Basing Basics, Part 3
Red Stick Studio Blog Published 06/26/10
While a bit shorter than the past couple parts, this focuses on explaining the materials used for basing.
Continuing forward, so far we have covered tools, and themes for basing, now on to today’s installation: in depth discussions of basing material, and their uses. This way, before we move onto color theory and the like, as well as simple basing examples, the basics are covered.
The number one thing to remember, when we are discussing these products we don’t favour one particular brand over another. Each particular brand has its own quirks and particular style/color/texture. Several ways to find out if that particular basing is what you are looking for: ask if they have an example of a model with that particular type of material on it, if they have an open container you can see, if someone there uses that particular one, and is willing to offer advice/ask questions, or you can search the internet for reviews and the like.
Grit: This goes by many different names, including ballast, sand, grit, gravel, and others. There are many different choices here, including fine, medium, and coarse, as well as colored versions so you don’t necessarily need to paint the basing if you don’t want to.
Grass- There are several different colors available out there, each having been given a different name by each company that produces it. Generic colors include: Dry Grass/Arid (lt. brown/tan), Summer Grass (dulled down, dark green), Spring Grass (Bright Green), and parched Straw (tan), among others.
Flock/Clump Foliage: There are several different color combinations available for these two products as well, including: Autumn Blend, Summer Blend, Dark Conifer, Meadow Blend, Foundation dirt and others. Flock Blend is a medium size material about the size of medium grit, bits of foam that are broken down and colored. Clump foliage is the larger version of this being the approximate size of large grit, being well suited well for making trees, and small areas on the bases to represent bushes and the like.
Resin Basing Materials: This is a catchall, as there are several different types of these kits/pieces available that are specifically labeled as such. Games Workshop produces two different ones, Cities of Death, and Warhammer Basing Kit, Scibor has two kits available as well as lots of other various companies and kit components. These generally consist of a bag/container of small resin parts that may have helmets, weapons, pieces of broken statues/vehicles and more. Generally speaking you simply decide on what you’re going to put on your base, wash it thoroughly with soap and water, and glue to the base after letting it dry. Fill in the rest of the base as normal to achieve the desired effect.
Brass Etches: These are rather finicky to work with, as they are very thin, photoetched sheets of metal. I recommend reading a previous studio article, Working With Brass Etches, if you are choosing to work with these. In this article we take an in depth look at the best ways to get these from the sprue to the base, and touch a bit on painting.
Click to be transported to Working With Brass Etches.
While a bit shorter than the past couple parts, this focuses on explaining the materials used for basing.
Continuing forward, so far we have covered tools, and themes for basing, now on to today’s installation: in depth discussions of basing material, and their uses. This way, before we move onto color theory and the like, as well as simple basing examples, the basics are covered.
The number one thing to remember, when we are discussing these products we don’t favour one particular brand over another. Each particular brand has its own quirks and particular style/color/texture. Several ways to find out if that particular basing is what you are looking for: ask if they have an example of a model with that particular type of material on it, if they have an open container you can see, if someone there uses that particular one, and is willing to offer advice/ask questions, or you can search the internet for reviews and the like.
Grit: This goes by many different names, including ballast, sand, grit, gravel, and others. There are many different choices here, including fine, medium, and coarse, as well as colored versions so you don’t necessarily need to paint the basing if you don’t want to.
Grass- There are several different colors available out there, each having been given a different name by each company that produces it. Generic colors include: Dry Grass/Arid (lt. brown/tan), Summer Grass (dulled down, dark green), Spring Grass (Bright Green), and parched Straw (tan), among others.
Flock/Clump Foliage: There are several different color combinations available for these two products as well, including: Autumn Blend, Summer Blend, Dark Conifer, Meadow Blend, Foundation dirt and others. Flock Blend is a medium size material about the size of medium grit, bits of foam that are broken down and colored. Clump foliage is the larger version of this being the approximate size of large grit, being well suited well for making trees, and small areas on the bases to represent bushes and the like.
Resin Basing Materials: This is a catchall, as there are several different types of these kits/pieces available that are specifically labeled as such. Games Workshop produces two different ones, Cities of Death, and Warhammer Basing Kit, Scibor has two kits available as well as lots of other various companies and kit components. These generally consist of a bag/container of small resin parts that may have helmets, weapons, pieces of broken statues/vehicles and more. Generally speaking you simply decide on what you’re going to put on your base, wash it thoroughly with soap and water, and glue to the base after letting it dry. Fill in the rest of the base as normal to achieve the desired effect.
Brass Etches: These are rather finicky to work with, as they are very thin, photoetched sheets of metal. I recommend reading a previous studio article, Working With Brass Etches, if you are choosing to work with these. In this article we take an in depth look at the best ways to get these from the sprue to the base, and touch a bit on painting.
Click to be transported to Working With Brass Etches.