Bases tutorial

Alright, time for the bases tutorial! First things first, your supplies:

• Bases
• Plaster
• Super Glue
• Pumice Gel
• Tool to spread gel (I use a metal green stuff tool, toothpicks/dowel rods work well too)
• Paints (I use greys and browns)
• Brushes
• Weathering powder (optional)
• Matte coat (optional)

I first start off with mixing up the plaster and pouring it onto a large plastic lid to give me a smooth side. I let this dry and cure for about 24 hours before removing it from the lid and breaking it into large chunks. After breaking it up I will get a few pieces and arrange them over a base and break them down as necessary to make it fit. This results with something like the following.

The plaster that I had mixed up for this batch was wrong and resulted in the plaster being soft and crumbly in some places. This worked to my advantage as it added to the worn down look that I was going for.



After the glue has had time to dry I will get my pumice and tool out. I get a blob of pumice from the jar and start adding it to the base in random spots. The larger cracks will be filled in to look like rubble and broken concrete has filled it in, as well as any blank spaces along the edge.

The Vallejo Pumice takes about 10 hours to get a good cure on it and be work able. It may take longer if you have a thicker area of pumice. I found on the raised areas that they were a little springy and could be moved slightly, but after a full 24 hours were pretty much solid.

I come back the next day, after letting the pumice cure over night, and prime the models black and then Vallejo Dark Grey. I used the following paints, in this order for my dry brushing after the layer of dark grey.

• Vallejo Air Base Grey
• Vallejo Air Light Grey
• Citadel Fenrisian Grey
• Vallejo Model Color White
• Reaper Dark Highlight
• Vallejo Air Sand Yellow

In between the layer of base grey and light grey I will lay down the template for the yellow stripes and dry brush the yellow on. This is Citadel Base Averland Sunset. The following pictures show these drybrush steps in order.

Base coated black

Airbrushed Dark Grey

Drybrush Base Grey

Template and drybrush of Averland Sunset

Drybrush Light Grey

Drybrush White

Drybrush Dark Highlight on rubble only

Drybrush Sand Yellow on highlight only

 Once the drybrushing is all done, this is a good place to stop. The bases look good and ready to be used. I like to take two more steps to really finish them up. This is where I use my weathering powders by Vallejo. The two I used for these bases are Burnt Umber and Carbon Black. To use these I grab an old brush and pick out a little bit of powder from the jar and sprinkle it onto the base around the rubble. I then use the brush to spread out the powder and rub it into the base. This helps it adhere into the texture and keep it from blowing off.

**WARNING: Weathering Powder dust is very fine! You need to be wearing a dust mask or other protective gear to prevent this dust from getting into your system and possibly causing harm. I also have my airbrush paint station fan going so the dust that is flung into the air is sucked away from me into the filter.**

I follow these steps for both the umber and black powders. I use the black powder mainly on the road way for dirt/oil deposits. It doesn't take very much to add a lot of detail. It's easier to add more than start all over because you added too much!

Once the powder is all in, I fire up the airbrush again and put a mist coat or two of Matte Coat over the entire base. This helps keep the paint and especially the weathering powder on the base.

Here are the finished bases for my Imperial Knight and Onager Dunecrawler.

If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment! Thanks!