Easy snow bases and frozen water effects

[Kaldoth]

Hi all! Figured I'd post a quick tutorial on how I do my snow bases. So, here's the stuff you will need (Heineken not needed but always a welcome addition ):

A base

Elmers Glue

Basing Sand

Snow Powder

Dawnstone gray

Badab Black (Nuln Oil)

White Scar

Toothpick

Bottlecap

Shrubs (I use the Citadel Middenland Tufts)

A Lighter (If you're impatient like me and you don't like to wait for glue to dry )

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131012_221239_985.jpg

For Frozen Water:

Any thin clear plastic (I got mine off of a pack of green stuff)

Superglue

Step 1: Paint and prep your base!

Pretty self explanatory. First, paint your base with Dawnstone gray (1.) Next, grab your Elmers glue and make a ring around the center of the base (2.) Lastly, spread the glue around with a toothpick until it's even across the surface (3.)

1.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131012_221355_627.jpg

2.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131012_221629_928.jpg

3.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131012_221657_431.jpg

Step 2: Apply your basing material and paint.

Also pretty self explanatory. Dip the glue covered base in basing sand (1.) Then give it a good shake to get rid of the excess and let dry. Then, paint the basing sand with Dawnstone gray (2.) Then, wash the base with Badab Black (Nuln Oil) (3.) Last, give the base a dry brush of White Scar (4.) You should have a nice frosted gravel effect going.

1.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131012_221747_844.jpg

2.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131012_223429_329.jpg

3.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131012_223616_840.jpg

4.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131012_224414_101.jpg

Step 3: Make some snow, grab some bushes, and finish your base!

Making the snow is pretty simple. Put a glob of glue into a bottlecap. Then take about two pinches of your snow powder and throw it in there. Mix it with your tooth pick until it turns into what I like to call "snow goop." (1.) After that, throw it on your base! You can press down on it with your fingers or your toothpick (2.) Last, take one or two of the shrubs and glue them down with the Elmers glue. (3.) Ta-daa! Your base is done

1.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131012_221252_349.jpg

2.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131012_224645_213.jpg

3.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131013_240301_199.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131013_240429_085.jpg

Now, unfortunately I couldn't get many pictures of the frozen water effect to come out well. Taking pictures of thin clear plastic isn't easy with crappy lighting, but it's pretty easy and I have a sort of seeable photo of the finished product.

Step 1: Cut out your pool of water from the thin clear plastic.

Step 2: Apply a drop of super glue to the plastic and let it dry. This will cause all of the plastic to sort of fog up,

and the spot where the drop is will harden. From the opposite side, the superglue will look like an air bubble

Step 3: Prep your base. Go ahead and get it flocked and painted but don't apply your snow yet. Remember to NOT apply sand where you want the water to be.

Step 4: Glue down the water with your Elmers glue. While it's drying, go ahead and make your snow and place it around the edges of the ice. The superglue bubble underneath the ice will unfortunately cause it to not sit flush with the base, but if you put snow around the edges nobody will be able to tell

The finished product should look something like this (again, bad photo quality. Sorry )

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131012_234817_549.jpg

(I left the edge of the plastic peeking out on the bottom of the base so you could get some semblance of where the water was at. Again, hard to see clear-white next to white.)

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/Kaldoth/IMG_20131012_234843_165.jpg

Hope you enjoyed!

Cheers,

-Kal

[Kierdale]

I'm interested in trying the frozen water one.

I do think that a little more time taken with your tutorials, particularly the photography would make them look better. Take photos of the base atop a white sheet of paper in good lighting (as opposed to a jeans-clad thigh :D) for example. If you could do the same for the completed frozen water base that too would present the technique better.

[Kaldoth]

I'm interested in trying the frozen water one.

I do think that a little more time taken with your tutorials, particularly the photography would make them look better. Take photos of the base atop a white sheet of paper in good lighting (as opposed to a jeans-clad thigh ) for example. If you could do the same for the completed frozen water base that too would present the technique better.

Duly noted and applied ^_^ The water effect is hard to see regardless, as its a clear-white piece of plastic surrounded by white snow. I took a shot showing the glare off of the surface, though.

Cheers,

-Kal

[Kierdale]

Now that's much better!

Good stuff.