"Basing for plastic trees and shrubs" Topic

I want to base some small trees and some bushes (all plastic) on washers. In the past I used clay, but it's only sold in large blocks and of course what was left after my project (the majority of the block) has dried up after years of no use.

I'm thinking of using FIMO but it's a little pricey. Any ideas for an easily workable (not sticky) substance that hardens without firing, isn't featherweight (so no papier-mache mixes) and comes in quantities about the size of a human fist? Oh, and for sale in Pennsylvania. ;-)

In the UK there would be DAS, air dried clay.

Liquitex heavy gel painting medium + mix some sand, dirt, etc. in it before application to washers. You can tint the medium b4 application to washer.

Gel Medium, Super Heavy Matte — Extra heavy body for thickening and blending acrylic color. It extends the volume and increases transparency, while slowing drying time. Translucent finish retains high peaks and crisp brush and knife strokes
link

I use a Hot Glue Gun to secure mine to 2"-squares of MDF. I then paint the MDF with Wood Glue, and apply texturing materials. Simple, fast, and easy.

If you want to use modeling/texturing paste, search YouTube for videos on how to mix up your own, at home, for a fraction of the cost. Did that, too. Worked superbly, for $2 USD-$3 of ingredients, compared to $20 USD for a jar of Liquitex paste from Michael's stores. Cheers!

Don't forget spackle. The stuff used to fill cracks and holes before painting a wall.

Put on with a plastic knife, blot with wet cloth for extra texture , and let dry.

Based on your requirements I'd say hot glue and sand.

You can get packages of modeling clay in dollar stores.

In the past I tried various 2-part epoxy resins, but that was not very successful. I have an ever-growing box of broken trees to repair.

Last summer I adhered about 400 plastic palm trees to pennies using plumber's epoxy putty. That was much easier and seems to be really durable. I was even able to get the putty in green and brown, which saved a step, since I was able to skip painting the cured epoxy putty before applying glue and flocking. Note: you have to mix the plumber's epoxy in small amounts, because it hardens quickly and an individual tree doesn't need very much.

Another idea to consider: make clumps of trees. The last time I did this, I discovered that plastic Woodland Scenics armatures glue really firmly to styrene sheet using standard solvent plastic model cement or solvent acrylic cement. I cut styrene sheet into triangles, rounded the corners, and glued a plastic tree's plastic base to each corner, then painted and flocked the whole thing. (I also glued my trees into their bases, but that is optional.) The triangle doesn't need to be heavy since it's too wide to topple. I still prefer individual trees on metal bases for scatter terrain and lining roads and stuff, but the triangular bases of tree clumps are now my preferred tree basing method for decorating large forest areas. Moving aside clumps to make room for troops traversing a forest area is much less fiddly than moving individual trees and lichens and such.

- Ix

I've used PC-11 (plumber's or marine epoxy putty-- white, but also available in black (as PC-7, I think))successfully for a variety of bases and as an adhesive for large white metal models. Available at most Tru- Value or Ace hardware stores.

Liquatex Resin Sand Gel Paste.

Mix in color and spread on with a palette knife. Dries matte.
If Resin Sand is not available, you can substitute Lightweight Matte Gel and mix in your own sand and grit.

Use a coupon at Michales and save. An 8 ounce jar will run you about 8 bucks, after a 40% coupon. One jar will last you a long, long time.

I use this for all my basing.

For sticking plastic plants to metal washers, hot glue. You can also apply additional hot glue to bulk up the base and add weight. Cover with any of the texturing methods above.

I do greatly enjoy the convenience and compatibility of art store mediums. For example most Liquitex texture mediums and gels can be mixed 3:1 with Liquitex Soft Body paint to make a texture medium in exactly that color. These products seem expensive but they work exactly as described, and for miniature applications the quantities are so small they go a long way.

However for a large terrain board, I have mixed a batch of texture paint using cheaper craft paints. One formula I've used in the past is 1 part white glue, 1 part water, 2 parts craft paint, and 1 part sand. This dries hard like sandpaper. More water or less glue doesn't stick as well. Less paint goes translucent.

I also vote for a hot glue gun – it works a treat.

Ditto for hot glue -- especially with brown or green glue sticks.

Durham's rock hard water putty is what I use now for larger bases. Pictors studio used it on some figures he did for me. Its about $7 USD for a lifetime supply plus it's useful around the house.

Sgt Slag has the easiest, a thin piece of wood with nice smooth sliver free edges, a boat load of wood glue, you can even add tint if you like, and some flock or, for added realism, real dirt.

For bases 2"-square, and larger, I paint Wood (PVA) Glue on in random patterns, then dunk/swirl it in a dark brown, gray, or red sand (harvested from the North Shore of Lake Superior, on bi-annual visits). Once this portion dries, I paint the remainder of the bases with more Wood Glue, and repeat the process using a mixture of two different green sands (from local hobby and Dollar Stores), with some model RR ballast mixed in. This creates a mottled pattern of light and dark colors of sand, with the ballast appearing as random larger rocks.

The mottled coloring makes for a very visually interesting base. They look acceptable on most surfaces, except, of course, for deserts. I use this technique on 2"-square MDF bases for 54mm plastic Army Men figures. It really dresses them up for the tabletop.

I paint the Wood Glue over the molded bases of all figures, which helps cement them to the MDF base. The sand covers the transition between bases and materials, for the most part. This creates a more blended appearance.

I strive for attractive, appealing bases, which are simple, very fast, and effective.

The only downside, after using this technique for 3+ years, is that the sand can rub off a bit -- not a lot, but it does come off. To deal with this, use an old toothbrush to remove the loose sand particles. If this is not enough, then apply 1-2 light applications of Scenic Cement (watered down, white PVA Glue), to lock it down. Be careful, however, as too much PVA Glue, will leave a white film, as well as giving the sand a smoother, plastic appearance -- they both are unattractive. Cheers!