Basing 101 - part five

The groundwork or base was first painted in a Snakebite Leather colour - a sample or tester pot mixed up for me at my local DIY store. I find this much more economical than using my limited supply of GW Snakebite. I do find that I sometimes need to apply two thin coats rather than one, but this is a small price to pay when painting bases.

Once I have an all-over covering I can add some variation by mixing in a little yellow or white to the base mix and dabbing this in a random fashion.

The groundwork is then drybrushed with  the same Snakebite colour to which I have added some Titanium White tube paint (once again not wanting to waste my figure painting pots of paint on large bases).

Individual stones are then painted grey (sometimes cream) and highlighted once or twice with white added to the mix. The effect is a 'busy' base which can also be 'washed' with a Flesh or Strong Tone wash to define the stone and sand texture.

A darker wash has been run along the lower edges of the barricade to add shadows. I sometimes used a green wash if I want to portray damp or mould rising up the lower walls of buildings. 

We are quickly getting to the end of this short series or tutorial on how I paint my terrain (and figure) bases and I hope that it has proven useful to others. As stated in my earlier post I am NOT trying to tell you how to paint YOUR bases, I am just giving details of how I paint and finish mine.

Tony

Basing 101 - part four

As this short series of posts is all about basing I will quickly skip the main painting of the resin barricade (Alternative Armies - see this link).

An all-over dark brown basecoat was followed by a light drybrushing to pick out all that lovely sculpted detail.

The detail painting consisted of painting the sacks in a Linen colour and the bench seat with bright red - just to add some spot colour.

The wooden planks were highlighted with various 'wood' colours before being given a light wash of Dark Tone wash.

In the next post (due very soon) I will once again concentrate on the painting and finishing of the base.

Tony

Normandy Cider Press - Miniature Wargames issue 517

Issue 517 (May 2026) of Miniature Wargames features this scratch built model of a rural cider press. The inspiration came from an illustration in a Normandy holiday brochure, a sketch in a book about regional French architecture and the internet. It is scaled to 28mm wargame scale as can be seen by the Flintloque RifleOrc alongside.

This months issue of Miniature Wargames was very late in arriving with me - I had seen copies in T G Jones (W H Smiths) earlier last week but my issue did not arrive until this morning - a good 10 days later than usual. The free sprue was slightly damaged but acceptable although I am not sure I will be using it.

As with earlier posts showing magazine articles written by me, I have included a couple of additional images to show construction. and painting.

In the magazine article I asked - is this a model or a piece of wargame terrain? What do you think?

Tony

Basing 101 - part three

The next step in my basing regime is to add some additional texture to the groundwork. I use sieved stones and sand over PVA glue. It is not just a matter of sprinkling these over the glue - I prefer to add the sieved stones first and then the sand which is a mix of fine sand and some larger grains - the more variation the better. I have a small container with the mixed sand already mixed and ready to use at a moments notice.

Once the stones and sand have been added and the glue is fully dry, I 'flood' the base with some diluted PVA glue to which I have added a tiny drop of washing-up liquid which helps to break the surface tension and ensure that all the individual grains of sand are fully fixed in place.

I am aware that my basing techniques are a little 'long-winded' but they have been developed over many years and ensure that 1 - my terrain bases are all uniform in style and 2 - they are long lasting.

I hope that these posts showing my basing technique in much greater detail helps others when basing their own terrain.

Tony

Basing 101 - part two

Following on from my earlier post I will now give details of how I prepare the plastic card base for attaching the resin barricade and the DAS modelling clay.

Firstly I 'score' the surface of the 3mm thick plastic card with a large snap-off bladed knife. I do this so that the DAS modelling clay has something to 'grip on to' - I am not sure that this has to be done with every piece of terrain but as I have been doing this for over a decade and have never had any DAS come loose or shrinkage I feel that it is a precaution worth taking.

With the plastic card scored I first sanded the base of the model with medium sandpaper (which was attached to a piece of Contiboard with double-sided tape) and then glued the resin barricade (Alternative Armies - link) in place. I have used gel type superglue and accelerator for this as in my opinion this gives the best results.

Next I added the DAS modelling clay over a layer of dilute PVA glue. Nothing special here just a thin layer of DAS to 'blend' the base of the barricade in to or on to the plastic card base. I use a mixture of plastic and wooden clay sculpting tools for this.

As you can see I just couldn't help adding some additional detail in the shape of balsawood strips and small plastic card nails.

In the next update I will show how I add additional texture to the plain DAS groundwork. As with the earlier post, if you have any questions or comments please go to the comments section. 

Thank you.

Tony

Basing 101 - part one

Earlier this month I was asked if I would give details of how I model, paint and finish my terrain bases. In most of my magazine articles I tend to skim over how the bases are finished, preferring to spend the bulk of the time on the scratch built or modified piece of terrain. In this short series it is my intention to give a much more detailed explanation of the materials used and the techniques I employ to build my bases.

It is NOT my intention to dictate how you should finish off your own bases but more of an insight into how I do it. I can confirm that with very little variation this is the technique that I have been using for over twenty years. If you have any questions please get back in touch with me in the comment section.

To begin.....

Most of my terrain is based on 3mm or 5mm thick plastic card. The card I use is more often than not ex advertising signs, FOR SALE signs or blank plastic card used for signs or display purposes. In the image above I have shown two examples - the first a display sign picked up from a DIY store (old advertising sign) and the second a blank piece of 3mm thick plastic card picked up for free at a trade show (a damaged wall panel).

In the past I have used various thicknesses of MDF and even mounting card (used by picture framers) but for the last couple of years the 3mm or 5mm thick plastic card has been my go-to material for terrain bases.

 

The plastic card is cut with a large (18mm) snap-off bladed craft knife. I find that it is best to draw around the piece of terrain or model you intend to base and cut the plastic card slightly larger than you need - you can always trim the base later.

Please note that in this example - a small barricade (Alternative Armies resin piece - see this link) I have made the base slightly larger than I would normally to show my basing technique in greater detail.

The edges are then chamfered with the same snap-off bladed knife.

And then sanded smooth with medium sandpaper. In this example I have cut the base in to a lozenge shape but I can just as easily have shaped it in to a round or oval design.

In part two I will explain how I prepare the base for the model and the DAS modelling clay.

Once again if you have any questions, please contact me via the comment section.

Tony

Late March and early April purchases

These two packs of DAS modelling clay and sketch book were just some of the birthday presents I received last month. Thank you.

In addition Sue and I have just returned from a short trip to Disneyland Paris where we had great fun watching our two grandsons enjoy the rides. On the way back home we stopped off at Carrefour and as well as bottles of Normandy cidre, Belgian beers and lots of French crisps I picked up these essentials. Two metal set squares (I use them for marking and cutting out plastic card), a pack of wooden knives (they were much cheaper than lollipop sticks) and a pack of discounted fine sandpaper (you can never have enough sandpaper).

Happy Easter.

Tony