"using sand to base 15mm troops" Topic

I am going to start basing some 18mm Victorian Science Fiction on Mars units. I have seen basing done with sand for 28mm and GW figures.

I know this may be second nature to some, but is there a good tutorial on line as a how to using sand, bas coating and highlighting it?

What I do is:

* undercoat with a suitable color (do some tests first) and let dry
* apply glue (I use Koch terrain glue)
* pour sand over base and let dry
* seal with a coat of matte flat spray paint

At this point, you can paint the sand, but painting is optional – you might like the natural look. Or you might add just a wash and a highlight.

If you need special sand colors, check your local arts and crafts shop.

Yup, paint your base. Add white glue, dip in sand. Let dry. If your sand is brown, brown ink wash and then dry brush bone or light tan.

I just prime and paint my 15 mm figures same as I do for 28mm. I will give the base a uniform coat of a neutral color, some type of brown in most cases. Once that is dry I apply PVA (Elmers Wood Glue is my favorite) to the base then dip the figure and base into a small container with my sand. Let dry overnight and then I paint the sand the same color as the base neutral color followed by about two highlights using a really dry brush. It makes for a good effect. YMMV

Very important. Put your sand on a cookie sheet and dry it in the oven before you use it. You will find it much easier to work with.

Also Elmer's Wood Glue here. Sometimes two applications around the bottom of the cast-on base, as the glue shrinks a great deal when drying. Apply two fairly thick coats of the base color to lessen some of the grain (so to speak), which prevents it from looking unrealistically coarse, and makes it much easier to drybrush. I apply two drybrush layers, the second nearly or fully white, depending on the base color.

As noted above, dry the sand out in the oven beforehand (She Who Must be Obeyed really loves that bit).

I use builders sand which has a nice mixture of different sized grains, pebbles etc in it and is a mid brown 'earth' colour anyway.

Paint base an appropriate colour (I usually only do this for arid bases, paint it tan, otherwise just leave it black or dark green).

Cover base in PVA and dip in the sand.

Err, thats it.

For arid bases I give it a light drybrush of magnolia which lightens it up a lot, but for temperate bases I just leave them earth colour.

Apply static grass, flock etc as desired.

I mix three different colored sands together, in a container. Paint the base with Wood Glue (stronger than PVA/White Glue) using a throw-away brush (30 for $0.99 USD, at Wal-Mart, School Supply section), then swirl them in the sand mixture. Wait a couple of hours for it to dry, then repeat a 2nd time. I also mix in a bit of model RR ballast, to create larger 'rocks' randomly strewn on the 'ground' surface. After the 2nd coat is dry, I paint them with a 50/50 mixture of PVA/water, to seal the sand in place. Here is a couple of examples:

These are some re-purposed, re-based, Mage Knight figures.

These are some 54mm Cave Men figures, from Wal-Mart (purchased more than a decade ago, in the Toy Department). I use these as 1st Ed. AD&D Hill Giants, as they are the proper size, compared to 25mm tall Humans.

Here is another image showing a Gnome figure, with the same sand-basing technique. I feel that it really dresses up the mini's for very little time, and effort invested.

Different color schemes can be employed for different evirons. In this image you can see tan colored sand mixes for a more rocky setting. Colored sands are available at the Dollar Stores, as well as the hobby stores (Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc.).

Here is an example of regular, natural sand, on top of green sand mixtures, to create another terrain variation, which suggests more rocky terrain. Cheers!

I've got my mitts on a bottle of AK Interactives Gravel & Sand fixer. Gonna try it out soon…

I use chinchilla sand or dust from the pet shop, no need to dry it out. I add in a handful of cat litter/oil absorb for variety. Don't bother painting the base, just paint using PVA and dip in the sand. Then when it is dry paint the sand with a thinned down brown paint. In my case this a purpose mixed emulsion. Use a wet brush to soak bits of the sand first to vary the colour. Once all dry I dry brush a light sand and then add some love poatches and press on static grass. Occasionally I may add small rocks but that's usually for the larger scale figures.

I use this one for my desert region Saga/Crescent & Cross troops. I like the finished product very much. I use different color grasses and tufts.

link

A pretty easy way to do it is to paint the base with craft paint and dip it in fine craft sand while it's still wet. Then you paint it again with diluted paint. Let dry, and drybrush with a lighter color.

As usual, everyone is making this too complicated.

Cover base with white glue, dunk the base in sand, shake off excess.

When dry, base coat sand with dark tan craft paint (thinned with flow-improver, acrylic medium, or good old water).

Then drybrush one or two lighter shades of tan (or off-white).

Done.