A few questions about basing

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Alchemist

New member
I have a two-week vacation coming up (one of the benefits of being a teacher) and plan on doing a fair amount of painting, but would also like to tackle basing, which I\'ve avoided thus far, mainly because while I feel like basic basing is rather simple and easy to learn, to make something really nice will take a fair amount of work.

I get the basics of it--glue, sprinkle, paint--but am looking for more info on where to get good materials and how some of the more intermediate and advanced techniques are done, particularly stuff like cobbled floors, rocks, lava, water, etc. I\'ve briefly skimmed the articles and found some stuff, but am looking for answers to some specific questions:

1) Good suppliers of basing materials, both online and not?

2) Inexpensive alternatives to expensive hobby basing materials?

3) It is my impression that a lot of more advanced basing is improvisational, that is it isn\'t about assembling pre-made basing materials but more of an ad hoc approach: piecing together stuff from a variety of sources, sculpting clay and green stuff, etc. Is this true? Or is there some mysterious resource of basing supplies that I am not aware of?

I\'m sure there are other questions that will arise, but that\'s it for now. Thanks!
 
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flakon

New member
Originally posted by Alchemist

1) Good suppliers of basing materials, both online and not?
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I\'m in the US and have a couple of online stores I order from. If your in the US I highly recommend www.thewarstore.com. Neal is the owner and is very helpful.

2) Inexpensive alternatives to expensive hobby basing materials?
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I take an empty coffee can to the beach and fill it up. Last you forever when you need fine stuff.
 
Joek

Joek

New member
Where are you based? If you\'re UK or European then I\'d wholeheartedly recommend Antenociti for an awful lot of materials that are useful.

It always well worth poking around in gardens and parks as it\'s amazing how much lovely stuff is around for free!

FInally, if you can find a builder\'s yard (or a garden centre will do), you can sae yourself an awful lot of money buying sand and stone from them.
 
A

Alchemist

New member
I\'m in the US. I\'ll check out warstore.com as they\'ve been recommended to me before, thanks. And yeah, I\'ve started to look at everything in a new light: its utility for mini painting and basing! I work and live at a private school, so we have lots of stuff in various studios that could come in handy. For example, I\'m in New Hampshire, where there is snow on the ground for 4-5 months a year, so we have these buckets of sand and gravel that we use. We also have an art studio, textiles, woodworking shop, etc...maybe I\'ll scrounge around a bit.
 
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fiesta0618

New member
That\'s the spirit!

I personally buy the stuff, because I feel I have more control, and can get it bulk for not bad prices ( I have all the flock I\'ll ever need for 5 bucks) from either Plastruct or Woodland Scenics. The latter company caters to model railroaders and is particularly nice and extensive in it\'s products, but more expensive than Plastruct. But hey, when I just want a big ol\' rock, I go out the back door and hunt around in the garden.
 
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Gilvan Blight

New member
I find the Necrotales tutorials to be rather good:
http://www.necrotales.com/necroTutorials/

In addition there is an article on here called RAiding the Spice rack that improved by basing skills by about 110% I now use oregano leaves on all my grassy models and have had great luck with baking soda snow.
 
Aliengod3

Aliengod3

Active member
If you want awesome baing materials go to www.skullcrafts.com They have kits that represent different seasons and the kits include bases, leaves, flock, various sands, texture medium, various sizes of cork rocks, and some other stuff and they are at a nice price. Plus they have a bunch of items packaged individually. Check it out.
 
A

Alchemist

New member
Wow, the Skullcrafts kits look really nice--$30 isn\'t cheap, but I don\'t think I\'ll find better quality (plus I like the fact that they try to be \"green\").

\"Raiding the Spice Rack\" is helpful, thanks. And I\'ll check out Necrotales.

The garden...yup, although we have snow that has been on the ground since November and probably won\'t be totally gone until April!
 
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Ritual

New member
1) I leave that question to the Americans.

