"Base filler help" Topic

Hello, new member here, with little modeling experience…

I have some 1/72 scale figures that I want to place in a larger base. My bases are plastic, 15mm square, flat on one side and lipped on the other. I'm placing the mini with it's original base inside the lipped base and I want to fill in the lipped area with something that will harden and can be painted.

It was first suggested that I use PVA glue, so I tried that, but it shrinks quite a lot. I tried modeling putty and it gives the end result I want, but it is very labor intensive (I have hundreds of figures I want to do like this). I went searching for something of about the same consistency of PVA glue, that I can just drip into the base and let spread around. I found 'Realistic Water' from Woodland Scenics and hoped it would work. It is advertised to be self-leveling, and to dry hard with minimal shrinking. I ordered a bottle and tried it, but now only it's an hour into the 24-hour cure time, and the shrinking is already unacceptable.

In my photo I have a lipped base, then one with a mini sitting in it, one with a mini and partially cured realistic water, and one with a mini and modeling putty. I'd like to get the end result of the putty but with the ease of use of a liquid.

Is there a product out there that isn't a putty or two part epoxy that will do what I want? If not, what do you recommend I use to accomplish this project?

Mix sand with white glue?

Use a textured paint product (essentially the same thing)?

A tube putty?

Vinyl spackle, Durham's Water Putty/Tetrion, or acrylic gel mediums like Vallejo Earth Texture Earth Brown or Dark Earth? Liquitex and Golden also offer acrylic gel mediums textured with fine stone dust, fine sand, etc.

link

I use artist's modellng paste for all my bases and it works well, drying hard, taking paint and not shrinking.

Glue your figure's base to the inside bottom of the base, let dry, then fill with plaster. Work with small batches. Cheap, & won't shrink… ;-)

You could try an oil based polyurethane from Home Despot or the like. Not really sure how deep you can pour it and still cure properly, though.

Artist's acrylic texture gels. Get a sand or pumice texture (pumice is coarser). Mix some paint to give it the colour you want. Doesn't shrink or crack and stays slightly flexible. A wash and dry brush and it looks good.

As per above I use Golden's Coarse Pumice Gel. Thoroughly mix in your base color (brown for me and then dry brush with two successive greens medium to light) and apply to figure base with anything from an artist spatula to a tooth pick.

Pumice gel has a bit of flexibility when dry so it won't crack. When finished it looks like short grass. Just add some optional tufts and your done.

I use bathroom tub and tile caulk with silicone. Use old paintbrush with no hairs to spread it around figure. You can even heat the tube of caulk (minus the cap on) in the microwave for 15 seconds first if you need to flow better. Then for me personally I dip the figure in a tray of fine railroad ballast. Let dry and then paint or decorate the base.

Try a tacky glue such as Aelenes to glue the figure down. If that doesn't stick, then a hot glue gun.

To fill in the lipped area, the artist's gel will work great, but you could also flood with thinned PVA glue then sprinkle sand or model railroad ballast on top.

Thanks for all the advice everyone, very appreciated.