Making Bases

[yxalitis]

I did a search for "making bases" but drew a blank.
OK, I did find some posts, but they weren't guides on how-to, just: "gee guys, look what I did" sort of thing.

Anyway, I have decided that none of the bases I have, or can see to buy, will suit my BaneBeast Chimerae.

Partially this is because his feet at right at the edges of even 120mm bases, and bases with a Greco Roman style have things (columns usually) in the way of the feet.
So I want to add some random stone pillars etc to a sand-like foundation on the 100mm square resin base that came with the mini.

So, question time:

What do you use as a foundation? Green stuff seems an expensive option considering the amount I would use, and is hard to sculpt.
I have some pillars ready to add, but I can make some more, but again, what do I use to sculpt them? Same stuff...different?

Any other tips and tricks or advice welcome.

 

[Bloodhowl]

For a base, depends how big you want. MDF board cut to shape is a good choice. You can also use Old CDs/DVDs if you need smaller round bases.

Or did you mean groundwork? For groundwork, papier mache or spackle compound works well, over insulation foam, foil, or newspaper wads to make small dunes/rises. Also use rocks, slate, tree bark, etc... For different terrain.

For columns check wedding cake supplies at arts & crafts stores. Break them up with a hammer if you want broken columns.

 

[me_in_japan]

If you have a 100mm base there, and you just want to add texture/contours, then milliput is probably your best bet. Not too pricey, and easy to work as long as you lube your tools plenty. As for tools themselves - toothpicks, hobby knife and random bits of sprue are useful, but a basic sculpting set is pretty cheap off eBay, and will make life much easier. Rubber shapers are dead handy, too, for more curvy, smooth areas.

 

[yxalitis]

Milliput huh...sounds great, I suppose the various colours are just dyes, and not different formulations?

 

[QuietiManes]

No, the different colours do have differences. Generally the size of the grains in the putty mix. The superfine white is the smoothest, the yellow/grey is next, standard yellow/grey can still be smoothed out but it's more work than the others. I believe the black is similar to the standard. Coarsest of all is the terracotta (I heard that somewhere, not sure on it, correct me if I'm wrong). I've also read there are slight differences in the cured properties but nothing that would make any difference to us.

 

[me_in_japan]

My apologies - I shouldve been clearer. The different colors are different formulations. I've only ever used standard yellow/grey (which, oddly, comes in a red and white box.) As the "standard" tag implies, it's a good general go-to putty for filling and building of stuff. It dries much harder than green stuff, and lacks its slightly rubbery flexibility. This can be good or bad depending on what you're doing with it. It is very sandable once dry, and is also water soluble when freshly mixed. This allows you to do interesting things like use a damp finger to smooth out transitions and suchlike. Finally, you can also mix it with green stuff (I've always mixed the two parts of green stuff, the two parts of milliput, then the two mixed putties together, in that order) if you want to experiment with getting the properties of both putties in one.

 

[Bailey03]

I thought miniature mentor had a great tutorial on making bases. You can also find some good tutorials on MassiveVoodoo.

Going off of those, I use cork to create the basic structure of my base. If you have an Ikea near you, I recommend this http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/87077700/ . You get three for $3, they are good sized and thick compared to the cork board you can get at an arts and crafts store. Cut or tear the shape you want. Tearing can give you some really nice looking dirt or stone textures. The little pieces you tear off can be super glued back on in different locations to create some interesting topography. You can also stack pieces for larger bases. Once I have the basic shape I want, I take sand (you can find this in the pet store for pretty cheap) for a dirt texture and sprinkle over a layer of white glue. If you want a sand texture I use baking soda, again sprinkled over what glue.

If I were going to create a sand base for a Chimerae I'd use the cork to create the basic shape. I'd use an x-acto knife to shape the hills/dunes since I want a smoother finish as opposed to tearing the cork. I might use a little milliput or green stuff if I wanted to make some finer details for example the ripples in the sand made by the wind. I'd then coat the base with white glue and sprinkle it with baking soda until I got it fully covered. While the baking soda and glue are still wet you can use a cheap brush to push it around and add additional texture that way.

For the columns there are a number of ways to make them. An easy way for smooth columns is to take a large straw (like the kind you get with a smoothie), cut it down to size and then fill the ends with putty. The filling can be rough to make it look broken. You can cut holes in the cork and set the column down in there so it will look partially buried by the sand if you want. I'd add the columns to the base before the baking soda. When you put the white glue on just be careful to wipe off any that gets on the column.

 

[yxalitis]

That's awesome Bailey...thanks!