2) Buying sand is cheap unless you buy it in hobby stores. You can sift it to remove the coarser grains (save those for rocks and pebbles). Don\'t throw away stuff without checking if there\'s parts you can save. Some gadget breaks down? Open it up and see what you can save. Look in the garden. Twigs can be useful, as can pebbles and such if they have good texture. If you uproot weeds and other unwanted plants, check if the roots would be nice to use as twigs or even trees. You can wash the roots and leave them to dry inside. You\'ll learn to look everywhere for useful items. A lot of stuff you simply can\'t buy in stores.

3) Yes, good basing is often completely scratch-built. Of course, it can be more or less planned out, but most people I know of that make really nice basing use whatever stuff they have in hand. It can be rocks, tree bark, twigs, cork, plasticard, pieces of toys, pieces of home electronics, wire, etc. etc. You can add a little extra sharp detailing by professional products like etched brass stuff and precision designed resin items, but the most important part is the basic, overall look and you don\'t need lots of expensive stuff. Experience and a good eye for finding useful items takes you a long way.
 
A

Alchemist

New member
That\'s is very helpful, Ritual, thanks. Now a more specific question: How to make rocks? I\'m not talking about using pebbles or small rocks, but the type of stuff in your EjhinEjhin or larger rocks like in Sethin. Is that real rock or something else that you sculpted or bought? I\'m thinking real rocks would make the whole thing too heavy, but maybe that is good thing.

Amazing work, by the way!
 
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Ritual

New member
Originally posted by green stuff
@Alchemist : that\'s slate for Ejhin and I\'m guessing cork for Sethin.
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Yep! Cédric\'s correct on both accounts. I bought the slate dirt cheap in a floral shop. It\'s the type of stuff you can put in flower pots for decoration. The cork for Sethin was a regular wine cork of a slightly porous quality that I carved to desired shape with my hobby knife.

But, it\'s not difficult to sculpt rocks from milliput or other putties.
 
Avelorn

Avelorn

Sven Jonsson
When using putty: try first making the rough shape of the rock and then texturise it by pressing rocks against the surface! :)
 
P

Pipeline

New member
On your recommendation, I placed an order with Skullcrafts. My package arrived in 2 days and the quality is great. The $30 tag for the kits is a great deal for the variety of goodies you get. Highly recommended!

Originally posted by Aliengod3
If you want awesome baing materials go to www.skullcrafts.com They have kits that represent different seasons and the kits include bases, leaves, flock, various sands, texture medium, various sizes of cork rocks, and some other stuff and they are at a nice price. Plus they have a bunch of items packaged individually. Check it out.
Click to expand...
 
Dragonsreach

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
A couple of items its worth investing in:
A Mortar and Pestle, to help grind coarse sand into finer particles.
4mm Cork tiles a box of 10 will cost a couple of dollars and will last you a long time. You can make all sorts of basing structures such as steps, Rough ground surfaces, rubble, the list is almost endless.
Rackhams studio guys used it to good effect in a lot of their promotional painting.
 
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generulpoleaxe

New member
Originally posted by the mighty dwarf
Hey DR, i dont suppose you have a link to a site on where to get cork tiles?

Ive been searching and I just cant find the stuff!

TMD out
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http://www.wonderlandmodels.com/products/javis-116-x-24-x-36-cork-sheet/
 
D

Dragonscale Studios

New member
I find my best basing mats in my own or my neighbors yards, lol.

As for the basics, i always have on hand in my basing drawers: sifted sand, fine gravel, pebbles, twigs, cork sheets (i buy mine at Walmart), bark nuggets (they make GREAT lightweight rocks), coarse modelling plaster, clear epoxy resin, green stuff, Sculpey, bits, various spices from the kitchen, hot glue, Elmer\'s white glue, a handful of cedar mulch (the shredded bits are great multi-purpose).

Thats all I can think of offhand.
 
Aliengod3

Aliengod3

Active member
I did not read that other posts yet so this site may have been mentioned already.

http://www.skullcrafts.com/store.htm

They have some nice basing kits as well as some other goof stuff worth checking out. I purchased a kit from them and I am very happy with it.

Also keep an eye out for random stuff that you find laying around your home. Alot of materials that people use are rocks and twigs that they find. Seems like most people who make excellent bases that I have spoken to find their basing materials in nature.

EDIT: This must be an old topic that I forgot I posted in because I already posted a reply about Skull Crafts and completely missed it... sorry about that.
 
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