"What came first, the base or the model?" Topic

To those of you that texture your bases. Do you texture before or after and why?

I'm finding that when my models are glued to the bases and then I texture it gets on the feet and doesn't look right.

It depends on the figures if it is a detached figure you can base first then stick the figure on. But on, say, a Wizkids figure I stick them on a base then use my paste. I try to be careful around the feet but still, some get on. I then clean up what I can, and let it dry. I remove some more after drying. Most of the time it works ok, sometimes it looks like they may have stepped in mud which is OK too. I am doing a lot of Mechs from Battletech and they look good with debris on their feet and a bit sunk. They are after all up to 100 tons.

+1 bandit86. I use E6000 Glue to mount the painted figure to its MDF base. When that dries, I then paint PVA Glue onto the MDF base, and swirl it in a mixture of three colored sands. I try to remove excess sand, but it can be delicate. At arm's length, I don't worry too much about it. Cheers!

Stick the figures on first (most figures have bases, very few don't).

I usually just do PVA and sand up to the figure base, which is generally painted a dark colour, so it all blends in.

If I get a bit of 'mud' on their feet, I don't worry too much. Soldiers boots are muddy…

Slightly different, depending on the scale.

6mm, I put the base texture on first and then stick the figures (3-4 to a base for WWII and modern) right into it. Dries solid as a rock. Then I prime (Gesso) and paint the figures, and seal them. Then base coat, highlight, and flock or texture the base.

15mm, paint the figures first, then glue them to the base (quantity depends on the period and type of stand), then seal. Then apply basing material. On a 1-inch square base with four figures, I use a small spatula and tooth picks to texture around their feet. Doesn't take long, and the toothpick can also easily remove anything that slops onto a foot. I like doing it this way as it allows me to blend the figure base into the wargaming base. Then base coat, highlight, and flock or texture the base.

Last step in both cases is to run a black Sharpie around the edges of the base to help everything blend.

In all scales, I use varieties of Liquitex paste or gel for basing. One jar goes a long way.

Good luck!

I paint 15mm and 28mm figures. I paint the figures and then fix them to metal bases using Elmer's white glue. All the work on the figures is done at that point. I have found that the white glue is the ideal fixing agent. It is a good tight grip but if the figures get dropped, the break happens at the base and not the ankles.

I then texture all the bases using mortar sand,; a 50# bag costs about $5.00 USD. The sand is mixed with diluted white glue and and dark brown paint. It is then applied on the entire base at around the depth of the figure base. BTW, when the sand dries it seals the figures even more on the base. I then dry brush several other browns and tans on the bases, drying to be as careful as possible around the figures. These are several steps, and you need to allow plenty of time for drying. After the colors have dried, get your flocking material, (I use static grass.) dilute some more white glue, pick the spots on the base you want covered with flocking, and dab it in place. Leave as much dirt showing to your personal taste. Allow it to dry. At that point, I seal the entire thing; I use matte spray.

I realize that this might be more information than wanted, but I thought it might be easier to explain the process. Hope it helps somebody.

Figures first, base texture/grass etc, after.

captaincold69:
Do you texture before or after …?

I assemble figure on base and fill any gaps, then paint, then texture and finish base.

… and why?

Some of my texture is white sand or white model railroad ballast and I stain/drybrush this but use the original color. If I textured the base before painting I might get miniature paint on the texturing. Same applies to static grass, flock, or other base treatments where I'm taking advantage of the color.

I'm finding that when … I texture it gets on the feet.

I use a paintbrush to apply thinned glue to the base and either a wet swab (Q-tip) or wet second brush to clean any glue off the model's feet, and dry with a dry swab. Before I sprinkle the sand/ballast/flock/static grass.

I should note in the gap filling stage before painting, sometimes I use a Liquitex medium (texture gel or sculpting paste) which I mix with paint to color it. In that case I'm doing the texturing before painting – the difference is if I slop paint on it, I have the matching color to overpaint it.

Individually based figure get based and the based textured before painting. Multi based figures get painted first.