General Guidelines
Know. Your. Theme.
- Prime base black. This can be done with or without the model attached. It depends on the complexity and size of the base and model.
- PVA or CA glue to adhere the ground coverage. While trying to keep the glue off the sides of the base, make the glue as close to the edge as possible. If you do get glue on the sides, wipe it off before moving to the next step.
3. Add ground cover (rocks, terrain, etc.) and allow to FULLY dry. Some pieces may fall off at this point. That’s ok and will not impact the overall look of the base.
- Prime base, with or without mini attached. This helps the terrain to adhere and adds an extra sealant.
- Paint the terrain from darkest to lightest. You can use a sponge or a dry brush.
- Add wash
7. Dry brush again with a brighter color. Then add extra effects like water, grass, or tufts.
8. Paint edge black – This is optional, but helps the base stay crisp.
9. Seal! Seal your mini & base to protect it. Use 1 coat of gloss and 1 coat of matte. This way, if the sealant begins to rub off, you’ll see shiny spots and know it’s time to reapply.
Water Effects
- Decide on desired effect: Rough, smooth, ripples, etc
- Put down first coat of paint.
a. This is usually a lighter version of the final color. This will be muted by other
layers of water, but black is generally not a good initial color for water. - Seal edge of base with tape
a. Go all the way around. Use a hydrophobic (painters) tape - Put down first layer of water, with or without color mixed in with medium.
- Allow to dry fully
- Add effect on top of dried surface
- Add additional layers until complete
Helpful Tips:
– If using water effects designed for minis, just like painting, many thin layers are usually better than a few thick layers.
– Adding painted skulls, leaves, or debris inside water can create extra depth
– Grasses or cattails can be added later by dipping a clump of cut bristles or tall grass into CA glue, dipping that clump into baking soda, drilling a small hole, adding super glue to the base of the clump, then inserting the clump into the water effect.
GreenStuff Bases
- Clean and prime your base
- Mix and roll out enough Green Stuff (GS) to cover the top of the base
a. Using water or small amounts of Vaseline can prevent GS from sticking to the roller, fingers, or sculpting tools - Using a textured roller, or by freehand, carve a relief into the GS ensuring the pattern is deep enough to be clearly visible.
- Allow 12-24 hours to fully cure
- Prime with dark primer
- Paint in the same manner as previous steps.
There are a LOT of different rollers out there; you can even use fondant rollers (for cake
decorations). Fondant rollers are not as detailed, but they’re very inexpensive.
| MATERIAL LIST | USES |
| GROUND COVERAGE | |
| Used coffee grounds | Works well as uneven terrain/gravel and can be colored to use as flock/mold |
| Flocking | Flocking can be purchased at various retailers/online and can even be made from fine sawdust. This makes excellent ground cover. |
| 2-part putty | Various kinds can be used as adhesive, modeling, or ground coverage |
| Tufts | Small tufts of landscape flocking. Usually grass or florals. Can be made at home or purchased in store. |
| Static Grass | Coverage of bases or made into tufts; resembles grass |
| Rollers | You can buy these from several different providers, even online as cake/fondant rollers. These create texture in modeling epoxy |
| Sand | Varying degrees of coarseness provide different effects/texture |
| WATER EFFECTS | |
| Two Part Epoxy | If using 2-part epoxy, purchase the type that is non-yellowing |
| Water Effects | Several companies make different types of water effects |
| UV Resin | When activated by a UV light, this resin instantly hardens |
| Clear Caulk | You can add colors to clear caulk to get varying effects. This dries much more stiffly than other effects |
| ROCKS | |
| Foam Shavings | If you’ve been carving foam, those shavings make great rocks |
| Cork | 4mm cork board, cut in half, imitate stone/asphalt surfaces |
| Cedar Bark | Large rocks |
| Little rocks | Aquarium rocks, playground rocks, etc |
| Adhesives | |
| Accelerant | Spray on liquid to shorten dry time on CA glue |
| Baking Soda | Instantly hardens CA glue and leaves a rough texture |
| Super Glue | Cyanoacrylate (CA) is the chemical name of Krazy Glue. It comes in several consistencies like gel, liquid, and thin. It tends to dry faster and hold tighter than PVA |
| PVA Glue | AKA Elmer’s Glue, polyvinyl acrylate can have varying degrees of water content. It’s doesn’t dry as fast as super glue, but it’s less expensive, less caustic, and can be applied with a brush for more even coverage. Mod Podge is a form of PVA with less water (faster dry time) |
| UV Resin | When activated by a UV light, this resin instantly hardens |
| ADDITIVES & MEDIUMS | |
| Mediums | A medium is any component where paint pigment is suspended. You can add mediums to any paint, ink, or pigment, but the lower quality the paint (craft paints), the less fine the pigment. When thinning paints, remember they may have a saturation point where the color/pigments are too diffuse |
| Varnish | There are multiple varnishes. Each one has different properties and, when dry, will leave different textures (matte, satin, gloss) |
| Crackle | Additive that, when dried, leaves a crackled appearance |
| Pumice | This is a medium with added texture |
| Glazing | A medium designed to thin your paints while maintaining color |
| TOOLS | |
| X-acto blades | Pro tip: Dispose of these in a soda can or embedded in foam |
| Tufts | Small tufts of landscape flocking. Usually grass or florals. Can be made at home or purchased in store |
| Static Grass | Nylon slivers that make grass or tufts. If you do not have a static grass applicator for making tufts, stick with 2mm length tufts |
| Wash | An extremely thin paint solution. Homemade or store-bought washes help create shadows. |
| Paint | Generic craft paint is great for basing. No reason to use the good stuff on bases |
| Brushes | Wide, flat, or “smoosh” brushes are the best for dry-brushing |
| Blue Tac | Holds the bases to a good gripper for steady handling |
| Tape | Masking and/or Painters tape is very useful to keep in runny liquids, mark off places where you don’t want paint, or just to hold things down |
| Plastic plate | Used to catch spill over and/or as a palette |
| Mixing Cups | Used for mixing liquid epoxy, washes, or paints. |
| Parchment Paper | Non-stick surface for making tufts, rolling out 2-part epoxy putty, or as a palette |
| Scissors | You know…to cut stuff |
| Paper | Having a surface to catch all the runoff and return it to containers saves extra materials and prevents a messy workspace (which can contaminate other basing materials) |
| Static Grass Applicator | Used to turn static grass into tufts. You can make these at home or buy one online |
| Curiosity | Try different stuff! You never know what is going to look cool! |
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