5 - Showcasing the Senators

Ramiro Peira of PaintingPRO writes:

The Showcase Base

Yes, as I like to present my work in the best possible way, I made another base. I would not have used the original "small" base at all, but realized it was needed for gaming purposes. Therefore, I decided to do two bases.

So without gluing, I added a bigger base below the original base. The additional base is white (made of gypsum) and is vary cheap. Painting it is really easy. The upper face was painted green, and the sides were painted with successive coats of brown ink, to get the desired colour. It takes 3 or 4 coats to get a dark colour. When it looked like wood, I gave it a coat of gloss varnish and it's finished. I like the realistic wooden look.

How to do it?

Here's the "slow motion" description of what I did. First, I bought some gypsum bases last month in an art shop. They cost less than $1 USD, and are a great solution for basing and showcasing miniatures. They are also very easy to paint.

First, paint the upper face of the base green. Give a wash coat of brown ink to the sides.

Next, apply another coat of brown ink. The sides will darken.

Then, paint 90% of the upper face of the base in black. (The 10% green color will be flocked.)

Lastly, flock the green area. Then give it one last coat with a transparent brown ink (or more, if neccessary).

Then, with a brush, write the name of the miniature. Varnish the brown sides of the base with a gloss varnish, so it will look like finished wood.

Here is one of the Senators in his showcase.

The plastic cylinder is removable, so if you don't like it...

Total Time: From assembly to flocking: 7 hours, 40 minutes per miniature.

I hope you've understood my English, and enjoyed my first Workbench article for TMP. If you have any questions, email me at Postmaster@paintingpro.8k.com. Comments or suggestions are also welcome in my GuestBook (no sign-up required).