"How I Base PART TWO" Topic

PART TWO

MATERIALS/PARTS

This picture shows you everything that you'll need to get going.

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Now that we have the basic mixture ready to be applied, you'll need something to apply it with. I use a metal set of artist's palette knives. These cost me 5 bucks with the help of a Michaels coupon. This is an investment you should make. It will make the job much easier and you will only buy these once.

Using one of the brand new palate knives, scoop a small amount of the mixture from the jar and place it on the stand. Use the knife to move it around. It's almost like spreading peanut butter on bread.

You goal should be to cover the entire stand with the mixture, without getting it on the figures or yourself. It takes some practice to get used to using the knife, so try a few test cases.
I use the smaller, round knife to place the groundwork between the figures and spread it around.
The fine point knife is perfect for getting the mixture right up to the figure's feet without covering them. It also allows for a smooth transition between the stand and the figure's original base.

There not much to advise here. This is the step in the process that I hate the most. It's flippin' maddening to do this for any length of time. You have to be extremely careful not to ruin beautifully painted figures by accidentally getting the mixture on them. You have to pay strict attention to what you are doing here. Keep a cup of water, a few Q-Tips and a soft rag handy for disasters.

If you accidentally get the mix onto one or more of the figures, immediately
dip the Q-Tip into the water and let it run all over the spot where the mix is.
Use the Q-Tip to remove the mix and throw it away. Repeat until it's cleaned up. If you really get a big glob on a figure, then dip the rag in the water and wipe the figure off as best you can. Use Q-Tips to get into places that the rag missed. I don't sweat the shoes or lower pants legs. They are both bound to get dirty marching through a battlefield. Besides, mistake can be hidden by some tall static grass.
Check the edges of the base and make sure that they are covered by some thin mixture or paint. Once you've covered the entire stand, set it aside to dry for a full day

If the groundwork doesn't seem quite right ,you can add more mix to it. The mix does tend to shrink a bit. Not much, but you might notice it.

I tend to add more paste to the open areas of the stand, when I am working on this. Building up smaller mounds, makes the ground uneven and not flat. You can even add small rocks by placing a blob of paste down and pushing the rock into the paste. Use the pointed trowel to build up paste around the rock. Most rocks are burrowed into the earth, not sitting on top of it. We'll terrain around it in a later chapter.

DRYBRUSHING

Once everything is dry, we can begin to drybrush. To do this, I use a cheap, flat 1/2 inch brush. I cut the bristles down with a scissors until they are stiff to the touch. This is my weapon of choice.

The first color is going to be Ochre, which is sort of a brownish yellow color.
Close to a dark mustard. I use Folkart Ochre, but I believe that they have dropped the color from their line. You can substitute other brands (some say Yellow Ochre) if need be. If you do, then put a couple of drops (2) of brown into the Yellow Ochre paint and mix it up. About a thimble full of paint should do it.

I use an unorthodox style of drybrushing to do this. Dip the brush into the paint and then wipe it off. Press down and remove most of the paint.

Now drag the brush over the exposed groundwork. Start on the back edge of the base. Go very lightly at first, just to see how much paint is still on the brush. If there's too much paint, then wipe the brush off again. You want to get to where the paint is very thin, almost opaque.
Your aim is to lighten the earthwork from the dark brown to a more earth colored tone.
Dab into the uneven surfaces and give the entire groundwork a good going over. Go heavier here. The paint will dry a lighter color.

If you went to thick on the paint, use the water and Q-tip to remove the excess. Step one is completed. This is what it should look like when finished.

Ochre Drybrush

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Next up, is a lighter drybrush using the color "Sand". I use the cheap craft store brand, but any brand will do. You can go from Ochre to Sand, without stopping in between to wait for the first coat to dry. You want to blend colors here.
Clean the brush and dry it off. Make sure that it's not wet. Dip the brush into the sand color paint and wipe it all off. Dip it in again and repeat until you have just a hint of Sand left. Now run this over the ground work with a bit of a lighter touch.
You want to accent the high points, while leaving the underneath colors intact.
This doesn't take much practice and you should be able to handle this after one or two attempts. If you overdid it, break out the H2O and Q-Tips.

Sand Drybrush

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MY FLOCKBOX

For the next step you will need the following:

Plastic Shoebox with a tight fitting cover.
Several colors of Turf/Flock
Matte Medium
Small Dropper Bottles, 1 or 2 ounces is good.

If you've made it this far, I have to assume that you possess some Flock and Turf in your arsenal. If not, then be prepared to spend some cash.
Gather thy flocks together.
Take the shoebox and throw in handfuls of Green/Dark Green/Earth Fine Turf.
Add in generous amounts of different shades of Green Coarse Turf.
Weeds, Burnt Grass, Evergreen, whatever ….throw some in the box!
Weeds, made by Woodlands Scenic is a must have, so pick some up.
Feel free to add in any other form, or color, of flock/ turf that you may have.
Keep clear of the extra coarse turfs or any sort of clumps.
Mix it all up and keep adding until the box is about 3/4 full. This will be the first coat of vegetation that you will put on you bare groundwork.

