Fast and Simple rock/stone base

[devilbad]

When i just started painting miniatures, i was not really happy with the standard bases. Surfing the internet gave me a ton of options, but i did chose one, and still use it by now. What i am talking about, is cork made bases. It’s simple, good looking and gives enough space for some creativity. Below are some pictures of my bases (warning! lots of pics inside the spoiler).

 

 

http://klyachman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_3904-1024x768.jpg

http://klyachman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_3919-1024x768.jpghttp://klyachman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_3920-1024x768.jpghttp://klyachman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_3921-1024x768.jpghttp://klyachman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_3922-1024x768.jpghttp://klyachman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_3924-1024x768.jpghttp://klyachman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_3923-1024x768.jpghttp://klyachman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_3925-1024x768.jpg

 

 

 

 

Materials

 

Honestly, cork bases are incredibly easy to make, and as you can see, they do look nice. There are some tricks of course, but i will try to tell you everything i’ve learnt about it.

 

To start with, you will of course need some cork. You can use a thin cut of a cork plug from a bottle of wine, or buy some at your local materials store. Keep it in mind that wine cork will only suit smaller bases, but won’t really work for the bigger ones as you will need a lot’s of them. Here is the example image below, explaining what i mean.

 

http://puu.sh/9qk3P/d0d634486d.png

 

 

As you can see, wine cork is a little too small for Terminator Base, and you will probably need 2-4 of them to cover it all. This also apply for other bigger bases, such as bike and flyer bases. However, sometimes wine cork is quite useful since you can use it as a part of overall base composition.

 

For bigger bases i use cork that i buy in the store.

 

http://klyachman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_3931-1024x768.jpg

 

But, as you can see, it has different surface than wine cork, it is more coarse and rough with some dents. It is also thinner, but that does really depends on where you buy it.

 

The process

 

After you are set with materials and base you are going to work with, you can get started with the process. If you wan to achieve rough edges like rocks and stone, simply tear parts from the cork with your bare hands. Don’t cut it, just tear! You might want to experiment a little, to see which results do suit you best. Below is an example of pieces you might get.

 

http://puu.sh/9qliE/5e4fd1853e.png

 

In here, i tore a wine cork in two pieces, and then teared its’ round edges to make it look more rough.

 

---

 

Don’t forget to put pieces you made on to base, to see how it will look like and most important (!) set your miniature on to it before you glue them. Otherwise, you might face a situation when your miniature just wont stand on the base the way you want it, or for example, just stands on the base with one leg only.

 

---

 

After you are done with it, glue them and basecoat with color you like. I use Citadel Layer - Eshin Grey as a base color.

 

http://klyachman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_3929-300x225.jpg

 

Now it is all up to you how are you going to make them look like. There are many options, but i prefer stone or concrete look. As you have seen on the pictures, i did experiment with the sand like look, but didn’t really like it in the end.

 

So, if you want to follow my steps and achieve concrete like look of your base:

 

- Basecoat your base with Eshin Grey;

- Prepare some Dawnstone and Ceramite White (or White Scar);

- Drybrush covered base with Dawnstone;

- If you think you want a lighter color, mix Dawnstone with Ceramite White and do more drybrushing.

 

That is it. If you follow these simple steps, you will get nice concrete looking base for your miniature.

 

 

http://puu.sh/9qWn2/75228dbd59.png

 

I also have a small tutorial in my blog, which explains how to make a base like this. Just use this link and scroll down.

 

I hope that you will find it useful. Please give me some feedback with your comments. Thank you!

[Marshal Zaccheus]

Very cool I've been wanting to do the concrete/rock basing. This is great!

[Teetengee]

RIP AND TEAR!!! sounds like a good technique, I will have to give it a shot.

[Dread]

Very helpful, thanks. But what kinda of glue are you using? I'm about to put together my 3 chaos bikers and want to do some fancy basing but don't want to use something that either won' t stick or ruin the model. Thanks