some bases may have one piece, other

3, 4, or even more.

 

 

Step 3.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step3.jpg

Before you do any gluing, line up all your pieces and make sure you are happy with the results.

 

 

Step 4.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step4.jpg

Rub a thin but generous layer of PVA glue all over the surface of the

base. Be as even as possible. Try not to put it on too thick.

 

 

Step 5.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step5.jpg

Put the cork on your newly glue covered base. Make sure the cork lies

flush on the base. You don’t want send getting under the cork and ruing

your base.

 

 

Step 6.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step6.jpg

 

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step6b.jpg

While the glue is still wet, sprinkle course grit sand all over places

where the glue is still exposed. Allow your base to sit for about 30

seconds to a minute in the sand to let it really sink into the glue.

Then, dump the excess sand off your base.

 

 

Step 7.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step7.jpg

Lay your bases face down on a flat surface and then put something very

heavy on top of them like a stack of books, the heavier the better. If

you don’t apply a generous amount of weight to the bases like this, the

cork will actually begin to curl up as it absorbs the liquid in the

glue. Allow the bases to sit like this for at least 30 minutes to 1

hour.

 

 

Step 8.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step8.jpg

 

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step8b.jpg

Your bases should now be fairly dry, and ready to be sprayed. Go outside

or to where ever you typically spray paint and give them a nice coat of

flat brown spray paint. I would recommend using only brown. Using other

colors such as black of white tends to make your bases too dark or

light. Also spray paint takes a while to dry. I usually leave them to

dry like this over night.

 

 

Step 9.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step9.jpg

 

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step9b.jpg

Give them a fairly generous coat on Vallejo English Uniform on both the sand a cork. Don’t forget to get the sides of the cork.

 

 

 

Step 10.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step10.jpg

Give the top of the cork a THICK layer of Palomine Tan. Make sure you

only get the top of the cork, not the sides, or the sand. I know it

looks thick, but the idea here is to fill all those little holes on the

drop of the cork and give it some texture. I usually give it 2 passes.

Also, Let the bases dry for a good hour or so after this. You want a

nice dry surface, and the cork absorbs moisture and stays wet for a bit.

 

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step10b.jpg

Pass 1

 

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step10c.jpg

Pass 2

 

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step10d.jpg

All the bases

 

 

Step 11.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step11.jpg

Heavily dry brush the edges of the top of the cork with the Ceramcoat Flesh Tan. And let it dry for a minute or 2

 

 

 

Step 12.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step12.jpg

 

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step12b.jpg

Lightly dry brush the top and sides of the cork, and the top of the sand

with the Ceramcoat Flesh Tan. You can start light, and then build up in

the different areas until you get your desired look. I prefer going

heavier on the top of the sand and the sides of he cork.

 

 

Step 13.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step13.jpg

 

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step13b.jpg

Clean up the sides of the base by giving them a nice coating of Vallejo English Uniform

 

 

Step 14.

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/Bases/tutorial-step14.jpg

Add you models by attaching them to your base with super glue. Super

Glue works Great on these bases. The porous cork really binds to the

glue. Once your models are attached, you are all finished.

Congratulations!

 

Flying Base:

 

For the large vehicle base, I drilled a hole in the back of the base

with a 1/8 inch drill bit, right through the cork. Once I had the hole, I

just pushed the flying peg into the hole in the cork, turned it a few

times so it made a mark where I had to cut, and just dug out the

surrounding cork with a tooth pick till the original plastic was

exposed.

 

Ashe Wasteland:

 

This same technique can be used to make bases in various themes. to make bases like I use on my Blood Ravens army:

 

http://www.40k.zombiecrisis.org/ravens-entry1.jpeg

 

For that I used the following theme:

 

1 Prime: Chaos Black

2 Paint whole base: Codex Grey

3 Paint whole base second coat: Codex Grey

4 Wash base: Badab Black

5 Highlight Cork: Codex Grey

6 Highlight Sand: Codex Grey

7 Highlight All: Fortress Grey

8 Highlight Cork: Skill White

9 Watered Down Wash Sand: Badab Black

10 Rim: Graveyard Earth

 

I also used ground up slate in with the sand. It gave the appearance of jagged rocks.

[Sanguine Eternal]

That looks easy enough, and looks great for both your desert and urban bases.  I picked up 16 12"x12" squares at the my local dollar store for for I think $6.  I will put that to good use.  I know you said to have a clean base with no sand on it, but did you try it on all ready sanded bases??

It's easy enough to take off a base I know, but the problem is I have a 40"x60" game table that I sanded as well and I would like to do the same process pretty much to the table, since it looks so great, and I have more than enough.  Also for the flying bases, did you try hot glue on individual pieces, then brush in pva into crevices and add sand later?  Thanks for the tut.

[BKZer0]

Sanguine Eternal, on 03 Mar 2013 - 12:58, said:

I know you said to have a clean base with no sand on it, but did you try it on all ready sanded bases??

It should still work. You may want to add some extra pressure(weight) to the cork while the glue is drying at Step 7. The idea is the make the cork as flat as possible. Also the cork tends to want to curl up on the edges when it is wet from the glue.

Sanguine Eternal, on 03 Mar 2013 - 12:58, said:

Also for the flying bases, did you try hot glue on individual pieces, then brush in pva into crevices and add sand later? Thanks for the tut.

No. For the flying bases, I used the exact same steps as the standard 25mm bases. However, I didn't use the clear flying bases as they are not flat and have a pitch to them. I used Large 60mm bases, since they are the same dimensions as the large flying vehicle bases.

[Sanguine Eternal]

I tried it out last night on a piece of terrain that I had already sanded/painted desert colours.  I did have to add the extra weight to most pieces because of the bumpyness with the sand, but it worked out fine.  I can see why a clean base just makes the process so much easier.  As for my game table, I will just have to do it bit by bit, applying heavy objects to give the cork a good bond.  Thanks again, it looks great, and really affordable.

[huntingbane]

I think this is a great technique for any army.

[miniaturepainter]

Great stuff, personally I think cork bases are over done about now. I've seen some pretty ridiculous ones. But, yours are very subtle. Can barely see they are standing on a large rock or stone slab. Awesome.

[Sanguine Eternal]

I got a bunch done this way with slight variation.  I added some yellow grass that I found at my local Michaels store for a decent price.  I think they still need some agrax earthshade to finish them off, but for now, this will do.  Thanks for the great idea, they turned out nice.  I extended mine off the base a bit so the marines legs have more glueing surface. 

http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y404/Stevezi/DSCF2736_zpsa134a466.jpg

[Valerian]

Great tutorial; thanks for sharing. I've just started cork basing some Orks, and was planning on going with the desert theme, so this will be perfect for me.

 

Valerian

[battle captain corpus]

Smashing tutorial, very inspiring thankyou! :)

 

BCC

[Pyromancer]

I might use the sand one for my next HH army. Thanks!

[Darth Mustard]

Pretty cool tutorial

What I used to do was on your Step 10 add some wood glue to your paint. It thickens the paint and aslo helps to have a layer that fills the gaps between the bits of cork.

You can even add a pinch of very thin sand.

[Uprising]

When I first start this hobby(five years now?), my first proper basing was done by following this tutorial.  I still use it today with a variation of color and bits add.   Thank you for your help over the years.  

[BKZer0]

When I first start this hobby(five years now?), my first proper basing was done by following this tutorial.  I still use it today with a variation of color and bits add.   Thank you for your help over the years.  

 

Thanks for the kind words. It is my pleasure to help.