Box O' Flock

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I have the same shoebox forever. Every time I finish a project, I dump the leftover turf or flock into the shoebox. Just keep adding and mixing.

MATTE MEDIUM

First off, if you don't have Matte Medium, you can substitute white glue mixed with water for the next step. I don't recommend this, but things can get expensive and the glue/water mix is cheaper. If you choose to go this way, then I would boil the water that I would add to the PVA. Hot water will dissolve the glue better resulting in a better mixture. This is a 50/50 mixture of water and glue.
I know that I rattle on about coupons, but it's a great way to save your hobby dollars. A 16 ounce bottle of Liquitex Matte Medium is about 20 bucks at regular price. You can cut that in half with a coupon. It's your choice.

Matte Medium is not the same as PVA and water. I find it far superior in both holing power and transparency. Besides, one bottle will last you a couple of years, as it's usually thinned with water before being applied. It's well worth the investment.
Fill one of the dropper bottles with 75 % Matte Medium and 25 % water. Shake thouroghly.
Now for the fun part.

Open the box of flock. Unscrew the cap off the dropper bottle full of MM. Now, while holding the stand in one hand, begin to drizzle the MM onto the groundwork, while holding it over the box. Go VERY SLOW here.
Start with a few drops and tilt the stand so that the MM flows everrwhere.
I hold the stand so that the figures are at a slight downward angle. The MM will seek it is own way. Try not to let any drip into the flockbox. If it does, that's okay. You just made terrain clumps.

Allow the mix flow between the figures feet and around the legs. Don't saturate it. You want a thin coat that doesn't reach the tops of the elevations in the groundwork. This will come with practice. In fact, it can become a game, where you try not to drip any mixture into the box while covering the intended area with the MM.

As soon as you've finished dripping the MM onto the stand, dunk it into the flockbox. Cover the entire stand including the figures. Use the palette knife to damp down the flock between the figures. Don't push hard, just pat it down gently. Leave the stand in the flockbox overnight to dry.

Last step for this part. Remove the stand from the shoebox and turn it upside down. Bang the bottom of the stand and let the excess flock fall back into the flockbox.
I left out one important tool. You'll need a very soft, ½ inch, make-up brush. This is where your significant other comes in handy! Have her pick you up a new one.
Use the make-up brush to dust off the figures. Turf powder gets every- where, so clean off the figures using the brush. Once that's done, turn your attention to the ground work. Rub the brush back and forth over the entire stand. Use some pressure to remove any loose flock. Rub fairly hard in between figures. After that, brush off the underside of the base.
This is a picture of a piece that I am working on. I included it so that you can see how you ground should look now. It's just a bigger base. Notice how uneven the ground is.
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Inspect the terrain and use a tweezers to remove anything that doesn't look right. If you're satisfied with the way the stand looks, then I bet you can't wait for Part Three!

Very nice effect

She didn't say anything when I had her get me the Aqua-net hair spray but, I fear a request for a soft makeup brush will produce some serious questions!

Love your work!! Thanks for the instructing.

Great tutorial as always Bill – thanks. The last picture looks awesome!!!

Skipper, Probably best to just steal one of her's.

Excellent tutorial. I pretty much do the same thing as you, except that instead of a dropper, I use paint brushes of various sizes to apply the MM or glue mixture. I find using brushes are faster and offer more control over where the mixture goes. Also, I add the flock, wait a few seconds, tap the base to remove the excess and then put it aside (outside the flockbox) to dry. That way I can do dozens of stands at a time.

Thank you for your efforts in putting these tutorials / how-to posts together.

I do have a question – for both you, and any other readers.

I understand your preference for metal bases but I do not share it. My objection is that the only way to handle such bases is by grabbing the figures. Therefore I use 1/8th-inch-thick hardwood (usually cherry or hard maple) and require that my stands be handled by the edges of the bases, not the figures.

Unfortunately, I learned early on that matte medium, which I use extensively in my "other" hobby (model railroading) warps wooden bases. Have others experienced this problem? Is there a specific matte medium brand or product that avoids this disastrous side effectt?

Bash On, Only waiting a few seconds to tap the base does not allow the Matte Medium to set up. I generally do 6 stands at a time and I leave them to dry overnight.

Rawdon, Sorry. I use metal bases precisely because they will not warp. Anytime wood and water get together the outcome is never good.
Maybe try coating the base with an acrylic sealer before using the MM?

nevinsrip, maybe we use different mixture consistencies for the flocking adhesive. My glue mix is a paint-like consistency since I brush it on rather than apply it with a dropper.

Or perhaps the terrain base mixture we use requires different set-up times. Your materials picture doesn't show up in my browser but for the base I use latex house paint mixed with play sand (in 50 pound bags). I used to add MM to the mix but found it wasn't needed.

Rawdon: I use plastic bases for Bolt Action and Flames of War figures. For everything else I use a Litko 3mm wood base. Never had any warping issues with even the wood bases, but my base mixture (see above) is fairly dry (not runny at all) when applied.